Having started from ninth place, the members of the BMW Junior Team and BMW M works drivers Dan Harper, Max Hesse and Neil Verhagen found themselves delayed in the pack after a slight collision, and ultimately crossed the finish line fifth. Jakub Giermaziak secured pole position for Walkenhorst Motorsport. However, his team-mate Andy Soucek immediately lost several positions at the start. The #34 BMW M4 GT3 was running fifth until shortly before the end of the race, but was then forced to retire. BMW M works drivers Jake Dennis and Thomas Neubauer shared the driving duties in the #35 car. They finished 39th after suffering technical issues.

“I can swap ‘Welcome to the team’ for ‘Welcome to the podium, Dries and Maxime!’ They both had a superb debut with us in the team. The race was the perfect start to the season, although it was closer than it perhaps looked. There were a lot of crashes and Code 60 phases on the track, which made it tiring and demanding. However, both drivers did a perfect job and we don’t have a single scratch on the cars. As we only had two drivers at the track today, we had to decide whether to just make up the numbers of go for the win. We decided to go on the offensive and, after one and a half stints, put all our eggs in one basket – the better-placed car – and took the #98 out of the race. The success shows we made the right decision.”