ROWE RACING narrows the gap to the lead in the Endurance Cup team standings
St. Ingbert, 28th July 2024 – ROWE RACING has closed in on the leading team in the Endurance Cup of the GT World Challenge Europe with a strong performance at their home race at the Nürburgring. In an eventful race, the British driver Nick Yelloly, the Austrian Philipp Eng and the two‑time German DTM Champion Marco Wittmann, who started from 13th place, finished in fifth place in the #98 BMW M4 GT3, directly ahead of the overall leading Aston Martin team.
As a result, ROWE RACING reduced the deficit with two remaining races of the Endurance Cup at Monza, Italy, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from eleven to nine points (47:56). In Monza last year, ROWE RACING celebrated a 1‑2 finish. A 15‑second time penalty issued by race control for a pit stop that was one second too short during the first box stop had no effect on #98‘s placement after three hours of racing.
The race did not go quite as well for the sister #998 car. After a very good start from eighth place, starting driver Augusto Farfus from Brazil was spun off the track in the third corner after contact with another vehicle and initially fell back to 29th place. After a remarkable comeback, “Gustl”, the Brit Dan Harper and Max Hesse from Germany finished eleventh in the end, narrowly missing the points. Final driver Max Hesse was just 1.811 seconds short of tenth place. In the drivers’ standings, the opening winners from Le Castellet are now in fourth place with 36 points.
Hans-Peter Naundorf, Team Principal ROWE RACING: “Unfortunately, there was no more performance to be had from our BMW M4 GT3s this weekend. We got the maximum out of it and can be more than satisfied with the final result. Now, after a tough four months, we’re looking forward to the summer break, during which we’ll all recharge our batteries. In the second half of the season, we will do everything we can to win the title in the Endurance Cup.”
Augusto Farfus (#998 ROWE RACING BMW M4 GT3): “The contact in the first round was very annoying. An opponent touched me in turn three and forced me into a spin. Unfortunately, that cost us a good race result. Now we focus on Monza, a track that could suit us well. We have lost a few points to the leaders in the Endurance Cup, but we are still in the middle of the title race.”
Philipp Eng (#98 ROWE RACING BMW M4 GT3): “The car was strong, even in the race. We made many good changes, the balance was really good. Of course, it was a pity that we received the penalty. That can happen. Much more wouldn’t have been possible towards the front anyway. But the team did a great job, we drivers didn’t make any mistakes – and fifth place is a good result.”
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