Racing instead of rain: The 24-hour race remains turbulent for the BMW teams after the restart.

Nürburgring (DE), 28th May 2016. After an interruption due to the weather at the start, the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring (DE) got going again in the evening. Shortly after 20:00hrs, the field restarted the 44th running of the endurance classic and got back to the racing action the spectators were hoping for. After the BMW M6 GT3 was briefly one-two at the front of the field, the number 100 Schubert Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 driven by John Edwards (US), Jens Klingmann (DE), Lucas Luhr (DE) and Martin Tomczyk (DE) is the best-placed BMW in seventh.

After the restart, Jörg Müller (DE) in the number 18 Schubert Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 and Markus Palttala (FI) at the wheel of the number 22 ROWE Racing initially took the top two spots in the field. Müller initially dropped down the field after an early tyre change, but then worked his way back up into first place. A technical failure related to the powertrain on lap 17 forced Müller to stop in the number 18 BMW M6 GT3. The car went back to the Schubert Motorsport garage.

Palttala also lost some positions following a puncture and then made up ground. After switching to slicks and with Richard Westbrook (GB) at the wheel, car number 22 is in 20th.

An electronic problem meant that Philipp Eng (AT) in the number 23 BMW M6 GT3 was only able to get involved in the racing action belatedly after the restart and also dropped down the field. After a race to catch up, the second ROWE Racing car is back in 19th. The two Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3s are in 21st (number 999) and 39th (number 101) after six and a half hours.

In the Cup 5 class for BMW M235i Racing cars, Michael Schrey (DE), Alexander Mies (DE), Emin Akata (DE) and Dries Vanthoor (BE) of Bonk Motorsport are in the lead.

Driver quotes after six and a half hours:

Markus Palttala (ROWE Racing, number 22 BMW M6 GT3):
“We wanted to take it steady and avoid taking any risks. Then we found ourselves running really well. I was able to pass the Schubert car and then had clear visibility. However, I was then unable to keep the Mercedes behind me. I don’t know what then caused the puncture. We lost a few minutes, but it could have been worse if it had happened somewhere else on the circuit.”

Philipp Eng (ROWE Racing, number 23 BMW M6 GT3):
“A problem stopped my engine from firing up at the start of the warm-up lap. The guys did a fantastic job fixing the problem. Then I drove at the back of the field. The conditions at the restart were still very treacherous. Then the more the track dried out, the better our balance became, so we moved up the field little by little. Naturally this is the way we want to continue.”

Jörg Müller (Schubert Motorsport, number 18 BMW M6 GT3):
“The first thing I noticed was a vibration in the car. At first I thought it was a puncture, but then I suddenly lost power and it started to smoke. Something broke in the drivetrain. It is a big shame, as we were running really well.”

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Positions in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring (as at: 22:00hrs):

Number 18 BMW M6 GT3, Schubert Motorsport, 76th place

Augusto Farfus (BR), Jesse Krohn (FI), Jörg Müller (DE), Marco Wittmann (DE)

Number 22 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing, 20th place

Klaus Graf (DE), Richard Westbrook (GB), Nicky Catsburg (NL), Markus Palttala (FI)

Number 23 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing, 19th place

Alexander Sims (GB), Philipp Eng (AT), Maxime Martin (BE), Dirk Werner (DE)

Number 100 BMW M6 GT3, Schubert Motorsport, 7th place

John Edwards (US), Jens Klingmann (DE), Lucas Luhr (DE), Martin Tomczyk (DE)

Number 101 BMW M6 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport powered by Dunlop, 39th place

Matias Henkola (FI), Kazunori Yamauchi (JP), Max Sandritter (DE), George Richardson (GB)

Number 999 BMW M6 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport powered by Dunlop, 21st place

Victor Bouveng (SE), Tom Blomqvist (GB), Christian Krognes (NO), Michele di Martino (DE)

Number 99 BMW Z4 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport powered by Dunlop, 135th place

Henry Walkenhorst (DE), Peter Posavac (DE), Daniela Schmid (DE), Jaap van Lagen (NL)