Photo: BMW
The end of this year’s 24 Hour Nurburgring race wasn’t a happy one for BMW’s Sports Trophy Teams. Despite posting good numbers and even leading at times, BMW didn’t manage to climb on the podium by the end of the race.
The 42nd iteration of the endurance race took place in front of about 250,000 spectators and provided plenty of interesting moments when drivers went all out to gain a position or two.
The no. 20 BMW Z4 GT3 car backed by BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert, driven by Claudia Hurtgen, Dominik Baumann, Jens Klingmann and DTM Driver Martin Tomczyk was involved in such contests, repeatedly. They fought with Audi and Mercedes cars but dropped back in the field after a tie rod had to be replaced, costing them 2 hours to fix, just before the race ended. In hindsight, the sixth place they managed to get looks rather good now.
By the end of the race, the number 20 car finished sixth, after 157 laps. The number 28 Z4 GT3, driven by Ferdinand Stuck, Max Sandritter, Christopher Bruck and Dennis Rostek managed to cross the finish line 8th, due to the combined efforts of the Walkenhortst Motorsport Team.
All the other BMW Z4 GT3 models that started the race didn’t finish. The number 19 car, from Team Schubert, had to retire after experiencing problems with the suspension, just 4 hours after the start.
The other two cars from BMW Team Marc VDS weren’t all that luckier either. Marco Wittmann and Bas Leinders both crashed while running in promising positions. Unfortunately, the damage done to their cars was too extensive to allow them to continue the race.
“That was once again a dramatic 24-hour race here on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife – with a disappointing outcome for us. Despite a number of set-backs, we were at least right up there among the leaders until shortly before the finish with the number 20 car. BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert and drivers Claudia Hürtgen, Jens Klingmann, Dominik Baumann and Martin Tomczyk ultimately went unrewarded for their commitment,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt.
BMW’s M235i Racing Cup class was also quite entertaining. The first place went to Daniel Zils, Norbert Fischer, Uwe Ebertz and Timo Schupp from the Adrenalin Motorsports Team. The special livery car, driven by journalists Marcus Schurig and Jethro Bovingdon, former MotoGP rider Alex Hofmann and BMW Motorsport Junior Alexander Mies managed to finish the race without any technical difficulties, on an honorable 53rd place overall.
The no. 20 BMW Z4 GT3 car backed by BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert, driven by Claudia Hurtgen, Dominik Baumann, Jens Klingmann and DTM Driver Martin Tomczyk was involved in such contests, repeatedly. They fought with Audi and Mercedes cars but dropped back in the field after a tie rod had to be replaced, costing them 2 hours to fix, just before the race ended. In hindsight, the sixth place they managed to get looks rather good now.
By the end of the race, the number 20 car finished sixth, after 157 laps. The number 28 Z4 GT3, driven by Ferdinand Stuck, Max Sandritter, Christopher Bruck and Dennis Rostek managed to cross the finish line 8th, due to the combined efforts of the Walkenhortst Motorsport Team.
All the other BMW Z4 GT3 models that started the race didn’t finish. The number 19 car, from Team Schubert, had to retire after experiencing problems with the suspension, just 4 hours after the start.
The other two cars from BMW Team Marc VDS weren’t all that luckier either. Marco Wittmann and Bas Leinders both crashed while running in promising positions. Unfortunately, the damage done to their cars was too extensive to allow them to continue the race.
“That was once again a dramatic 24-hour race here on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife – with a disappointing outcome for us. Despite a number of set-backs, we were at least right up there among the leaders until shortly before the finish with the number 20 car. BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert and drivers Claudia Hürtgen, Jens Klingmann, Dominik Baumann and Martin Tomczyk ultimately went unrewarded for their commitment,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt.
BMW’s M235i Racing Cup class was also quite entertaining. The first place went to Daniel Zils, Norbert Fischer, Uwe Ebertz and Timo Schupp from the Adrenalin Motorsports Team. The special livery car, driven by journalists Marcus Schurig and Jethro Bovingdon, former MotoGP rider Alex Hofmann and BMW Motorsport Junior Alexander Mies managed to finish the race without any technical difficulties, on an honorable 53rd place overall.
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