Two Former Winners in Single-Car BMW Pro Effort at N24

BMW will be represented by a single, ROWE Racing-entered car in this year’s top-class field at the Nürburgring 24, with the Motorsport Competence Group-run squad slimming down its presence due to “unprecedented organisational challenges” amidst a packed June schedule.

Confirmed on Tuesday, the No. 98 BMW M4 GT3 EVO will be piloted by a quartet of BMW factory drivers as former winners Augusto Farfus and Kelvin van der Linde will be joined by Raffaele Marciello and Jesse Krohn.

The single-car effort marks a significant reduction of entries for the Munich marque as it seeks its first overall victory in the event since 2020.

Last year, it was represented by three cars, which also saw a pair of ROWE entries joined by the Team RMG outfit that has since parted ways with BMW and will thus not return.

ROWE, for its part, has been impacted by the unusually busy June schedule that will see the N24 and CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa take place on back-to-back weekends.

Team boss Hans-Peter Naundorf already spoke out against this situation when the calendar was first confirmed last year, with the team subsequently going on to also reduce its presence in GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup as a result.

“Fundamentally, with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO, our experienced team, and our strong driver line-up, we have all the prerequisites to win at the Nürburgring for the first time since 2020,” Naundorf said.

“That is our goal. ROWE Racing is competing for the 14th time, and our drivers, including former Nürburgring winners Augusto Farfus and Kelvin van der Linde, as well as Raffaele Marciello and Jesse Krohn, need not shy away from any other crew.

“At the same time, the race calendar gives us the unique opportunity to stand at the top of the podium at two 24-hour races within seven days.

“These are the positives, but it must also be said openly that the very unfortunate scheduling of the 24h Nürburgring presents us with unprecedented organisational challenges.

“It hurts us that we can only present ourselves with one car to the great fans at the Nürburgring, but given the double burden with the 24h Spa-Francorchamps, it was not possible otherwise.”

Additionally, BMW has confirmed that its new M2 Racing model, which will be available as an entry-level car for customers in 2026, will also compete in the N24 as part of its development.

“I am very much looking forward to seeing the EVO versions of our BMW M4 GT3 and BMW M4 GT4 in action for the first time at the world’s toughest endurance race,” said Bjoern Lellmann, BMW M Motorsport Head of Customer Racing.

The 24 Hours of Nürburgring is an absolute highlight for customer racing at BMW M Motorsport every year. The 20 overall and countless class victories over the past 55 years speak for themselves: BMW and the Nordschleife are inseparably linked.

“Seeing our BMW M2 Racing, which is still in development, in race action is another highlight of what will surely be another great weekend.”