Morning in the Eifel: Two BMW M6 GT3s are in the top ten in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.

After the freak weather at the start, the evening of the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring (DE) ran smoothly, at least from a meteorological perspective. It remained dry; the drivers only reported periods of fog, which reduced visibility. Eight hours before the end of the race, two BMW M6 GT3s are in the top ten.

Schubert Motorsport’s number 100 car – driven by John Edwards (US), Jens Klingmann (DE), Lucas Luhr (DE) and Martin Tomczyk (DE) – is in fifth place, while the number 23 ROWE Racing car driven by Alexander Sims (GB), Philipp Eng (AT), Maxime Martin (BE) and Dirk Werner (DE) is in seventh place.

Car number 22 has been out of the race since 4:00hrs: With Klaus Graf (DE) at the wheel, the BMW M6 GT3 had an accident in the Hatzenbach section and retired. The number 18 car had a technical problem on Saturday. The Schubert team worked hard overnight to be able to send the BMW M6 GT3 back onto the track and into racing action.

The two Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3s are also still in the race. Car number 999 is in 17th after making a pit stop for repairs, which lasted several laps; the number 101 car is in 37th.

In the Cup 5 class, Michael Schrey (DE), Alexander Mies (DE), Emin Akata (DE) and Dries Vanthoor (BE) in the number 305 BMW M235i Racing of Bonk Motorsport are still in the lead.

Driver quotes after 16 hours:

Martin Tomczyk (Schubert Motorsport, number 100 BMW M6 GT3):

“We drove double stints during the night. It was okay. We didn’t risk too much and drove safely, but quickly. We were mostly between third and fifth place. I’m happy, it went quite well even though there was a lot going on on the track. But that is the Nürburgring.”

Alexander Sims (ROWE Racing, number 23 BMW M6 GT3):
“I really enjoyed my night stint. On the initial laps, the main task was getting into a rhythm in the traffic. That is the biggest challenge driving at night-time. You need to assess where the others are driving and if they will move. I think that we did well, but there is still a long way to go in the race. Our BMW M6 GT3 feels really good.”

Dirk Werner (ROWE Racing, number 23 BMW M6 GT3):
“The positive thing is that the track conditions are relatively consistent now. Which is why it was fun driving at night-time. But, as always at the Nürburgring, particularly in traffic with the different classes, it is difficult to fight your way up the field. We want to reduce our deficit. We have already been able to make up a few positions. Hopefully we will be able to continue in this way.”