BMW M6 GT3 teams work their ways towards the front in the early stages of the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.

Nürburgring. The 45^th edition of the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring (GER) is underway – and the BMW teams have started the endurance classic in the Eifel mountains without any major incidents. At 20:00, a total of four BMW M6 GT3 cars are positioned within the top 10 of the overall standings. The highest placed BMW is the #42 of BMW Team Schnitzer, driven by Augusto Farfus (BRA), Marco Wittmann (GER), Martin Tomczyk (GER) and Tom Blomqvist (GBR) in sixth position.

In hot and sunny conditions, with temperatures up to 27 degrees Celsius, the field of 160 cars started the journey through the “Green Hell” at 15:30. The BMW drivers did not take any risks in the early stages and soon got into their rhythm. Only the team of Walkenhorst Motorsport experienced some bad luck: the #101 BMW M6 GT3 dropped back due to technical issues but is still in the race.

The endurance test for the new BMW M4 GT4 is going well so far. Dirk Adorf (GER), who takes part in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring for the 25^th time, BMW Motorsport Junior Ricky Collard (GBR), Jörg Weidinger (GER) and Jethro Bovingdon (GBR) are currently 42^nd overall.

Drivers’ quotes:

Marco Wittmann (#42 BMW M6 GT3, BMW Team Schnitzer): “So far, so good. We still are in the first hours of racing, so you can’t say too much right now. My stint was generally okay; now and then there were Code 60s and yellow flags. First of all, it is important to come through the opening phase of the race without any incidents. Thanks for crossing the fingers for us.”

António Félix da Costa (#43 BMW M6 GT3, BMW Team Schnitzer): “I can only say ‚Wow‘ after my first race 24h race laps in the BMW M6 GT3. This race is a big adventure, there are so many cars out there. Although it’s a 24-hour race, everyone tries to not lose any time in traffic. Initially I tried to get a good feeling in the car. Then it ‘clicked‘. From that moment I had a good pace and could overtake some cars. Hopefully there are many more stints to come.”

Alexander Sims (#98/#99 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing): “It was all smooth and it went well. We pitted early compared to the rest, to get some clean track and that worked well I think. All is working well so far. I honestly didn't know I had been leading the race until I came into the box, but it's never a bad place to be.”

Jörg Müller (#19/#20 BMW M6 GT3, Schubert Motorsport): “I drove the start and it went pretty well. But one thing is for sure: this is the hottest 24-hour race I have ever contested here. It is crucial to manage the tyres well and I succeeded in doing that.”

Philipp Eng (#99 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing): “It is a really hot race. We can still feel the high temperatures in the cockpit despite the fact that we have great air conditioning in the BMW M6 GT3. You could see that everyone is cautious in the early stages of the race, especially when it comes to lapping in traffic. You need to manage the tyres very well and bring them safely over the distance. We should be able to improve in the standings when it gets cooler.”

Dirk Adorf (#40 BMW M4 GT4, Securtal Sorg Rennsport): “It is nearly relaxing to drive the BMW M4 GT4 – despite the hot conditions. This is exactly how a customer racing car should be: you should feel comfortable behind the wheel and this is just the case with the BMW M4 GT4. We don’t have any issues and are going a pretty fast pace.”

Positions of the BMW M6 GT3 teams at 20:00:

#19 BMW M6 GT3, Schubert Motorsport – 9^th

Jens Klingmann (GER), Jörg Müller (GER), John Edwards (USA), Tom Onslow-Cole (GBR)

#20 BMW M6 GT3, Schubert Motorsport – 21^st

Jesse Krohn (FIN), Jörg Müller (GER), Bruno Spengler (CAN), Kuno Wittmer (CAN)

#42, BMW M6 GT3, BMW Team Schnitzer – 6^th

Marco Wittmann (GER), Tom Blomqvist (GBR), Martin Tomczyk (GER), Augusto Farfus (BRA)

#43, BMW M6 GT3, BMW Team Schnitzer – 7^th

Augusto Farfus (BRA), Alexander Lynn (GBR), António Félix da Costa (POR), Timo Scheider (GER)

#98 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing – 16^th

Markus Palttala (FIN), Nick Catsburg (NED), Alexander Sims (GBR), Richard Westbrook (GBR)

#99 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing – 10^th

Philipp Eng (AUT), Alexander Sims (GBR), Maxime Martin (BEL), Marc Basseng (GER)

#33 BMW M6 GT3, Falken Motorsports – 14^th

Peter Dumbreck (GBR), Alexandre Imperatori (SUI), Stef Dusseldorp (NED), Marco Seefried (GER)

#101 BMW M6 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport – 110^th

Henry Walkenhorst (GER), Jordan Tresson (FRA), David Schiwietz (GER), Jaap van Lagen (NED)