ROWE RACING reaches for Grand Slam after Nürburgring triumph at Spa 24 Hours
St. Ingbert, October 20, 2020 – Four weeks after the first triumph at the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, ROWE RACING is planning the next coup at the 24 Hours of Spa next weekend (October 24/25) and is going for the Grand Slam: The team from St. Ingbert wants to be the first team ever in the GT3 era to win both 24-hour classics in one season. To achieve this, ROWE RACING will field two Porsche 911 GT3 R cars on the 7.004-kilometer mountain-and-valley track in the Belgian Ardennes. In addition to the regular line-up of the #99 consisting of Porsche works driver Dirk Werner, Porsche Young Professional Julien Andlauer from France and Austrian Klaus Bachler, a top-class trio of three ultra-fast Porsche works drivers, who already proved their top class last year in their entries for ROWE RACING, will start in the sister car with the #98: Briton Nick Tandy, New Zealander Earl Bamber and Belgian Laurens Vanthoor.
Nick Tandy, 2015 Le Mans winner, had missed ROWE RACING’s second Spa victory by just 3.3 seconds in the #998 Porsche 911 GT3 R at last year’s 24 Hours of Spa after a great recovery in second place. Earl Bamber, who had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans together with Tandy and Formula 1 driver Nico Hülkenberg in 2015, and Laurens Vanthoor had excelled for ROWE RACING in the 2019 FIA GT World Cup in Macau, Bamber in third and Vanthoor in second. Local hero Laurens Vanthoor also brings with him the experience of victory: in 2014, his had won at his home race.
ROWE RACING is the most successful team in recent years at the Spa 24 Hours with three podium finishes in four races.
After winning in 2016, the team from St. Ingbert finished second in 2018 and 2019 – with only seconds separating them from the winners in each case. No other racing team can also boast a total of five podium finishes with two victories at the two legendary 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and Spa since 2016.
The two Porsche 911 GT3 R cars from ROWE RACING will take to the track with the legendary Eau Rouge and Blanchimont corners for the first time at Spa on Thursday (22 October) at 11.10 a.m. in the 90-minute free practice session. This will be followed at 3.15 p.m. by the 60-minute pre-qualifying session. Qualifying, with 15 minutes of track time in each of four sections, starts at 6.55 pm. At 8.35 p.m., another 90-minute night practice session is scheduled on this busy day. On Friday (October 23), after a 30-minute warm-up at 5.30 p.m., the final starting grid will be determined in the Super Pole from 6.20 p.m. onwards. On Saturday (October 24), the race will start at 3.30 p.m. and, after the time change from Saturday night to Sunday, the race will be flagged off at 2.30 p.m. (CET) on Sunday after 24 hours.
Hans-Peter Naundorf, Team Principal ROWE RACING: “We are going to Spa with a very clear goal: We want to win the race and thus become the first team ever in the GT3 era to win the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring and the 24 Hours of Spa in one year. That would be the Grand Slam in GT3 racing. We’re still fully in endurance mode because we’ve never driven two 24-hour races back-to-back. In addition, we’re swimming on a wave of euphoria after our success at the Nürburgring and are fully motivated. With the experience we’ve gained in the Eifel, our Porsche cars and our top drivers, we’re also ideally equipped for the extreme conditions we can expect. I’m particularly looking forward to fielding Nick Tandy, Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor, with whom we already had the pleasure of working together very successfully at Spa and Macau last year. These three were our absolute dream line-up, and I thank Porsche for their great confidence in granting us this wish.”
Laurens Vanthoor, #98 ROWE RACING Porsche 911 GT3 R: “I think we have a dream driver line-up. Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber are very fast and the three of us know each other very well. We reckon we have a good chance and are giving it our all.”
Dirk Werner, #99 ROWE RACING Porsche 911 GT3 R: “The 24-hour race in Spa presents us with another big challenge. The weather, the many vehicles as well as the high power density will certainly ensure excitement. I’m looking forward to this track, because it’s tremendous fun.”
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