An exceptionally demanding edition of the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps concluded with a Gold Cup victory for the BMW M4 GT3 EVO. BMW M works drivers Ugo de Wilde, Tim Tramnitz and Jens Klingmann won their class in the #998 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO by an impressive six-lap margin, finishing 11th overall. Additional podium finishes came courtesy of Team WRT and Paradine Competition in the Silver Cup and Bronze Cup. The fight for the overall victory proved disappointing for BMW M Motorsport however. Although all drivers and teams delivered near-flawless performances in extreme heat, it was not enough to challenge for the very top positions. The highest-finishing BMW M4 GT3 EVO overall was the #46 Team WRT entry, with Dan Harper, Max Hesse and Valentino Rossi taking sixth place.
Following a difficult qualifying session, in which none of the BMW M4 GT3 EVOs managed to secure the anticipated positions towards the front of the grid, the cars embarked on a 24-hour charge through the field under scorching temperatures on Saturday afternoon. Starting from 20th on the grid, the #46 car steadily worked its way forward. During the early morning hours, Harper, Hesse and Rossi even led the race, curtesy of a very good strategy. They, however, ultimately lacked the performance to maintain that position over the remainder of the race and crossed the finish line in sixth place.
Starting from 24th, the #998 car climbed as high as eighth overall before losing ground on Sunday, partly due to an unfortunate Safety Car period. Nevertheless, the Gold Cup victory for de Wilde, Tramnitz and Klingmann was never in doubt.
The #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO, driven by Kelvin van der Linde, Jordan Pepper and Charles Weerts, as well as the #98 ROWE Racing entry with Augusto Farfus, Jake Dennis and Raffaele Marciello, were also among the pre-race favourites for overall victory. Farfus, Dennis and Marciello ultimately finished ninth after suffering two tyre punctures that dropped them down the order. They fought back impressively, but a higher finishing position was out of reach. The #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO sustained left-side damage in heavy traffic at the race start, losing significant ground early on. From as far back as 42nd place, van der Linde, Pepper and Weerts recovered to ninth before a mechanical issue forced their retirement shortly before the finish. They were classified 12th overall.
In the Silver Cup, Team WRT secured second place with the #30 BMW M4 GT3 EVO. Ignacio Montenegro, Matisse Lismont, Amaury Cordeel and Mathieu Detry finished just 11 seconds shy of class victory. Paradine Competition's #991 BMW M4 GT3 EVO also claimed second place in the Bronze Cup, with James Kellett, Darren Leung, David Pittard and Leyton Fourie sharing driving duties.
The #992 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Paradine Competition's second Bronze Cup entry, saw its race end on the opening lap. Starting driver Christian Hahn was caught up in a multi-car incident through no fault of his own and was pushed into the barriers. Meanwhile, the #42 Oman Racing by Century Motorsport entry retired during the night following contact.
We are leaving Spa with mixed feelings. We travelled to the 24-hour race with the ambition of having a say in the fight for overall victory. As record winners, that is our expectation. Therefore, it is very disappointing for BMW M Motorsport that we were unable to achieve that in the overall ranking with these strong drivers, teams, and the BMW M4 GT3 EVO, which has already proven itself multiple times as a successful endurance racing car. I am delighted for Jens Klingmann, Ugo de Wilde, and Tim Tramnitz, who secured the Gold Cup class victory in the Gen M car. Many thanks to ROWE Racing for the outstanding performance.
It was a hot event in every sense of the word. A huge thank you goes to our entire team and our partners at BMW M Motorsport and ROWE. The fact that all of our cars made it to the finish in these record-breaking temperatures is a tremendous achievement and a testament to the team's spirit and the commitment of every single team member. What makes it even more special is that we took the Gold Cup victory with our Gold entry – something we honestly hadn't expected beforehand.
Everyone involved put an incredible amount of effort into preparing for this race, so we arrived exceptionally well prepared. The drivers and the team did an outstanding job, and the car felt really good but apparently, we just weren't meant to be part of the party.
Driver statements.
Valentino Rossi (#46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Team WRT, 6th place overall): “I'm happy because we did a great job. It was a race that was close to perfection. We had every reason to dream of a great result. When I woke up this morning, we were leading the race, and that was fantastic. But afterwards, it was a real shame that, in normal dry conditions, we simply didn't have the pace to fight for the win or even for a podium. That was disappointing. Still, the team and my teammates did a great job, and I really enjoyed it.”
Augusto Farfus (#98 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, ROWE Racing, 9th place overall): “We actually drove a perfect race. Unfortunately, we suffered two punctures, which was obviously extremely unlucky. It's a shame because they dropped us down the order. We definitely could have finished much higher, but in the end, that was out of our hands. I'm satisfied with the job we did, and now we'll keep working.”
Tim Tramnitz (#998 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, ROWE Racing, 1st place Gold Cup): “I’m incredibly happy – it feels fantastic. Given where we started, we certainly didn’t expect to win, especially not by such a large margin. But everyone did an amazing job. We got through the race very cleanly, had a great set-up, and the car worked beautifully. It felt excellent throughout the race and remained very consistent during the night.”
Charles Weerts (#32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Team WRT, 12th place overall): “The disappointment couldn’t be much higher. I felt that today could finally be our day. I truly believed it was possible. We definitely had the team and the car. Everything was in place. Unfortunately, throughout the entire week we just didn't have the pace, so we never really had the chance to fight at the front. Retiring with two laps to go hurts a lot. On the other hand, we weren’t in a position to challenge for the lead anyway. That’s disappointing, because after all the work put in by the mechanics, the engineers and BMW M Motorsport, we at least deserved to make it to the finish. But that's racing. Life goes on, and we'll look ahead.”
Matisse Lismont (#30 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Team WRT, 2nd place Silver Cup): “I am very satisfied with the result. Of course, the class victory was also possible, but considering we started from 14th place, we can be very happy with our performance. We had no penalties, no accidents, and no pit stops due to damage to the car. The strategy was also spot on. I am very happy with the work of the team and the mechanics, and my teammates also did a great job.”
Darren Leung (#991 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Paradine Competition, 2nd place Bronze Cup): “Overall, we executed a really good race. I am super proud of the team and the drivers. They all did an incredible job. To come away with P2 has been fantastic. It has been really nice that we survived this year because in the last two years we were super strong and we had been drawn from the lead through no fault of us own so we are really looking forward to next year now.”