Munich. ROWE Racing and BMW M Motorsport will be aiming for joint success again in the major 24-hour races at the Nürburgring (GER) and Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) in the 2023 season. The team from St. Ingbert (GER) will race with two works-supported BMW M4 GT3 both at the Nordschleife and in the Endurance Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS (GTWC). The cars will be driven by a total of eleven BMW M works drivers.
Like last year, the BMW Junior Team members and BMW M works drivers Dan Harper (GBR), Max Hesse (GER) and Neil Verhagen (USA) will take part in the five endurance races in the GTWC with the BMW M4 GT3 in the livery of BMW M Motorsport partner Multibank. In the second car, which will contest the GTWC endurance races at Monza (ITA), Le Castellet (FRA), Spa-Francorchamps, the Nürburgring (GER) and Barcelona (ESP), Philipp Eng (AUT), Marco Wittmann (GER) and Nick Yelloly (GBR) will take it in turns at the wheel.
A further five works drivers will take part in the 24 Hours Nürburgring. In the #98 BMW M4 GT3, Wittmann will be supported by Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), Maxime Martin and Dries Vanthoor (both BEL). In the sister #99 car, Eng and Yelloly will share stints with Connor De Phillippi (USA) and Augusto Farfus (BRA). In preparation, ROWE Racing will take part in the first three races of the Nürburgring Endurance Series season.
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “In the BMW M4 GT3’s second season our clear objective is to do battle for the big wins and titles – and ROWE Racing has an important part to play in this. With their experience in the iconic 24 hour races in particular, the team is always a favourite to win. Our joint successes at Spa-Francorchamps in 2016 and the Nürburgring in 2020 have proved that. ROWE Racing also gained valuable experience at the other GT World Challenge Europe races in 2022, and will be our second trump card alongside BMW M Team WRT in the battle for overall wins in this series. I’m looking forward to racing together in the 2023 season, which will hopefully see us have many reasons to celebrate.”
Hans-Peter Naundorf (Team Principal ROWE Racing): “ROWE Racing and BMW M Motorsport have been a winning combination for seven years now. An important piece of the puzzle in this success is continuity, which is why it is great for both parties that we are able to continue this partnership. Many thanks to Andreas Roos and customer racing boss Björn Lellmann for the trust placed in us. We want to go on the attack in the GT World Challenge Europe this year, since with this series the SRO presents a huge starting field at the highest sporting level and spectacular races at some of the most well-known racetracks in Europe. All six of the drivers representing us in the GT World Challenge Europe are familiar with both the car and the team, and we have also scheduled extensive test drives for between the races. For the Nordschleife, returnees Maxime Martin and Dries Vanthoor provide us with two more outstanding drivers.”
Overview of the ROWE Racing driver squads:
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup:
#98 BMW M4 GT3:
Philipp Eng (AUT)
Marco Wittmann (GER)
Nick Yelloly (GBR)
#998 BMW M4 GT3:
Dan Harper (GBR)
Max Hesse (GER)
Neil Verhagen (USA)
24h Nürburgring:
#98 BMW M4 GT3:
Maxime Martin (BEL)
Sheldon van der Linde (RSA)
Dries Vanthoor (BEL)
Marco Wittmann (GER)
#99 BMW M4 GT3:
Connor De Phillippi (USA)
Philipp Eng (AUT)
Augusto Farfus (BRA)
Nick Yelloly (GBR)