Augusto Farfus, Dan Harper and Max Hesse win the season opener.

Le Castellet. the knot is broken! ROWE Racing gives BMW M Motorsport its first major win of 2024 in the season opener of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS in Le Castellet (FRA), Dan Harper (GBR) and Max Hesse (GER). they will reward themselves with a strong performance in the #998 BMW M4 GT3 and can look forward to their first victory in the top-class racing series. Starting fifth on the grid, the trio put in an impressive performance and eventually crossed the finish line 13.5 seconds ahead of first place. In the #46 BMW M4 GT3 of the BMW M WRT Team, Valentino Rossi (ITA), Maxime Martin (BEL) and Raffaele Marciello (SUI) showed a good performance in fourth place.

The post-race video interview can be found here:

https://b.mw/GTWC_Interviews.

The #998 BMW M4 GT3 built by BMW M Motorsport Partner MultiBank Group came in third thanks to a strong start from Farfus putting the car on course for victory with a stunning maneuver against the previously leading Lamborghini. Hesse then crossed the finish line confidently to secure ROWE Racing’s fifth win in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS. The sister car with Marco Wittmann (GER), Nick Yelloly (GBR) and Philipp Eng (AUT) also did a great job and was on the way to the podium, but a problem during the second lap cost them precious seconds and they were forced out. Eng closing shortly before the end of the race additional fuel station. This dropped the #98 BMW M4 GT3 back to twelfth.

There were also mixed feelings at BMW M Team WRT. While Rossi, Martin and Marciello were happy with fourth place thanks to a strong final race, the #32 BMW M4 GT3 had to retire after Charles Weerts (BEL) collided with a competitor through no fault of his own and caused tire damage. The #30 BMW M4 GT3 of Team WRT, in which BMW M works driver Jens Klingmann (GER) shared the cockpit with Ahmad Al Harthy (OMA) and Sam De Haan (GBR), finished sixth in the Bronze Cup. Century Motorsport’s #991 BMW M4 GT3 with Jake Dennis, Darren Leung and Toby Sowery (all GBR) at the wheel was on course for a podium finish in the Bronze Cup, but then retired.

Sounds after the race.

Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “A great start to the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe season powered by AWS! Congratulations to Augusto Farfus, Dan Harper and Max Hesse with ROWE Racing for their win! A job well done. Many thanks to the team, drivers and all BMW M Motorsport staff who contributed to this success! We were unlucky at Daytona, Bathurst, Qatar and Sebring at the start of the season. Now the knot is untied and I hope we can carry the momentum to the end of the season. The BMW M WRT team also played well with the #46 BMW M4 GT3 driven by Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin and Raffaele Marciello. The three got along perfectly in the new constellation and lacked just a little talent. It’s a shame that there were problems with the #98 BMW M4 GT3 from ROWE Racing and the #32 BMW M4 GT3 from BMW M Team WRT We have to look closely at the fueling problem, which probably cost the ROWE Racing trio a podium place.

Hans-Peter Naundorf (ROWE Team Competition): “It was a great start to the season for the team! Augusto Farfus, Dan Harper and Max Hesse showed impressively today where the hammer is and how the combination of an experienced mentor and the wild guys works well. Dan and Max have proven that they are the drivers of first-class BMW M works. All three did a great job, drove smartly and executed the strategy brilliantly. The whole team showed the combination of discipline and passion that you need to be at the top of this elite series again this year. I feel sorry for them the guys from #98 because they also did a flawless job and deserved to be on the podium too. Unfortunately, there was a fuel flow violation when leaving their last pit, which caused them to lose time and then have to stop extra. No problem this, a double victory would be possible, like last year in Monza.”

Augusto Farfus (#998 BMW M4 GT3, ROWE Racing, 1.
Square): “It is a great honor for me to share the car with these two great people. This victory belongs to the whole team. We complemented each other very well: I started well and took third place, Dan led with his extreme maneuver, and Max bravely took the win in the last stage I have followed Dan and Max’s progress since the beginning and now I share the car with real professionals.

Dan Harper (#998 BMW M4 GT3, ROWE Racing, 1.
Square): “It’s a very special feeling to win the start of the season after being second last year – great! A great way to start the year with ROWE Racing, Augusto and Max. Many thanks to BMW M Motorsport for this opportunity! We worked well together as a team , we had no problems and all three of us were satisfied with the driving experience in the car.

Max Hesse (#998 BMW M4 GT3, ROWE Racing, 1.
Square): “That was a great start. This season, 20 expert cars and some of the best GT drivers in the world are fighting, and to win the first race with Augusto, Dan and ROWE Racing is very special for me. I will remember this day for a long time. .”

Raffaele Marciello (#46 BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team WRT, 4th place):
“Fourth place is a good result for us which brings us important points. But we cannot be completely satisfied, because if another team wins a race with a BMW M4 GT3, we must be able to do it too. Congratulations to ROWE Racing! We will prepare well for the next race.”

Philipp Eng (#98 BMW M4 GT3, ROWE Racing, 12.
Square): “I’m very happy for our sister car. That was an amazing win. The whole team did a great job all weekend. Unfortunately we didn’t have the balance we wanted in qualifying, but the car was very good for the race. For a long time it looked like a platform, if not one-two, for the ROWE Championship and BMW M Motorsport. Then unfortunately we had a refueling problem and had to stop again to finish. However, I’m very happy for my team-mates.”

Charles Weerts (#32 BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team WRT, retired):
“I got off to a good start and moved up to fifth when I won two cars with Max in the number 46. That was great! Then there was a very aggressive Ferrari driver who hit me twice in one lap. Unfortunately, the second contact caused a tire failure , which basically ended our race. That’s a shame because we had a very strong car and could have had a good result.”