BMW M Motorsport and ROWE Racing are launching a new mentoring project in the GT World Challenge Europe.

Munich. BMW M Motorsport has been proud of its excellent mix of experience, youth and talent in the works driver line-up for years. With the aim of making even better use of this mix, a new mentoring project is being launched in collaboration with ROWE Racing in the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS 2026. The #998 BMW M4 GT3 EVO will combine the experience of long-time BMW M works driver Jens Klingmann (GER) with the talent of his two youngest works driver colleagues Ugo de Wilde (BEL) and Tim Tramnitz (GER). The car will have a special GEN M design.

The “United by Performance” slogan, communicated with the GEN M brand impulse of BMW M GmbH, will be given a further facet in BMW M Motorsport in the coming season. The idea is for BMW M works drivers to benefit even more from each other and make each other even stronger by working closely together. In the #998 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Klingmann’s skill and experience make him the ideal mentor for young and highly talented drivers like de Wilde and Tramnitz.

The sporting success story, the high level of expertise in dealing with drivers and the excellent relationship of trust between the team and the manufacturer make ROWE Racing a great partner for the project.

The first joint race will take place at the season opener of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup on 11th April at Le Castellet (FRA). This will be followed by four more Endurance Cup races, including the highlight at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL). Thanks to its striking GEN M design, the car will be an eye-catcher in the large starting field throughout the season. Klingmann, de Wilde and Tramnitz are competing in the Gold Cup and are therefore not in direct competition with the Pro Cup cars of ROWE Racing and Team WRT. Nevertheless, the aim is to compete for top positions, even though the positive development of the drivers is at least as important as sporting results in this project.

Hans-Peter Naundorf (Team Principal ROWE Racing): “The primary goal for the #998 BMW M4 GT3 EVO is the targeted further development of our drivers in a performance-orientated, but at the same time supportive environment. With Jens Klingmann, Ugo de Wilde and Tim Tramnitz, we are consciously focusing on a combination of experience and young talent. Jens takes on a central role as a mentor, contributing his many years of experience and technical expertise and providing targeted support to the young drivers. For ROWE Racing, this project is a logical development; we are making an even more conscious contribution to our expertise in promoting young talent and making our performance and know-how more visible.”

Jens Klingmann (#998 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, ROWE Racing): “The GT World Challenge Europe is one of the absolute top GT3 racing series in the world. I’m particularly looking forward to the coming season because two hearts are beating in my chest. The racer’s heart, which once again wants to fight for victories and titles and the mentoring heart, which has become increasingly important in recent years. It is very important to me to expand my area of responsibility beyond pure racing and to pass on my knowledge to the younger generation. In this case, these are the two great talents Ugo de Wilde and Tim Tramnitz. I have learnt a lot over the past 13 years at BMW M Motorsport and have played a key role in the development of many racing cars. I would like to thank those responsible for their trust in letting me pass on this knowledge.”

Ugo de Wilde (#998 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, ROWE Racing): “I’m really looking forward to working with a team that has such a fantastic track record. I fought with WRT against ROWE Racing in 2025, now I can’t wait to race with them. Our driver line-up is a great challenge for me. Tim is in a situation that I was in last year. I hope I can give him a tip or two. On the other hand, I can benefit greatly from Jens’ experience. Not only does he have enormous speed and technical knowledge, but he is also a great guy with whom I get on very well. I think we have a great mix in our car and I hope that we will have a great season in the Gold Cup and achieve some successes.”

Tim Tramnitz (#998 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, ROWE Racing): “I’m very excited about the new challenge in GT racing, which is very different to what I’ve done before. The team and my fellow drivers have made it very easy for me to get started over the past few weeks. The atmosphere among us is great. Jens in particular is a great help with his experience and openness. Many things are new to me, especially the car, of course, with all its systems that I have to understand. But the processes and working methods are also very different from single-seater racing. I will learn a lot throughout the season and am happy to have Jens, Ugo and ROWE Racing at my side.”