Ahead of the legendary 24 Hours of Nürburgring, BMW M Motorsport is fully prepared to defend its title from last year. Aiming to secure a 22nd overall victory at the “Green Hell,” BMW is fielding a full force through its two main teams, ROWE Racing and Schubert Motorsport. If last year they entered one car, this year they are fielding three cars from two different teams in the SP9 category.

ROWE Racing fields two cars

ROWE Racing will field two cars this season, both running the BMW M4 GT3 Evo with different numbers. In car #1, there are no major changes to the core line-up, as Kelvin van der Linde, Raffaele Marciello, and Augusto Farfus remain. However, BMW newcomer Jordan Pepper joins the team this year, replacing Jesse Krohn.

Augusto Farfus expressed his immense pride at returning to the Nürburgring as defending champion in what he considers the toughest race in the world. “Returning to the Nürburgring as champion is something very special.” He sees this year’s challenge as even more competitive, especially with the increased number of cars on track compared to previous years. “I hope we can once again represent BMW M Motorsport in the best possible way.”

Meanwhile, the younger brother of Kelvin van der Linde, Sheldon van der Linde, will team up with Dries Vanthoor, Dan Harper, and Max Hesse. For Max Hesse, this year’s race is special as it marks his debut with ROWE Racing, a team with a strong winning history. “I’m incredibly happy to be racing at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring this year — and for the first time with ROWE Racing. In 2024 I secured pole position, in 2025 ROWE Racing won. So our ambitions are pretty clear.” Although he acknowledged the challenges of managing the preparation schedule, he remained enthusiastic about the incredible atmosphere created by the fans at what he called the coolest event of the year. “The 24 Hours of Nürburgring with BMW M Motorsport in front of so many fans is always the coolest event of the year. I’m really excited to get started with the team and the guys.”

Schubert Motorsport and Yokohama collaboration

One car will be run by Schubert Motorsport, where defending GT World Challenge Europe champion Charles Weerts will join Marco Wittmann, Philipp Eng, and Robin Frijns in the #77 BMW M4 GT3 Evo.

Photo Credit: BMW M Motorsport

Philipp Eng highlighted his enthusiasm for the collaboration project between Schubert Motorsport and the new tyre partner. “The project with Schubert Motorsport and the new tyre partner Yokohama is fantastic, and I’m really proud to be part of it. I have three very fast team-mates who have proved what they are capable of — especially on the Nordschleife.” Eng admitted that he cannot wait to test the car’s performance on the track, which he considers the best racing circuit in the world.

Preparation ahead of the Nordschleife

ROWE Racing and Schubert Motorsport approach the 24 Hours of Nürburgring with high ambitions, backed by strong technical preparation and solid team compositions. ROWE Racing’s Hans-Peter Naundorf has made it clear that the team’s primary goal is to defend its title with the #1 car featuring last year’s endurance race winners, while introducing the new “Identity” visual design as a bold statement both on and off the track.

Meanwhile, Schubert Motorsport’s Torsten Schubert is focusing on a strategic collaboration with Yokohama to optimize the development of Nordschleife-specific tyres for the BMW M4 GT3 Evo. Both teams have been preparing intensively through numerous testing sessions since the end of last year, confident of delivering maximum performance to secure a podium finish and potentially victory in front of their fans in the Eifel mountains.

As part of their preparation for the highlight event, ROWE Racing and Schubert Motorsport will compete in the opening two rounds of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) on 14th and 21st March, followed by the 24h Qualifiers on 18th and 19th April.