The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup held its fourth round of the year on the weekend of September 19th-22nd, a three-hour race on the famed Monza circuit in Italy. BMW had a great weekend with a 1-2 finish and an improbable overall winner.
There were seven M4 GT3s on the 52-car entry list for Monza, with three in the Bronze class and four in the Pro class, including cars from factory-backed teams WRT and ROWE Racing. The BMWs were fast from the get-go, setting the two fastest times in free practice and putting a couple of cars in the top five in the three qualifying sessions (one for each driver). The fastest BMW in combined qualifying was the #32 M4 GT3 from BMW M Team WRT with drivers Charles Weerts, Dries Vanthoor, and Sheldon van der Linde, which qualified fourth, with the pole going to the #51 AF Corse Ferrari.
Unfortunately, one of the Pro class entries from ROWE Racing had their race end before it even started. Maxime Oosten was called up to fill in for Philipp Eng (who was racing in the IMSA race at Indianapolis) in the #98 car to share with Marco Wittmann and Robin Frijns but had a wreck in qualifying. Oosten was uninjured, but the damage to the car was extensive enough that it couldn’t be repaired in time for the race.
With 51 cars on the track and the top 30 or so cars only separated by around a half-second in lap times, all eyes were on turn one of the first lap, a tight right-hander that is the scene of a lot of accidents at Monza. Sure enough, several cars came together there on the first lap, with Sheldon van der Linde being forced off into the dirt after starting from fourth in the #32 M4 GT3, though he was able to continue.
The race went on to have other long caution periods, and for most of the race, it looked like the #51 AF Corse Ferrari that started from pole would win the race. However, BMW M Team WRT played their strategy to perfection to be in the top five toward the end of the race. New rules put into place before the Monza race required an additional pit stop, and WRT went with the strategy of getting their required pit stops out of the way early in the race, with pit stops late in the race used only for quick stops for fuel.
Surprisingly, the car that was at the front in the closing stages of the race after all pit stops were completed turned out to the #30 OQ by Oman Racing Bronze class entry (run by WRT) of Sam de Haan, Ahmad al Harthy, and works drivers Jens Klingmann, with Klingmann at the wheel (shown in top photo). WRT was also able to use their strategy to get the #32 M4 GT3 back at the front, despite their off-course excursion earlier in the race.
The #32 M4 GT3 of Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, and Charles Weerts finished second overall and first in the Pro class.
Team WRT had Klingmann let Dries Vanthoor by in the #32 car at one point (since he was a Pro class entry), but Klingmann passed Vanthoor in the closing laps when Vanthoor made contact with an Audi after his last pit stop and ran wide. Klingmann then stayed in the lead with Vanthoor in second, with the hard-charging Alessandro Pier-Guidi right behind Vanthoor in the #51 Ferrari. Vanthoor did a great job of holding the Ferrari off, while Klingmann kept up his pace to take the overall and Bronze class win.
The win by the #30 M4 GT3 was the first time that a non-Pro class entry had won overall, and it was the first win in the series for all three drivers. The #32 WRT car took second overall and first in the Pro class. “Overall victory for a Bronze car – that’s never happened before,” said Klingmann. “We can be incredibly proud of that because it seemed so out of reach. I can’t quite explain how it happened. I think our strategy was outstanding. Team WRT did a fantastic job – thank you for this great evening.”
BMW drivers celebrate their 1-2 finish. Right to left: Sheldon van der Linde, Charles Weerts, Dries Vanthoor, Sam de Haan, Jens Klingmann, Ahmad al Harthy.
The #46 WRT M4 GT3 of Maxime Martin, Valentino Rossi, and Rafaelle Marciello finished in the top five in fifth (fourth in the Pro class), and the #991 Century Motorsport entry of Darren Leung, Toby Sowery, and Jake Dennis finished second in the Bronze Cup class and seventh overall. The #998 ROWE Racing entry of Dan Harper, Max Hesse, and Augusto Farfus was in the lead for much of the race but had an issue with the right front wheel late in the race after a pit stop that took them out of the running.
The #46 M4 GT3 of Raffaele Marciello, Maxime Martin, and Valentino Rossi finished fifth overall.
The final round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup championship will take place at the Jeddah circuit in Saudi Arabia on November 28th-30th with a six-hour race. BMW M Team WRT sits third in team points, just two points behind leaders AF Corse.
The #991 Century Motorsport M4 GT3 finished second in the Bronze Cup class.
—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy SRO, BMW]
https://www.gt-world-challenge-europe.com/