PressClub Global · Article.
No. 1 in position no. 1: Nick Yelloly claims pole position in the rain in the ROWE Racing BMW M6 GT3.
04.06.2021 Press Release
Nürburgring. Last year’s winners ROWE Racing lived up to the #1 on the BMW M6 GT3 in Top Qualifying. In difficult conditions on a wet circuit, Nick Yelloly (GBR) claimed pole position for the Nürburgring 24 Hours with a lap time of 10:01.619 minutes. The race will start on Saturday at 15:30. Jesse Krohn (FIN) finished fourth in the Schubert Motorsport #20 BMW M6 GT3, while Max Hesse (GER) was tenth in the #77 BMW M6 GT3 of the BMW Junior Team.
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Benedikt Torka
BMW Group
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Nürburgring. Last year’s winners ROWE Racing lived up to the
#1 on the BMW M6 GT3 in Top Qualifying. In difficult conditions on a
wet circuit, Nick Yelloly (GBR) claimed pole position for the
Nürburgring 24 Hours with a lap time of 10:01.619 minutes. The race
will start on Saturday at 15:30. Jesse Krohn (FIN) finished fourth
in the Schubert Motorsport #20 BMW M6 GT3, while Max Hesse (GER) was
tenth in the #77 BMW M6 GT3 of the BMW Junior Team. Just before the
start of Top Qualifying, the lap of honour for the BMW M3
‘Eifelblitz’ in memory of Sabine Schmitz ensured a sensational atmosphere.
While the track was still dry, Augusto Farfus (BRA) had
put the BMW Junior Team in a position to battle for the top ten by
recording the third-fastest time in the first part of Top Qualifying,
thereby qualifying for the top 20 shootout. Hesse then held his nerve
as stormy weather led to extremely challenging track
conditions.
The session went even better for Yelloly, who
coped best with the conditions to lap more than two seconds faster
than the second-placed car. A strong performance in the individual
time trial put Krohn in third place for some time, but he was still
pleased to finish fourth and secure a spot on the second row of the
grid.
The Walkenhorst Motorsport #100 car competing in the
Pro-Am class had also made it into Top Qualifying 2, but chose not to
appear for safety reasons and was classified in 20th position. The
Walkenhorst Motorsport #101 BMW M6 GT3, the #98 BMW M6 GT3 from ROWE
Racing and the Walkenhorst Motorsport #102 BMW M6 GT3 will start the
race from 24th, 25th and 30th positions.
Appearance of ‘Eifelblitz’ in memory of Sabine Schmitz evokes
real emotion.
The 30 minutes leading up to the first of the two Top Qualifying
sessions were dominated by memories of the recently deceased
Nürburgring legend Sabine Schmitz. Johannes Scheid, who won the
24-hour race together with Schmitz in 1996 and 1997 at the wheel of
the BMW M3 ‘Eifelblitz’, completed a lap of honour around the
Nordschleife in a replica of the winning car from 1996. It started in
the pit lane, accompanied by applause from the other teams and
drivers, who emerged from their pit areas to form a guard of honour
for the ‘Eifelblitz’. “It was very emotional to first see everyone in
the pit lane and then the track marshals along the circuit, who had
even made their own banners,” said Scheid after his lap. “I said to
Sabine: ‘They are all there for you’. It was very moving. It still
gives me a chill just to think about it. We owed it to her and I think
it is fantastic that BMW made it possible.”
Reactions to Top Qualifying:
Mike Krack (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “The
conditions for qualifying today were extremely difficult and we are
very pleased with the BMW performance. Last year’s winners ROWE Racing
and Nick Yelloly in pole position after an outstanding display of
driving, Jesse Krohn in fourth place in the BMW M6 GT3 from Schubert
Motorsport and Max Hesse in the BMW Junior Team car, which Augusto
Farfus got out of Q1 and into Q2, in tenth position – that was a
superb performance. But that is just the beginning. We have a very
long race ahead of us, and it will all be about making a few errors as
possible. Today, the Nordschleife has already shown that you can
always expect unpredictable weather conditions and it will be no
different tomorrow. And you have to consider the strength of the
competition. We have a mature and reliable car in the form of the BMW
M6 GT3, we have very good teams and we have very good drivers.
Together, we will attempt to get the very best out of this. We are
looking forward to this race.“
Nick Yelloly (#1 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing, 1st place):
“I am very, very happy to bring that pole home for BMW. Obviously
after last year’s event, when we managed to win, to start off like
this is just superb. I couldn’t picture a better start to the weekend.
It was pretty tricky and slippery out there but it worked out. Now
it’s all about focusing for the race. We know that it is going to be
mixed conditions so we have to be very good and on top of our game in
terms of calling the right pit strategy and tyre choice. But the team
were amazing, as were BMW, last year in doing so, so there is no
reason why we can’t do it again.”
Jesse Krohn (#20 BMW M6 GT3, Schubert Motorsport, 4th
place): “I am very happy. Obviously starting in the top ten
is quite important in this race and we managed to qualify in the top
five so I can be happy especially as I can’t even remember the last
time I drove here on the wet and many of the other guys drove a lot
here last year so in that sense they had a bit of an advantage. But I
just went to the risk level that I was comfortable with, that I knew I
can do a good job with and not risk the car. Because tomorrow is the
big day, today was just one step to the goal.”
Max Hesse (#77 BMW M6 GT3, BMW Junior Team, 10th
place): “Mega! That was the first time I had ever driven any
laps in the GT3 car in the rain. From the start, I realised that it
would not be an easy task. But overall, we are of course super happy
with tenth place. It's our first top ten result at our first 24-hour
race in the GT3. A big thank you to Augusto as well; his Q1 lap was
really great. The lads did a super job and the car went perfectly. All
four of us feel really good in the car and now it is all about
focusing on the race, we still have 24 hours of driving ahead of us.”
Augusto Farfus (#77 BMW M6 GT3, BMW Junior Team, 10th
place): “It is awesome! Considering that Max has never tried
a GT3 in the wet, he did a superb job. I am very proud of what we have
done. Top Qualifying 1 was not an easy one because there was no room
for mistakes so we did do a good job and went through to Q2. Then Max
did a great job. We have three BMWs in the top ten – it could not be
any better.”