Spa-Francorchamps. The endurance marathon in June 2025 has come to an end. With the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL), BMW M Motorsport has completed its third 24-hour race within three weeks. The goal at the world’s largest GT3 race, featuring 74 starters, was to secure another podium finish following the outstanding triumph at the Nürburgring 24 Hours (GER) just a week ago. Despite a hard-fought effort, this goal was not achieved. The ROWE Racing and WRT teams finished the race with three cars in the top 10, securing fifth, seventh, and eighth places. A late penalty dropped the #98 BMW M4 GT3 EVO from ROWE Racing from third to fifth position. Video statements on the past 24-hour races from Andreas Roos and Hans-Peter Naundorf are available for editorial use: https://racecloud.bs-plus.de/index.php/s/FcayDLX3pZkZaMw.
The Nürburgring-winning trio of Augusto Farfus (BRA), Jesse Krohn (FIN), and Raffaele Marciello (SUI) briefly took the lead at Spa-Francorchamps thanks to some luck during a yellow flag phase. They engaged in a long-distance battle with the eventual winners. In the final stages, Marciello fought hard against a Ferrari for third place, but his efforts led to one too many track limit violations. As a result, he received a 30-second penalty after the race, dropping the #98 BMW M4 GT3 EVO from third to fifth place. The #998 BMW M4 GT3 EVO from ROWE Racing, featuring the “GEN M” livery and driven by Philipp Eng (AUT), Dan Harper (GBR), and Max Hesse (GER), was also on course for a podium finish for much of the race. However, they were unlucky during a yellow flag phase, which caused them to lose ground. Shortly before the end, Eng had to retire the car to the garage due to suspension damage, leaving them classified in 29th place.
Team WRT faced a challenging home race. The #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO crew of Ugo de Wilde, Charles Weerts (both BEL), and Kelvin van der Linde (RSA), maximised their potential and secured valuable points with a seventh-place finish. Right behind them, Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), Dries Vanthoor (BEL), and Marco Wittmann (GER) finished in eighth after a hard-fought race. Technical issues and damage to the car, which required repairs, cost the #31 crew a lap that they were unable to recover despite strong pace. In the #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Kevin Magnussen (DEN) made his GT3 racing debut for BMW M Motorsport alongside Valentino Rossi (ITA) and René Rast (GER). The high-profile trio delivered a solid performance and finished in 11th place.
Century Motorsport had reason to celebrate as the #42 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, driven by Jarrod Waberski (RSA), Will Moore (GBR), and Mex Jansen (NED), secured a third-place finish in the Silver class. In total, eleven BMW M4 GT3 EVO cars competed at Spa-Francorchamps.
GT4 European Series: Victory for BMW M Racing Academy member Berkay Besler.
As part of the 24-hour race weekend, the GT4 European Series held two races. In Saturday’s second race, Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport triumphed with the #12 BMW M4 GT4 EVO. BMW M Racing Academy member Berkay Besler (TUR) and Gabriele Piana (ITA) shared driving duties, claiming their first win and podium of the season. In the first race at Spa-Francorchamps, Besler and Piana finished fourth. They currently sit third in the drivers’ standings. Other BMW M Motorsport teams also celebrated podium finishes in Belgium. Schubert Motorsport secured second place in the Pro-Am class during the first race with the #98 BMW M4 GT4 EVO, driven by Victor Bouveng and Joakim Walde (both SWE). In the Am category, the Schubert Motorsport duo Stefan Nilsson and Mats Olsson (both SWE) finished third in the #97 BMW M4 GT4 EVO. In Saturday’s race, second place in the Am class went to the #317 BMW M4 GT4 EVO from CHAZEL Technologie Course, driven by Antoni De Barn and Jean-Mathieu Leandri (both FRA).
Comments after the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps:
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “This was the last of the three 24-hour races in June, and unfortunately, we were unable to follow up on the fantastic victory at the Nürburgring here in Spa-Francorchamps. It was evident that we lacked the pace over the race distance to compete at the very front. We tried everything to get the most out of our package. Many thanks to all the teams, drivers, and BMW M Motorsport colleagues for their efforts. It’s a shame that, in the end, ROWE Racing missed out on the podium due to the track limits penalty. But unfortunately, this can happen when you have to race at the limit for the entire event. We’ll be back next year and aim to fight for victory again, as we did in 2023. Congratulations to Century Motorsport for their podium in the Silver class, to Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport for their win with the BMW M4 GT4 EVO, and to the Lamborghini winners!.”
Hans-Peter Naundorf (Team Principal ROWE Racing): “The past two weeks have been incredibly intense and emotional. We celebrated a major success at the Nürburgring and continued at this high level here in Spa-Francorchamps. For twelve hours, we were in the top three, proudly flying the flag for BMW M Motorsport and ROWE Racing. In the end, it wasn’t quite enough for another podium. Our performance in the final stages wasn’t as strong as it needed to be compared to the competition. That’s part of motorsport, and you have to accept it. Congratulations to the winners, who also did a great job. The race was very tough, but all the drivers and team members worked brilliantly despite the high demands. A huge thank you and big compliments for that! This was the hardest thing we’ve ever done as a team.”
Vincent Vosse (Team Principal WRT): “That was a disappointing race for us. I think we BMW M Motorsport teams made the best of the resources available to us. Fifth, seventh, and eighth places reflect the balance of power quite well from my perspective. It’s a shame that we couldn’t fight for victory at our home race this time.”
Augusto Farfus (#98 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, ROWE Racing, 5th place): “It has been a bitter end for us. We gave it all. It was difficult to keep the car on track, so I feel sorry for Lello. I think a podium was in our reach, but no more. We executed the race very well, apart from this very little mistake with the track limits. The team did perfect pit stops, the strategy and everything were also perfect. It was so close but then so far away. But I think we have enough reasons to smile, and I have enough reasons to smile for the opportunity BMW M Motorsport gave to me to compete in the three biggest 24-hour races in the world with a competitive car. This is what I take from it, including the victory at the Nürburgring just one week ago.”
Ugo de Wilde (#32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Team WRT, 7th place): “I think that everyone will be disappointed with the result because it was not what we aimed for. But I think we can be proud of the entire team. Everyone did the best he could, the team members, the hospitality staff, the mechanics, strategists, engineers, team managers, drivers. We all pushed for it. This time, we did not have the tools to win the race but we did the most with what we had. And for getting the result there is always also a parameter which is called luck. Sometimes you need to be in the right place at the right time and that wasn’t the case in this race. But I am very proud of my team and my team-mates. Everyone did an amazing job and will try to learn from the things that we can improve, we will analyse the details and try to come back stronger. We still have a championship to fight for and we took important points for that. So we focus on the positives.”
Dries Vanthoor (#31 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Team WRT, 8th place): “Eighth place is not the result we came here for. Unfortunately, we had too many issues during the race that set us back. The torn-off diffuser, which we had to repair, cost us a lap. We tried everything to make up that lap, but we simply lacked the necessary luck in this race. It’s frustrating to try for so many hours and still not succeed in the end. I think we had the speed to achieve a top-5 result. Anything more would have been difficult anyway.”
Kevin Magnussen (#46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Team WRT, 11th place): “All in all, it was a good experience to compete in this race and to drive the BMW M 4 GT3 EVO. It didn’t go the way we hoped but we had a clean race. We didn’t have any issues, we didn’t get any penalties, we didn’t have any damage. So we did the best we could and I think we were close to finish in the top ten. It’s obviously not the best result we could wish for but it was a nice experience and I am thankful for the opportunity. It was great to share the car with Valentino and René, that was a real privilege. Now I am looking forward to more.”
Valentino Rossi (#46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Team WRT, 11th place): “It’s emotional to finish such a race because it involves a lot of effort. The last ten hours were very long. I find it more demanding than Le Mans because the track is physically more challenging. I was tired at the end, but I drove well in my last two stints. The goal was to finish in the top 10. Unfortunately, we never had the necessary pace for more, we were never fast enough. In the end, we drove a good race, and I got along very well with Kevin and René. I enjoyed it. I also learned a lot, which will make me even stronger next time.”
Dan Harper (#998 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, ROWE Racing, 29th place): “It has been a rollercoaster. The guys prepared the car brilliantly as always. The car was very fast as we have seen in the race. Unfortunately at the end, after leading for a period and always fighting in the top three, a FCY came at the wrong time for us which dropped us back. From that point we never got the luck back in our favour. It was shame. In the end I think we didn’t have the pace to compete against the Lamborghini. Congratulations to them, they have always been fast here and never had a result. It was also a shame for the #98 to miss out the podium in the end. But I think that ROWE Racing can still be proud, with two cars fighting for the podium the whole way to the finish after a fantastic victory at the Nürburgring last week. They always perform and it is just a shame for them and BMW M Motorsport to miss out on the podium.”