ROWE RACING finally scores double-figure points again at Assen

Sheldon van der Linde finishes sixth on Saturday but fails to finish on Sunday / Timo Glock’s run of top-ten finishes comes to an end at the TT Circuit

ROWE RACING leaves the ‘cathedral of speed’ with mixed feelings: in the Saturday race at the sixth of this season’s eight DTM weekends; Sheldon van der Linde finished sixth in the #31 BMW M6 GT3. As two guest starters came home ahead of the South African, this meant he was classified fourth in the championship standings and scored 12 points – the first time the St. Ingbert team has picked up double-figure points in one race since the second event of the season at the Lausitzring. However, bad luck struck the team again when van der Linde was forced to retire with a puncture.

Timo Glock’s run of three top-ten finishes came to an end at Assen. A puncture brought the former Formula 1 driver’s race to a premature end on Saturday. On Sunday, he came home 14^th in the #16 BMW M6 GT3. Next for ROWE RACING, in a fortnight, is the penultimate race weekend of the season at the Hockenheimring.

Race 1 / Saturday

Timo Glock, #16 ROWE RACING BMW M6 GT3 – Qualifying 18^th place, race DNF

Sheldon van der Linde, #31 ROWE RACING BMW M6 GT3 – Qualifying 12^th place, race 6^th place

In the first qualifying session on Saturday, both ROWE RACING drivers struggled to put together a perfect lap at the rapid TT Circuit Assen. Sheldon van der Linde had to settle for 12^th place on the grid with the #31 BMW M6 GT3, while Timo Glock qualified 18^th. Timo Glock’s race came to a premature end after seven laps when the #16 BMW M6 GT3 suffered a puncture and forced him back into the garage. Team‑mate Sheldon van der Linde made up a few positions at the start, and was actually running fourth until his mandatory pit stop. After the tyre change, he worked his way from 12^th up to sixth and was rewarded with 12 championship points.

Saturday result:

1. Marco Wittmann (DEU) Walkenhorst-BMW
2. Mirko Bortolotti (ITA) T3-Lamborghini + 3.100 seconds
3. Liam Lawson (NZL) AF Corse-Ferrari + 4.336 seconds
…
6. Sheldon van der Linde (ZAF) ROWE RACING BMW + 6.176 seconds
…
DNF Timo Glock (DEU) ROWE RACING BMW

Race 2 / Sunday

Timo Glock, #16 ROWE RACING BMW M6 GT3 – Qualifying 17^th place, race 14^th place

Sheldon van der Linde, #31 ROWE RACING BMW M6 GT3 – Qualifying 13^th place, race DNF

On Sunday, Sheldon van der Linde again had to fight back from 13^th and 17^th on the grid. Sheldon van der Linde was running fourth when he came into the pits on lap eight. After the stop, he was running 12^th for much of the second half of the race until the running surface of one tyre suddenly became detached and forced him to retire. Timo Glock found himself battling towards the rear of the field for the entire race and eventually crossed the finish line in 14^th place.

Sunday result:

1. Lucas Auer (AUT) Winward-Mercedes-AMG
2. Liam Lawson (NZL) AF Corse-Ferrari + 0.593 seconds
3. Marco Wittmann (DEU) Walkenhorst-BMW + 11.456 seconds
…
14. Timo Glock (DEU) ROWE RACING BMW + 39.910 seconds
…
DNF Sheldon van der Linde (ZAF) ROWE RACING BMW

Overall standings: 1. Lawson 175 points, 2. Wittmann 165, 3. Kelvin van der Linde (ZAF) Abt-Audi 160, … 9. Sheldon van der Linde 55, … 16. Timo Glock 8

Hans-Peter Naundorf, Team Principal ROWE RACING: “We cannot be happy with this race weekend at Assen. Sheldon van der Linde showed on Saturday that we have the potential to compete far higher up the field when he drove a flawless race and came through from 12^th on the grid to finish sixth. However, we must also exploit that potential in qualifying in order to give ourselves better starting positions. It is bitterly disappointing that one car had to retire in each of the races with a puncture.”

Timo Glock, #16 ROWE RACING BMW M6 GT3: “Unfortunately, that was another very unsatisfactory weekend for me. I must get over that quickly. With that in mind, it is a good thing that we now head to my home event in Hockenheim in two weeks. I hope things will go better for me there.”

Sheldon van der Linde, #31 ROWE RACING BMW M6 GT3: “I am happy that we finally had another race that played out as we actually imagined on Saturday. After a rather disappointing qualifying, I made good progress in the race. That gives me new motivation for the two remaining race weekends, even if Sunday promptly handed us another setback. The puncture gave us no warning at all.”

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