Farfus: Puncture Timing “Bitter Pill” for ROWE

Augusto Farfus described the timing of the late-race slow puncture that cost ROWE Racing a podium in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa as a ‘bitter pill’ to swallow at the end of a competitive run.

The No. 998 BMW M4 GT3, which Farfus shared with Max Hesse and Dan Harper for the centenary edition of the Belgian endurance classic, featured at the sharp end of the field and was a factor in the podium battle.

That was until a slow puncture struck with Hesse at the wheel, a handful of minutes before the end of the final hour. This forced the German to pit out of sequence and placed the car just a few minutes outside the window for the maximum permitted driving time permitted per stint.

The time allocated was set at 61 minutes per stint, communicated by a bulletin issued ahead of the event, with an extension to 66 minutes in the event of a long Full Course Yellow or safety car.

Although an FCY was briefly called to recover the stricken No. 10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo in the final hour, the race went back to green soon thereafter.

As a result, the No. 998 car was ordered to take an additional trip through the pits later on to avoid a penalty for exceeding the stint time before the end of the race, dropping to sixth.

“This is a bitter pill,” Farfus said.

“It was a tough race, but we executed it well. In the end, we were on course for the podium but suffered a puncture 64 minutes before the end.

“If it had come one lap later, we would have made it to the end. Due to the regulations, we had to make another pit stop. Sometimes this sport can be brutal.”

ROWE’s second car, meanwhile, retired after suffering early issues related to the cooling system. It meant that Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann and Nick Yelloly were unable to defend their titles, having taken victory at Spa one year earlier.

“Unfortunately, our title defense did not go well for us,” said Eng.

“In the early stages, we always lost some time during the pit stops. Then I had to swerve into the gravel to avoid an accident in front of me.

“It continued normally and without any signs of a problem, but a few laps later I got a water pressure alarm.

“We found that the cooling system had damage, but it certainly had nothing to do with my excursion. Exactly what happened, we still need to clarify.

“All in all, we would have wished for a nicer return to the site of our victory a year ago.”

BMW M Motorsport director Andreas Roos described the German brand’s weekend, which also saw multiple incidents involving the No. 46 Team WRT car but resulted in a podium for the No. 32 crew, as a “rollercoaster ride.”

“Qualifying did not go ideally for us, and we went into the race with that burden,” said Roos.

“However, we were able to work our way to the front with a very good performance from the teams and drivers, at times having three cars in the lead.

“Under the very difficult conditions in the race, the teams often made the right decisions, and the drivers kept the cars almost flawlessly on track.

“That was the foundation for us to compete for a good result. It was a pity for car No. 46, which had an accident, resulting in a repair and a penalty. That was very annoying because they were also doing very well.

“In the end, it wasn’t enough for the top spot. But to be on the podium again after last year’s victory is great for us.”