Stef Dusseldorp and Alexander Sims in the #23 Rowe Racing M6 GT3 finished second overall and first in the SP9 class in the ninth round of the VLN Endurance Championship on the Nordschleife at the Nürburgring. The only car that finished ahead them was a Lexus RC-F GT3 prototype driven by Mario and Dominik Farnbacher; the Lexus ran in its own class.
The four-hour race began in damp conditions. The track turned dry, but the rain came again at the end. Three more M6 GT3s finished in the top ten. They were: The fifth-place Walkenhorst Motorsport car driven by Jesse Krohn, Victor Bouveng, and Christian Krognes; the sixth-place BMW Team Schnitzer car driven by Jens Klingmann and Nico Menzel; and the eighth-place Falken Motorsport car driven by Alexandre Imperatori and Phillip Eng.
Heiko Eichenberg of Securtal Sorg Rennsport won the BMW M235i Racing Cup Class. Canadian racers Bruno Spengler and Kuno Wittmer, both BMW factory drivers, shared a car in the class; they were running to accumulate laps on the Nordschleife to qualify them to run an M6 GT3 on the circuit in future races. It was the first race on the circuit for both drivers.
Spengler said, "I completed the number of laps that we intended. From that perspective, everything went according to plan. But it was a totally new experience for me. I don't think I have ever looked in the rear-view mirror as often as I did today, and I haven't mastered the track yet either, but I will drive at the season finale once again to continue getting used to the 'Green Hell'."
The VLN season finale will be run on October 22.—Brian S Morgan
