BMW has a special relationship with the Green Hell. The track has been used by the Germans to test their cars for decades to get the best setup for a car. BMW also races here in various motorsport events and the latest brought a victory for the BMW M6 GT3 in the VLN Endurance Championship Nurburgring opener. John Edwards, Nick Catsburg and Marco Wittmann managed to win the 65th ADAC Westfalenfahrt in the ROWE Racing #99 car.
In the #98 sister car, Tom Blomqvist, Connor De Phillippi and Mikkel Jensen finished in third place to round off a strong result. There was already evidence of the BMW M6 GT3’s potential in qualifying, which was postponed by several hours due to fog. Blomqvist secured pole position at the wheel of car #98. The race, which was reduced to two hours and 45 minutes, provided spectators with excitement down to the final meter.
After numerous changes at the front, and close duels, Edwards pulled off the winning maneuver on the 20th and final lap. BMW works driver Jens Klingmann was also in action in the Eifel mountains behind the wheel of the Team Falken Motorsports #3 BMW M6 GT3. Alongside Alexandre Imperatori, he finished in eighth place, while a BMW M6 GT3 was also at the front in the SP9 Pro-Am class. Rudi Adams, Immanuel Vinke and Jody Fannin were victorious in the #35 Walkenhorst Motorsport car, and finished twelfth overall in the standings.
A total of more than 50 BMW cars were represented in the first 2019 race at the “Green Hell”. In addition to six BMW M6 GT3s, five BMW M4 GT4s also battled for points in the SP10 class, and recorded two podiums. In the #181 Team Sorg Rennsport BMW M4 GT4, BMW Motorsport Junior Erik Johansson and Heiko Eichenberg finished in second place. The #180 BMW M4 GT4 driven by Stefan Beyer, Emin Akata and Torsten Kratz took third place. The second race in the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring is scheduled for 13th April.
