GT World Challenge Europe: BMW M Team WRT crowned Team Champions after turbulent Jeddah finale.

Jeddah. T he season finale of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS was not for the faint-hearted. In the 6-hour Endurance Cup race in Jeddah (KSA), BMW M Team WRT narrowly missed the podium with both BMW M4 GT3s. The #32 car crossed the finish line under the floodlights in fourth place, closely followed by the #46 in fifth. In the team championship standings, BMW M Team WRT is crowned champion. In the Bronze Cup, the team secured a podium finish with the #30 BMW M4 GT3, taking second place after strong comebacks from a challenging qualifying session.

Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), Dries Vanthoor (BEL), and Charles Weerts (BEL) had to fight their way forward from 24th on the grid in the #32 BMW M4 GT3. Thanks to a perfect strategy, the car was running in third place with 20 minutes remaining. However, the finish was highly turbulent following a restart after a safety car period. In the battle for the podium, debris got in front of the radiator, and Vanthoor ultimately dropped back. In the drivers’ standings of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, Vanthoor and Weerts finished the season in second place, just 2.5 points behind the leaders.

In the #46 BMW M4 GT3, Maxime Martin (BEL), Valentino Rossi (ITA), and Raffaele Marciello (SUI) started from 23rd and, through clever strategy by BMW M Team WRT, even briefly took the lead. From there, they were in the mix for podium contention, ultimately finishing in fifth place after the dramatic closing stages.

The ROWE Racing #998 BMW M4 GT3, which had qualified best among the BMWs with 11th place, was also performing well in the race. The trio of Augusto Farfus (BRA), Max Hesse (GER), and Dan Harper (GBR) were in a strong position until Harper was hit heavily in the rear during a full course yellow period. Although Harper managed to bring the BMW M4 GT3, featuring the livery of BMW M Motorsport partner MultiBank Group, back to the pits, a damage in the chassis area meant a bitter, premature end to their race.

In the drivers’ standings of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, Vanthoor and Weerts finished the combined sprint and endurance season in second place, just 2.5 points behind the leaders. The team title decision remains pending as the results of a previous race have yet to be officially confirmed.

In the Bronze Cup, Jens Klingmann (GER), Ahmad Al Harthy (OMA), and Sam De Haan (GBR) also staged a comeback in the #30 BMW M4 GT3, starting from eighth place and finishing second on the podium after six thrilling hours of racing. Unfortunately, the Paradine Competition #991 BMW M4 GT3 from Century Motorsport retired after just one hour due to a technical defect while being driven by Toby Sowery (GBR). Sowery and his teammates Jake Dennis and Darren Leung (both GBR) had qualified third in the Bronze category. Leung, Harper and Paradine Competition had previously won the drivers’ and team titles in the Bronze category at the Barcelona (ESP) sprint finale.

Successes in the GT4 European Series.

At the GT4 European Series finale, also held in Jeddah over the weekend, BMW M Motorsport teams again had reasons to celebrate. Ricardo van der Ende (NED) and Benjamin Lessenes (BEL) claimed second place overall and in the Silver class in the second of two races with the #17 BMW M4 GT4 from L’Espace Bienvenue. They finished third in the final Silver class championship standings. Pedro Carvalho Ebrahim (BRA) from Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport earned the “Rookie of the Year” award. In the Am category, Antoni de Barn and Jean-Mathieu Leandri (both FRA) drove the #317 BMW M4 GT4 from Team Chazel Technologie Course to second place in their class in both races.

Quotes after the Jeddah season finale:

Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport: “We all expected a spectacular season finale in Jeddah – and that’s exactly what we got. Congratulations to the BMW M Team WRT, which stands at the top of the overall team standings in the GT World Challenge Europe after a long season. In practice and qualifying, our BMW M4 GT3s struggled a bit on the tight street circuit, but once again, the race pace was very strong. Add to that the right strategic decisions in a race with multiple yellow and safety car periods. A podium in the Pro class would have been well deserved, but positions were reshuffled in the final phase. With car number 32, we were on a secure podium position and thus on track for the title, but then, unfortunately, debris got in front of the radiator, and we lost positions in the first laps after the safety car. I am confident the #998 from ROWE Racing would have also been in contention for the podium if it hadn’t been forced to retire early through no fault of its own. That is racing, but I think everyone can be proud of what they did. Congratulations to the crew of the #30 car for another Bronze podium finish after their fantastic overall win at Monza. I want to thank all the teams and drivers for their hard work and dedication this season. I also want to congratulate our customer racing teams in the GT4 European Series, who rose to the challenge of Jeddah magnificently.”

Vincent Vosse, Team Principal BMW M Team WRT: “As we say, a hard one to swallow. The last 20 minutes were a bit crazy. We were fighting for P2, giving us the Overall Drivers and Endurance Teams championships, on top of the Overall Teams’ title. At the end, due to debris we got in the radiator, we had to slow down. We lost three positions, and two titles. Anyway, we finish second in the Overall Drivers championship, 2.5 points behind Maro Engel and Lucas Auer. Congrats to them. In the end, we are still Overall (Sprint and Endurance) Teams champions, which is a great reward! It was a tough season but a good one. We had some ups and downs, but we will remember the exceptional win of car 30 in Monza. It was a special and incredible one with a 1-2 finish. This is what I will remember from the Endurance Championship!”

Hans-Peter Naundorf, Team Principal ROWE Racing: “It’s somewhat symbolic that this season ends like this. It started perfectly with the Le Castellet victory, but after that, we had a lot of bad luck with retirements, tyre failures, unavoidable contacts, and accidents. The performance was always there, and we could fight at the front, but you can’t control such things. It’s tough for the team; you feel powerless. Even though you’re doing a good job, the results are missing. The team had to endure a lot, but the fact that we still managed to deliver every time and once again fought for the title until the very last race of the season shows how strong our team is.”

Charles Weerts (#32 BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team WRT, 4th place): “It has been my first time in Jeddah as for everybody here. The weekend was quite eventful weekend. We were lacking a bit of pace during the different practice sessions and in qualifying. We made a good step for the race, we had a great car. It was nice to drive! We had good fights and we had a shot at the podium. It’s a shame that we lost it in the last moments but that’s part of racing. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes not. Overall we can say it was a good race where we showed again the potential of the BMW M4 GT3 and where we gained 20 positions. It’s a good way to finish the season even though I believe a podium would have been deserved.”

Valentino Rossi (#46 BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team WRT, 5th place): “It was a very good race for us because we started from P23 and were able to arrive in the top five at the end and we were fighting for the podium until the last lap. I think that we worked very well this weekend and we were able to improve. From the season in general, I expected more, especially as our line-up is great with Raffaele Marciello and Maxime Martin. I think that often we had a good speed but we were a bit unlucky. We had good races, we won, we got some podiums. We were not able to achieve a podium in an endurance race, that was the target. But in the end, it was a good season.”

Jens Klingmann (#30 OQ by Oman Racing BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team WRT, 2nd place Bronze Cup): “I am happy that we have brought the car home in P2. It is very difficult to drive on this track because the walls don’t leave margin for any errors. This was a huge challenge. We got a penalty for track limits which is very critical on this track but we managed to come back from that. That was the key to this race and we finished in the highest position we could aim for. I think that P1 was never in our reach. The winners were just too strong tonight so we maximised our result. It was good fun and we enjoy being on the podium on such a difficult street circuit. In this season, we had ups and downs. The longer the season went, the better we got. The highlight was the overall victory at Monza that no one can take from us and which was the first time in history. It’s been good season in a highly contested GT3 championship, so I am still very proud. Thanks to the whole team for the support and effort. It has been a pure joy.”

Dan Harper (#998 BMW M4 GT3, ROWE Racing, DNF): “After a difficult weekend up until qualifying we were happy with P11 in qualifying. Augusto did a great job in the beginning because it is obviously so tight here. A lot can happen. He stayed clean and gained a couple of positions. It was perfect. Unfortunately then when I got in the car was a full course yellow very quickly. I was just settling into the rhythm. Coming from turn three into four, the car in front of me braked for the countdown so I also braked at the same point as him. But then from behind I got hit. I have been never hit so hard in my life actually, so it kind of hurt initially but thankfully I’m okay now. But the car couldn’t continue, the suspension was broken. It’s just a shame for everybody. Obviously it’s a long way to come here. And it’s a cool race so it’s a shame that it ended early for us.”

Toby Sowery (#991 BMW M4 GT3, Paradine Competition by Century Motorsport, DNF): “I think it’s a difficult track for everyone and a lot of drivers had never driven here before so it was a learning curve. All in all, the BMWs had a strong package here at the weekend and it’s proven well in the race. I think one lap was in favour of other cars but in race pace, we have been the car to beat. It’s a shame because we were looking super strong. But that’s racing.”

Note to editors:
Footage and interviews from the 6 Hours of Jeddah of the Fanatec GT World Challenge powered by AWS and the season finale of the GT4 European Series are available for editorial use at the following link: https://b.mw/Jeddah_2024_Footage.