ROWE RACING will compete in the Blancpain GT Series again in 2017, and the team has its sights set firmly on the defence of its title at the iconic Spa 24 Hours at the end of July. The outfit from St. Ingbert will once again run two BMW M6 GT3s in the strong field, in what is the pinnacle of GT racing in Europe, and consists of ten race weekends again this year.
ROWE RACING is now in its third season in the Blancpain GT Series. The greatest success in the team’s history came in 2016 at the 24-hour classic at Spa-Francorchamps. The driver line-ups for the two BMW M6 GT3s for the coming season are yet to be finalised. The allocation of drivers to cockpits will be announced by the pre-season test in Paul Ricard, southern France, on 13th/14th March. Among those up for selection are a host of fast and experienced drivers from ROWE RACING and the squad of BMW Motorsport works drivers.
The series, which is run by the French SRO Motorsports Group, under the guidance of Stephane Ratel, with the support of Swiss watchmaker Blancpain, features a wide range of sprint and endurance races at famous and iconic circuits throughout Europe. The season starts on 1st April in Misano, Italy, with the first of five one-hour races in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. The remaining sprint races follow at Brands Hatch (7th May) in Great Britain, the iconic Belgian racetrack at Zolder (4th June), the Formula One circuit in Budapest (27th August), and ROWE RACING’s home race at the Nürburgring on 17th September.
The Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup consists of five endurance races. As well as the highlight of the season at the Spa 24 Hours (29th/30th July) and the 1000-km race at Paul Ricard, a further three three-hour races will also be held at current Formula One circuits: Monza (23rd April) in Italy, Silverstone (14th May) in England, and the season finale at the Circuit de Calalunya on the outskirts of the Spanish metropolis Barcelona (1st October).
Hans-Peter Naundorf, team principal of ROWE RACING: “We are really looking forward to racing in the Blancpain GT Series for the third year in a row. The series is the benchmark for GT3 racing in Europe. It is brilliantly organised and littered with cars from strong manufacturers and the best drivers in the sport. Our big goal for 2017 is obviously to defend our title at the Spa 24 Hours. It would be a dream come true for us to repeat last year’s win. We are still in the process of finalising the driver line-ups for our two BMW M6 GT3s, however, we are very confident that we will once again be able to field very fast and experienced teams of drivers, just as we did last year.”
