Dense fog was the dominant theme at the 52nd edition of the 24h Nürburgring (GER). Only just under seven and a half hours could be driven under regular conditions, followed by a break of over 14 hours, before the race ended after five formation laps behind the safety car. As a result, the #72 BMW M4 GT3 of BMW M Team RMG, which started from pole position and with good chances of victory, was ultimately classified in third place.
Nürburg. Dense fog was the dominant theme at the 52nd edition of the 24h Nürburgring (GER). Only just under seven and a half hours could be driven under regular conditions, followed by a break of over 14 hours, before the race ended after five formation laps behind the safety car. As a result, the #72 BMW M4 GT3 of BMW M Team RMG, which started from pole position and with good chances of victory, was ultimately classified in third place. The result is provisional, and the official final result is still pending. The car, in the design of BMW M Motorsport Premium Technology Partner Shell, was shared by the three BMW M Motorsport Gen2K drivers Max Hesse (GER), Dan Harper (GBR), and Charles Weerts (BEL). The ROWE Racing #98 BMW M4 GT3 driven by Raffaele Marciello (SUI), Marco Wittmann (GER), Maxime Martin (BEL), and Augusto Farfus (BRA) was classified in seventh position. The ROWE Racing #99 BMW M4 GT3, in which Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), Dries Vanthoor (BEL), Robin Frijns (NED), and Farfus took turns, led the race in the early stages but retired after an unavoidable accident.
Just before the start, the 24-hour race was already typically turbulent. It began to rain on the starting grid, and tyre choice became a lottery. In the pole car, the #72 BMW M4 GT3, starting driver Harper came into the pits after the formation lap to switch to drying wets, as did Wittmann in the #98 BMW M4 GT3. Meanwhile, Farfus in the #99 had already started on those tyres and sprinted from seventh on the grid to the front of the field within 20 minutes. Behind him, Harper and Wittmann also gained position after position and worked their way back to the front. After about two hours of racing, the first driver changes took place.
Van der Linde took over the #99 car and continued to fight at the front. However, in the fourth hour of the race, the leading BMW M4 GT3 was forced to retire through no fault of its own. While lapping, van der Linde was hit on the left rear by a slower car and collided with another car. The fight for victory ended in the track barrier.
