ROWE RACING continues success streak with another podium finish at the 1,000 km race in Le Castellet
Marco Wittmann, Philipp Eng, and Nick Yelloly take third place and extend their overall lead / Neil Verhagen, Dan Harper and Max Hesse secure sixth place after a flawless drive
St. Ingbert, 4th June 2023 – ROWE RACING has extended its success streak this season with a strong performance at the 1,000 km race in Le Castellet. Driving into the night at the second race of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, two‑time DTM champion Marco Wittmann from Germany, Austrian driver Philipp Eng, and British driver Nick Yelloly secured third position in the #98 BMW M4 GT3. Following their opening victory in Monza, they further solidified their lead in both the driver and team standings. Their teammates, Neil Verhagen from the USA, Dan Harper from the UK, and Max Hesse from Germany also delivered a flawless performance and finished sixth in the #998 BMW M4 GT3.
For ROWE RACING, it was the fifth podium result across multiple tracks and series in the last four races, following their third-place finish in the round three of the Nürburgring Endurance Series, the magnificent double victory at the GTWC season opener in Monza, and second place in the 24‑hour “Eifel Marathon” at the Nürburgring. In all these races, Marco Wittmann from Franconia was always part of the team. On Saturday evening at the Circuit Paul Ricard in southern France, he started as the driver of the #98 car from eleventh position and made his way up to third place in the first third of the race. Philipp Eng seamlessly continued the charge forward and took over the lead for the first time shortly before his first pit stop, around halfway through the race.
Overall, the Austrian and closing driver Nick Yelloly accumulated over 50 laps in the lead for the #98
BMW M4 GT3
, which had already dominated the race in Monza. However, in the final hour of the race, Nick Yelloly couldn’t maintain the high pace set by the two Mercedes cars that ultimately finished ahead of the team from St. Ingbert. Nevertheless, he stayed close to the Audi ahead of him in the final laps and crossed the finish line as the fourth‑placed car, trailing by just 0.621 seconds. As the Audi received a 5‑second time penalty for exceeding track limits after the race, the #98 trio moved up to third place.
The sister car, #998, also had a strong race. Starting from 16th position, Neil Verhagen, Dan Harper, and Max Hesse steadily worked their way up the field, like their fourth‑place finish from the previous year, and ultimately secured sixth place after six hours of racing. They were just 0.966 seconds away from fifth place at the end. In the driver standings of the Endurance Cup, the three BMW M works drivers now sit in third place with 27 points, trailing the victorious Mercedes trio in Le Castellet (34 points). The teammates from the #98 car lead with 45 points and an eleven‑point advantage, just like ROWE RACING in the team standings.
Hans-Peter Naundorf, Team Principal ROWE RACING:
“This was another fantastic performance by our team. We were able to make progress through the field, led for many laps, and put on a great show. All the drivers were flawless, without penalties or collisions. In the final stages, the two Mercedes cars were simply too fast for us. However, we are very satisfied with third place because we gained valuable points and expanded our lead in the overall standings. Celebrating podium finishes for the fourth time in a row and the fifth in the six races this season is an outstanding record, especially considering that we achieved these results across various series and on different tracks. It is an exceptional achievement by the entire team, especially considering the high workload on all team members in recent weeks and months. It was non-stop. Now, we can take a breath and focus on the next highlight of the season – the 24 Hours of Spa.”
Philipp Eng (#98 ROWE RACING BMW M4 GT3):
“We finished the practice sessions on Friday quite a long way off the lead, but our team did a fantastic job overnight. I think our race engineer was glad when we drivers finally went home Friday evening, as we were getting on his nerves a bit! But it was worth it. Together, we made some significant improvements to the car, and as a result we did well in qualifying. The race was so much fun, my battles with the Mercedes were pretty cool and very fair. Starting from eleventh we had not expected to reach first place, but we need to analyse why we had problems with our pace towards the end. However, we scored some important points by finishing third and have defended our lead in the championship as we approach the biggest race of the year in the series and head to Spa-Francorchamps.”
Max Hesse (#998 ROWE RACING BMW M4 GT3): “We can be very satisfied with the race. We were extremely competitive, particularly when the conditions cooled down from the third stint onwards, and the team did a superb job. However, we need to look at why we weren’t on the pace in qualifying and therefore why we were unable to get a better grid position. That cost us a lot of time in the opening phase of the race.”
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ROWE RACING celebrates its second podium finish in eight days at the race start on the Nordschleife
Second and fourth places for the team from St. Ingbert at the second round of the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers / Podium premiere for Raffaele Marciello in a BMW M4 GT3
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First two competitive race appearances of 2024 for ROWE RACING on the Nürburgring Nordschleife
Competing at the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers with two BMW M4 GT3s and six BMW M works drivers / Important preparation for the highlight of the season, the ADAC 24h Nürburgring
