Premature exit in Monza means additional work

ROWE RACING is unable to score any more points in the second race of the GT World Challenge Europe at the “Temple of Speed”

The second round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup in Monza ended earlier and less satisfactorily than hoped for ROWE RACING. After just over two of the three hours of racing in the “Royal Park”, the team from St. Ingbert had to park the #98 BMW M4 GT3 in the pit lane and retire from the race.

BMW M works driver Augusto Farfus from Brazil had gained four positions from 15th on the grid on the first lap and then continued to work his way forward. However, he lost around ten seconds again at the first pit stop because a car from the neighboring team blocked his exit. The team lost further ground after the second pit stop, because just one lap later many competitors were able to stop with less time loss in a surprisingly called full-course yellow phase.

A short time later, the race was over for ROWE RACING when Finnish BMW M works driver Jesse Krohn misjudged his braking and then collided with several competitors. The #98 BMW M4 GT3 was so badly damaged that Jesse Krohn had to park it in the pit lane. For the team, this damage means additional work in the intense month of June to get the car ready for the next GTWC race at the 24 Hours of Spa (June 28/29). The 24 Hours of Nürburgring (June 21/22), which also requires intensive preparation, is scheduled for the week before Spa.

Hans-Peter Naundorf, Team Principal ROWE RACING: “Unfortunately, Monza was not worth the trip for us this year. In addition to the very confusing, difficult race, in which only about half of the laps were completed at normal race pace due to safety cars, full-course yellow phases and many yellow flags, there was the dreaded chaos in the pit lane, which cost us valuable time. The icing on the cake was our retirement following a driver error. He had missed his braking point and then collided with other cars. I’m sorry for the other participants whose races we also affected. Unfortunately, our car was so badly damaged that we had to end the race. The accident also means a lot of extra work and costs for us to rebuild the car before the Spa 24 Hours – and that in the middle of the most intensive phase of the year with two 24-hour races on two consecutive weekends.”