Latest news with #RoweRacing
Belfast Telegraph
18 hours ago
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Dan Harper on why this could be his year at the ‘big one' after years of bad luck
The Hillsborough driver is making his fourth start at the twice-around-the-clock race with his regular German co-driver Max Hesse, and one-off team-mate, Austrian Philipp Eng. There is a real sense that this could finally be Harper's year as he has had to endure bitter disappointment on his three previous visits. Back in 2022, his silverware hunt was banished by a puncture, with the same fate befalling him last year, while in 2023, the car Harper was sharing had to be retired after it got caught up in an incident during the night. Only last Sunday, Harper and Hesse scored a first GTD Pro victory in the America IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at the Six Hours of Watkins Glen International in New York State. A day earlier, Rowe Racing triumphed at the Nürburgring 24 Hours to take BMW's total victory count around the famous 'Green Hell', in Germany, to 21 from all starts. Eng, meanwhile, has an enviable Spa record and is one of the most decorated drivers in the history of the Ardennes classic having won there three times, twice with Rowe Racing. 'I'm looking forward to the big one this weekend,' said Harper, who is being reunited with Rowe Racing for the first time since the World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup title decider in Saudi Arabia last December. 'We have had some bad luck at Spa these the last few years; on every occasion, we have been in contention for a podium, including 2024 we were fighting for the victory right up until the end only for a puncture before the last pit stop to deny us. 'We are competitive there which is encouraging, the BMW has been very strong there, and Rowe Racing are a fantastic and well-organised team who do very well in the longer endurance races, as they demonstrated at the Nürburgring last weekend with their win. 'Everyone in the team is naturally in good spirits, and myself and Max arrive at Spa on the back of our first win in IMSA, so yeah, I am really looking forward to it,' continued the 24-year-old. 'Having Philipp onboard is a boost, too. He has a great record a Spa with three victories, most recently in 2023, so I'm very excited to be sharing the car with him for the first time.' A 75-car field featuring machinery from 10 manufacturers such as Aston Martin, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Ferrari, Ford, Lamborghini and Porsche will line up for the 77th instalment of the 24 Hours of Spa, which begins on Saturday afternoon at 3.30pm UK time.
Top Gear
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
A BMW M4 won the 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours after a thrilling race
Motorsport Rowe Racing snatched it in the last few hours, after the leading Manthey Porsche was given a hefty penalty Skip 3 photos in the image carousel and continue reading This year's Nürburgring 24 Hours delivered the goods: a record 280,000-strong crowd, 30-degree heat and 140 cars. Throw in an electrical outage, a penalty and many crashes into that mix, and you end up with a spectacular 24 hours of racing that ended with a BMW M4 on the top step of the podium. The 4pm kick-off saw plenty of teams proceed with caution to avoid cooking their engines, particularly those in the lower classes. Underdogs Ollis Garage Racing and their hearty Dacia Logan stalled at the start, ending up in the pits after being cheered on by a lively crowd. You love to see it. Advertisement - Page continues below After just two hours, the race was halted due to said outage at the pit building. That meant no comms were available between drivers and their teams, and come nightfall, no lights anywhere along the track either. We suspect someone got a major telling off after that. Anyway, the rogue fuse was found and fixed after another three hours, and racing resumed with the 911 GT3 R of Manthey Racing in the lead, followed closely by Falken Racing's 911, while behind them were various Aston Martin Vantages, Ford Mustangs, Lamborghini Huracans and Mercedes-AMG GTs. You might like There was a lone Ferrari 296 GTB nestled in amongst the chasing pack, as well as the M4 of Rowe Racing. The latter started the race in 17th position after missing out on the final qualifying session, but managed to gain ground superbly. The Dacia also got back out onto the track at this point. That thing just doesn't give up, does it? Dusk approached, and disaster struck for Team Falken. With a gap of around 10 seconds to Manthey, their #33 GT3 R had a head-on collision with a GT3 Cup at the Mercedes-Arena curves, having been tapped by an old 3 Series. Mercifully, no serious injuries were reported. Advertisement - Page continues below It was game over for Falken's lead car, and much-needed breathing space for Manthey, who stayed strong throughout the night shift and looked certain to cross the chequered flag as the winner. The Nürburgring, it seemed, had other ideas. The heatwave picked back up as the cars headed into the afternoon stint, and 'Ring legend Kevin Estre was at the wheel for Manthey. As he wolfed down a backmarker Vantage, he dove onto the grass to pass and made contact, sending the Vantage into a flip. Officials deemed it a punishable offence, slapping a 100-second penalty on Manthey and Estre with only a few hours of racing to go. The Rowe BMW garage went into a frenzy: they'd been making ground and staying consistent with their laps, eventually crossing the line a few seconds behind Manthey. But with the penalty attached, they'd won by a fair margin. Impressive, considering most BMW customer teams chose to rest their cars for the forthcoming Spa 24 Hours, so Rowe fielded the only M4 this year. It means BMW has now wrestled bragging rights back from Audi, after it won the shortest-ever N24 last year. It is also BMW's first win at the event in five years, when Rowe claimed victory in 2020 with an M6 GT3. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.
TimesLIVE
6 days ago
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Kelvin van der Linde helps Rowe-BMW to Nürburgring 24 Hour victory
Rowe Racing managed to secure victory in the 53rd running of the ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring after a close contest with the Manthey Racing 'Grello' Porsche 911 GT3. The #98 BMW M4 GT3, driven by Augusto Farfus, Jesse Krohn, Raffaele Marciello and South Africa's Kelvin van der Linde, completed 141 laps to finish just over a minute ahead of the Manthey Porsche crewed by Kevin Estre, Ayhancan Güven and Thomas Preining. Though the Manthey entry crossed the line first, it was relegated to second place after incurring a 1:40 time penalty. The team had lodged a protest against the penalty, but it was dismissed by race stewards shortly before the end of the race. The result marks Rowe Racing's second overall win at the Nürburgring 24 Hours after its 2020 triumph and is BMW's 21st victory in the event. For Van der Linde, who celebrated his 29th birthday during the weekend, it was a third Nürburgring win after previous victories in 2017 and 2022. Farfus added a second title to his 2010 win, while Marciello and Krohn each claimed their first. Third place went to the #54 Dinamic Porsche shared by Bastian Buus, Matteo Cairoli, Loek Hartog and Joel Sturm. 'Things looked very different for us on Thursday,' said Rowe team principal Hans-Peter Naundorf. 'We had completely different thoughts. But of course you always want to win. Today, it wasn't the fastest car that won, but the team that made the fewest mistakes. That was us and we are proud of that.'
