Monza. The fourth season race of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup at Monza (ITA) made history. For the first time in the history of the race series, a car not competing in the Pro class clinched the overall victory. The sensational winners were Jens Klingmann (GER), Ahmad Al Harthy (OMA), and Sam De Haan (GBR) in the #30 BMW M4 GT3 from OQ by Oman Racing run by WRT. At the end of the chaotic three-hour race, the Bronze Cup trio triumphed over the #32 BMW M4 GT3 driven by Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), Dries Vanthoor, and Charles Weerts (both BEL). This meant not only a one-two result for Team WRT but also a win in the Pro Cup, securing crucial overall standings points in the GT World Challenge Europe title fight.
The one-two resultwas all the more extraordinary because both cars were involved in start collisions and had almost a lap deficit within minutes. Thanks to outstanding strategy, both crews fought their way back to the front during the race. In the final laps, Klingmann, under immense pressure from Vanthoor and the third-placed Ferrari, drove to victory with nerves of steel. The #46 BMW M4 GT3, driven by Raffaele Marciello (SUI), Maxime Martin (BEL), and Valentino Rossi (ITA), also gave a strong performance, finishing in fifth place.
ROWE Racing experienced a disappointing race Sunday. In qualifying, the weekend ended for the crew of the #98 BMW M4 GT3. Maxime Oosten (NED) lost control of the car and spun into the tyre barriers. The BMW M4 GT3 was so heavily damaged that a race start for Oosten and his two driver colleagues Marco Wittmann (GER) and Robin Frijns (NED) became impossible. Oosten and Frijns replaced IMSA regular drivers Philipp Eng (AUT) and Nick Yelloly (GBR), who were in action in Indianapolis (USA) simultaneously. The #998 BMW M4 GT3, starting from tenth place, had an outstanding race for over two hours and was even in the lead at times. However, after a problem during a tyre change, final driver Max Hesse (GER) had to make an additional stop. That pushed him and his driver colleagues Augusto Farfus (BRA) and Dan Harper (GBR) significantly down the order.
Century Motorsport celebrated a very strong second place on the podium in the Bronze Cup with Jake Dennis, Darren Leung, and Toby Sowery (all GBR). BMW Italia Ceccato Racing competed with the #15 BMW M4 GT3 at its home event and finished ninth in the Bronze Cup.
Comments after the race:
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “What a crazy race! With this extremely complicated race progression, Team WRT showed its class and celebrated a one-two thanks to great strategic decisions. Congratulations both to the #30 crew for the historic first overall victory for a Bronze Cup car, and to the #32 crew for a fantastic comeback, great fighting spirit, and very important points in the title fight. After the two podium finishes last weekend in FIA WEC, the WRT team can continue its positive run. Hopefully, it continues this way. Congratulations also to Century Motorsport for the Bronze Cup podium and to BMW Italia Ceccato Racing for a successful appearance at its home event. I feel very sorry for ROWE Racing. Despite a very good performance in the race, the team did not have the necessary luck to achieve the deserved results.”
Vincent Vosse (Team Principal BMW M Team WRT): “A completely crazy race with a somewhat chaotic first lap for #32 and to a lesser extent for #30. But thanks to an incredible strategy from the technical team, each WRT car had a chance to win the race. It was quite exceptional, especially considering that #32 was almost a lap down after its first lap. It wasn’t a gamble though, as that scenario had been discussed the day before. Fortunately, the technical team always made the right choices at the right time. That gave us many opportunities throughout the race. I am really, really proud of the team, a historic race for WRT!”
Hans-Peter Naundorf (Team Principal ROWE Racing): “Sometimes motorsport is tough. As last year, our team gave a very strong performance at Monza this time as well. It seems we used up the bit of luck you need in sports with the opening win at Le Castellet this year. The fact that the #98 couldn’t even start the race was bitter.”
Jens Klingmann (#30 BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team WRT, 1st place): “Overall victory for a bronze car – that’s never happened before. We can be incredibly proud of that because it seemed so out of reach. I can’t quite explain how it happened. I think our strategy was outstanding. Team WRT did a fantastic job – thank you for this great evening.”
Ahmad Al Harthy (#30 BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team WRT, 1st place): “We made history today. Standing on top of the podium and seeing our flag waving there is an incredible feeling. Thanks to everyone who made this victory possible – to OQ by Oman Racing, Team WRT for the fantastic strategy, to BMW M Motorsport for the great car. I am insanely proud of everyone.”
Sam De Haan (#30 BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team WRT, 1st place): “I’m shocked! What a performance by the entire team. Thanks to our engineer – this win is for him.”
Sheldon van der Linde (#32 BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team WRT, 2nd place): “After the first corner, where I was hit and spun around, none of us believed we would end up on the podium. It’s a total surprise. The WRT team strategy was absolute masterclass. This podium belongs to them.”
Dries Vanthoor (#32 BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team WRT, 2nd place): “A crazy race, but overall still a good weekend for us. If you’re last with almost a lap behind after the first lap, second place and the Pro Cup class win is a great result. We can be very happy about this comeback. A huge thank you to the team for a great strategy and congratulations to the #30 crew for the win! In the end, it’s important for us to have scored many valuable points.”
Charles Weerts (#32 BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team WRT, 2nd place): “After the first corner, we thought our race was over, but then thanks to the unbelievably good strategy of our team, we still made it to the podium and won the Pro Cup. It’s crazy! A very warm congratulations to the #30 crew for the overall victory. That’s an incredible achievement.”
Maxime Martin (#46 BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team WRT, 5th place): “I’m very happy for the team about the one-two. It was a fantastic weekend. Our pace was also very good, so it’s a bit of a shame to end up in fifth place. In the end, the strategy didn’t quite work out in our favour, but still, today the team’s success is clearly the most important thing.”
Max Hesse (#998 BMW M4 GT3, ROWE Racing, 27th place): “It was a frustrating weekend. I feel especially sorry for the team, which worked very hard to get our car up to speed. In the practice sessions and also in qualifying, we were not yet where we wanted to be. Only in the race did the modifications to the car pay off, and we were super on the move. Then unfortunately, there was the incident at the pit stop. But it must also be said that with our strategy we couldn’t have fought for the win anyway. WRT did a great job today. Congratulations to them for the victory.”
Jake Dennis (#991 BMW M4 GT3, Century Motorsport, 2nd place Bronze Cup): “I am very happy about my first joint podium with Century Motorsport. Many thanks to the team and my driving colleagues. This great result motivates us looking forward to the season finale in Jeddah in November.”