ROWE RACING fights for the team title in the Endurance Cup at the GT World Challenge Europe season finale
St. Ingbert, 25th November 2024 – For the second year in a row, ROWE RACING is battling for the team title in the Endurance Cup at the GT World Challenge Europe season finale. The team from St. Ingbert heads into the final race of the season next Saturday (30th November) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, ranked fifth in the team standings with 47 points, earned through their opening victory at Le Castellet, a sixth place at the 24 Hours of Spa and a fifth place at their home race at the Nürburgring. However, the gap to the leaders is only ten points, while the teams in second, third and fourth are just nine and eight points ahead. This means that after last year’s runner up finish, ROWE RACING has a realistic chance to clinch the team title in Europe’s most prestigious and competitive GT series for the first time, entirely on their own merit.
If Augusto Farfus from Brazil, Dan Harper from Great Britain and Max Hesse from Germany manage to secure pole position and win the six hour race in their #998 BMW M4 GT3, they would leap to the top of the standings with 81 points and two season victories, regardless of their rivals’ results. Other outcomes could also see them take the title, with six teams still holding realistic chances in this thrilling finale.
In the drivers’ standings, the ROWE RACING trio trails by 18 points, making their title hopes more remote, but a top three finish remains within reach. The team will focus entirely on their #998 BMW M4 GT3, as their sister car, the #98, was too severely damaged in a heavy crash during qualifying at Monza to be rebuilt in time for the shipment to Saudi Arabia in late October.
The 6.174 kilometre non permanent track in Jeddah, known from Formula 1, will host a GT car race for the first time. With 27 corners, the circuit runs partly along the Red Sea, though drivers will hardly notice as they navigate the narrow asphalt ribbon flanked by concrete walls. The track is ultra fast for a street circuit, with some “blind” corners adding to its difficulty. There are virtually no run-off areas, leaving little room for error. For the teams, Jeddah presents a new challenge, with demanding climate conditions, unfamiliar facilities and long distances within the temporary paddock.
The race weekend in Jeddah kicks off on Thursday (28th November) with two 90 minute test sessions on the new track (14:15 and 17:15 local time/12:15 and 15:15 CET). On Friday (29th November), a two hour free practice session from 15:30 to 17:30 local time (13:30 to 15:30 CET) will be followed by a one hour pre qualifying session under floodlights from 20:15 to 21:15 local time (18:15 to 19:15 CET). On Saturday (30th November), the qualifying session to determine the starting grid will take place from 11:45 to 12:45 local time (9:45 to 10:45 CET). The six hour race starts at 17:00 local time (15:00 CET), leading the field into the sunset.
Hans-Peter Naundorf, Team Principal ROWE RACING: “That ROWE RACING is once again in contention for the team title at the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup season finale is a great testament to the consistency and strength of our team. We will give everything in Jeddah to bring the trophy for the best endurance team to St. Ingbert for the first time, after finishing second last year. Our team and drivers certainly have the ability to prevail in this thrilling six-way battle for the title, even under the completely new and challenging conditions in Jeddah. The track is complex and demanding – long, at times very narrow, and extremely fast, as we’ve seen in Formula 1. Drivers will navigate tight concrete-lined sections with limited visibility in some corners, and the virtually non-existent run-off areas leave no room for mistakes.”
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