The Marc VDS Z4 GT3 driven by Maxime Martin, Yelmer Buurman, Andrea Piccini, and Richard Göransson finished second in the rain-shortened Nürburgring 24-hour race.
Martin went on a charge on his final stint, getting by the second and third place Mercedes with about twenty minutes left in the race. The overall win went to Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Sean Edwards, and Nicki Thiim in their Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG GT3.
After six hours of racing on Sunday the organizers red flagged the race because of rain and thick fog; the suspension lasted for over nine hours.
The #20 BMW Team Schubert Z4 driven by Claudia Hürtgen, Dirk Adorf, Jens Klingmann, and DTM driver Martin Tomczyk finished sixth after a very difficult race. Its sister car, #19, collected it under low-visibility yellow flag conditions in the first hour. The #19 Z4 returned to run for about four hours, but eventually retired. But #20, which lost a lap in the incident, recovered to run near the front of the pack.
BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt said, “This Nürburgring 24 Hours was once again packed with excitement – and featured an absolutely sensational final stint from Maxime Martin, who was able to overtake two rivals out on the track in the last few laps. Our race was initially blighted by the unlucky collision involving the two BMW Team Schubert cars, and then came the weather-inflicted stoppage during the night – and finally the joy at second place for BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS. Over the past 24 hours, the legendary Nordschleife has once again shown us exactly what makes this circuit so special and so infamous. I am delighted for Bas Leinders’ team and the four drivers in the number 25 BMW Z4 GT3. Back in 2012, BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS narrowly missed out on a top-three finish in the Green Hell, and now it has its podium. The crew produced a flawless race, as did the drivers, so they really deserve second place. The way the number 20 BMW Team Schubert car fought back was also impressive. The team did not allow the huge misfortune at the start of the race to get them down, and battled back superbly to finish sixth. However, I would obviously like to thank all the many privateer BMW teams and the fans at the Ring, who defied the miserable conditions to once again produce a fantastic race and a unique atmosphere. Congratulations to Mercedes on its overall victory in the Green Hell.”—Brian S. Morgan
