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.”
