Hans-Peter Naundorf: “The most difficult achievement in 25 years”

It was 10 years just this year since BMW Motorsport last triumphed at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, the last success of the firm with the propeller dating back to the period of the M3 GT2 of Team Schnitzer entrusted to Augusto Farfus, Pedro Lamy, Jörg Müller and Üwe Alzen.

The GT3 era, despite the fantastic Z4, then its replacement M6, both victorious at Spa, had since not smiled on the Munich brand, which had left Mercedes, Audi and Porsche add their names to the list.

But this time, the scenario turned to the advantage of BMW, and its main spearhead, ROWE Racing. If Hans-Peter Naundorf's team has made some failures with the propeller in GT World Challenge Europe since last year, the M6 ​​GT3 remained its favorite weapon for the Nürburgring, with good reason this year, at the end of the race where strategy played its role.

“We had a very close battle for victory with the #3 Audi, comments the Team Principal. When it arrived for its final stop and we joined the Döttinger Höhe straight with three laps to go, our calculations told us that we would stay just ahead and could probably stay ahead.

Nick Catsburg was so much faster than the Audi on the lap after our last stop and managed to gain what turned out to be the most important few seconds. The No. 3 also spent more time in the pit lane than expected.

By following our instructions, Nick was actually able to gain a little more margin in the last two laps. However, there were still 18 minutes left to see the checkered flag. With all the factors that made this race so special, the history of BMW, the burning desire to finally win this race and all the efforts combined, this success is something very, very special

It's not just a one-race win, as it could have been in 2013 and 2017, when we almost won. The coronavirus, which is placing such great restrictions on everyone's lives at the moment, is another reason why this success is of great importance to me and to the many partners and others who have been involved. »

Winner at Spa in 2016, notably with Maxime Martin in the winning trio, Naundorf confesses that German success has a different feeling from the conquest of the Ardennes.

“You can't really compare these two victories, continues the manager. They are totally different races with different strategies. The only thing in common is that both are 24 hour races.

Victory at the Nürburgring takes on much greater significance for Motorsport Competence Group and ROWE Racing. Our success at Spa in 2016 surprised everyone. At the Nürburgring we had been one of the favorites for years, and we knew we could do it after all the intensive preparations.

At Spa we achieved an unexpected victory with a completely new car. Now, after five years, the BMW M6 GT3 is proven.

In this situation, every little screw has to be perfectly in place, you have to have the right drivers in the car, and then the weather gods have to give you these conditions, in which only the best can pass without making a mistake. Conquering the Nordschleife is the hardest thing I've done in 25 years »

And thus offer the M6 ​​GT3 the much sought-after Spa – Nürburgring double, before the future M4 takes over in 2022.

Discover the full report of the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, produced by our special correspondent in the Eifel, in issue 2280 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version and on newsstands.