Nürburgring. The brief and intensive preparation section for the Nürburgring 24 Hours (GER, 1st/2nd June) reaches its climax this coming weekend on the 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers. There, BMW M Motorsport groups RMG and ROWE Racing will compete in necessary preparatory races for the season spotlight. Nine BMW M works drivers shall be deployed in three BMW M4 GT3s.
BMW M Team RMG is as soon as once more counting on a younger, extremely proficient line-up of drivers in 2024, with three members of the Gen2K group created by BMW M Motorsport (BMW M works drivers born in 2000 or later). Dan Harper (GBR) and Max Hesse (GER) will compete for the fourth time along with the workforce led by Team Principal Stefan Reinhold within the prime class on the 24-hour race. Joining them within the cockpit of the #72 BMW M4 GT3, sporting the design of BMW M Motorsport Premium Technology Partner Shell, is Charles Weerts (BEL). The 23-year-old will make his debut on the 24h Nürburgring however already has a formidable and profitable GT3 profession, particularly within the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, the place he was the general winner in 2021. In current weeks, Weerts, Harper, and Hesse have already accomplished a number of check laps on the Nordschleife and have been intensively making ready for his or her race entries.
ROWE Racing will area two vehicles. This coming weekend, BMW M works drivers Raffaele Marciello (SUI), Maxime Martin (BEL), and Marco Wittmann (GER) will take turns within the #98 BMW M4 GT3. In the sister #99 automobile, Augusto Farfus (BRA), Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), and Dries Vanthoor (BEL) shall be within the cockpit. As the seventh driver, Robin Frijns (NED) will compete within the 24-hour race, nonetheless he shall be absent from the Qualifiers as a consequence of a scheduling battle with Formula E. Nevertheless, Frijns has additionally managed to finish a number of check laps on the Nordschleife previously weeks.
At the season opener of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) final weekend, no BMW M4 GT3 might participate as a result of most drivers had been taking part within the concurrent GT World Challenge Europe occasion at Le Castellet (FRA), the place Harper, Hesse, and Farfus gained along with the ROWE Racing Team.
BMW is the official automobile companion of the Nürburgring.
Good information for all BMW followers got here a couple of weeks in the past at the beginning of the Nürburgring season. From the 2024 season, BMW is the official automobile companion of the Nürburgring. At least till 2026, the service and monitor security autos for the racetrack employees will come from BMW. In addition to the prevailing dedication of BMW M on the Nürburgring, the newly determined automobile partnership represents an extra enlargement of collaboration and the presence of BMW on the legendary racetrack.
A complete of 25 new BMWs will initially strengthen the Nürburgring’s fleet. Nine of them shall be used on the racetrack as a part of monitor security. Eight BMW 3 Series Touring and one BMW X1 shall be deployed on the Nordschleife and Grand Prix circuit to make sure security. For this objective, the autos shall be given a particular Nürburgring design with warning components to be simply seen by all racetrack customers, corresponding to vacationer drivers or members in driver coaching classes. As service autos, the 1 Series, 3 Series, and the X1 and X3 shall be out there to workers, additionally that includes design components of the Nürburgring silhouette and the Nürburgring emblem, making them interesting representatives of the versatile occasion location.
Comments on the 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers:
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “The 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers are very important for us, as they are every year. This coming weekend, we will test all our race procedures and prepare ourselves as well as possible for the season highlight. Our advantage is that the BMW M Motorsport engineers, as well as our teams ROWE Racing and RMG, have a lot of experience on the Nordschleife and do not need much time to optimally adjust to the 24-hour race. Accordingly, we approach the coming weeks with confidence. Seeing that BMW is now even more prominently represented at the Nürburgring as the official vehicle partner pleases me greatly. The brand is extremely popular with fans – whether in racing or for everyone on the road.”
Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal BMW M Team RMG): “This season, the preparation for the 24-hour race is extremely short. Therefore, the two races we will compete in this coming weekend are all the more important. Our team now has experience on the Nordschleife, which will surely help us. Nevertheless, it is always about training all procedures under competitive conditions to be optimally coordinated when it comes to racing in the big one in June. We have already completed several test days under various weather conditions in advance, during which we covered many kilometres and collected valuable data. Our new driver Charles Weerts also had plenty of time to adjust to our team and the BMW M4 GT3 on the Nordschleife. He has made a great impression and harmonises very well with Dan Harper and Max Hesse. I am convinced that we will present ourselves as a strong team.”
Hans-Peter Naundorf (Team Principal ROWE Racing): “After the fantastic start to the season at Le Castellet, we want to continue in the same vein this coming weekend. The Qualifiers are not just a preparation programme for the big race at the beginning of June for us. We want to race this weekend, push hard, and as always, fight for podium places. Our driver line-up is already well sorted out; five of the six BMW M works drivers who will be competing this weekend know the team and our processes, some for many years. The schedule gives us enough opportunity to give Raffaele Marciello as many kilometres as possible in the BMW M4 GT3 on the Nordschleife.”