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The BMW M4 GT3 EVO has wrapped up a hard-fought Gold Cup victory at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. ROWE Racing’s #998 machine took the class honours after a relentless charge through the field. Ugo de Wilde, Tim Tramnitz and Jens Klingmann shared the driving duties. They crossed the line 11th overall, yet headed their class by a colossal six laps.
The win looked unlikely on Saturday. Qualifying had gone against the Bavarian squad, leaving every M4 GT3 EVO buried in the pack. The #998 lined up on the 24th. From there, the trio simply kept their heads down. They nursed the tyres, banked clean laps, and let the chaos unfold ahead of them. A timely run of pace lifted them as high as eighth before a Safety Car shuffled the order.
Up at the sharp end, the story turned sour. Team WRT’s #46 entry, with Dan Harper, Max Hesse and MotoGP great Valentino Rossi aboard, started a lowly 20th. The crew carved forward through the night and even led at dawn. Yet outright pace deserted them once the track dried out. Sixth place was the best a works M4 GT3 EVO could manage overall.
There was further misfortune across the garage. The #98 ROWE car suffered two punctures and slipped to ninth. The #32 WRT machine took early bodywork damage, fought back to ninth, then retired with a mechanical gremlin near the flag. Podiums in the Silver Cup and Bronze Cup softened the blow, courtesy of Team WRT and Paradine Competition.
The heat turned this into a brutal test of stamina. Track temperatures soared all weekend, punishing cars and crews alike. BMW M Motorsport boss Andreas Roos admitted the mixed emotions afterwards. The record winners had wanted outright glory. Instead, they leave the Ardennes with a Gold Cup trophy, a clutch of podiums, and plenty to chew on before next year.
