Pepper: “Not in Our DNA to Give Up” Despite BMW Struggles

Jordan Pepper says “it’s not in our DNA to give up” despite BMW suffering a disappointing CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa Superpole session in which he was the best of the German manufacturer’s cars in 18th place.

Pepper triumphed in this event last year when he was part of the GRT Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 lineup alongside Mirko Bortolotti and Luca Engstler, but became a BMW factory driver over the winter and will now race a WRT-run BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

The South African did not believe he would be in the fight for victory again this time around after being eliminated in the first segment of the Superpole sh00t-out, although BMW was one of seven manufacturers to be given a pre-race Balance of Performance weight break and also received a small increase in turbo boost levels.

“It was one of the nicest BMWs I’ve driven so far and I felt in qualifying and Superpole that I maximized pretty much everything I could,” Pepper told Sportscar365.

“Maybe there’s a tenth or half a tenth here or there but when you’re pushing so hard on the limit you make these small little mistakes.

“Ultimately, I’m very realistic. We’re going to keep working and keep searching because it’s not in our DNA to give up and write off the weekend but unfortunately it seems a lot further than we would like [to the outright pace of polesitter Alessio Rovera’s AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo].”

Pepper felt the cooler temperatures and thunderstorms that are forecast on Sunday could help BMW come the race in addition to the BoP tweaks.

When asked about where the lack of performance was, Pepper replied: “It’s a combination of all factors, it’s exceptionally hot this weekend and that plays a bit of a role in it — I think some are a little bit better in the heat than maybe we are.

“In terms of balance, the car feels good we’re just missing a lot of acceleration to be able to fight.

“In the corners we feel quite OK and competitive especially this track our car is quite suited to the high-speed corners — we have quite a stable platform — but, when you look over past years, BMW has been a dominant car in sector one and three and, when we’re the worst brand in that sector, there’s a bit of a problem.”

Considering those performance struggles, which Pepper says have been the case at other GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and Intercontinental GT Challenge rounds this season, he therefore feels BMW’s best chance of a strong result at Spa would be through a crazy race.

“I think the only thing we can wish for is a chaotic race because I think we are an incredibly strong team in terms of being able to make strategy calls,” he explained.

“The more chaotic, the better for us because it opens up opportunities to take risks.

“These hot conditions are tricky for all, the grip level is quite low in general.

“A lot of track limits will probably creep up so it’s about avoiding that.

“We have to stay patient and chip away and come night time our deficit is reduced slightly. We don’t give up, we have to keep pushing.”

Fellow BMW driver Raffaele Marciello, who is part of the driver roster for the No. 98 ROWE Racing entry, was less enthusiastic about the brand’s chances of making a recovery, saying “I’m not positive” after qualifying.