Marc VDS in Top Three at Midnight

BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS continued to run at the front as darkness ruled at the 24 Hours of Spa. Lucas Luhr, Dirk Werner and Markus Palttala were in third place, with #66 of Maxime Martin, Augusto Farfus and Jörg Müller 43rd. After a race disrupted by several accidents, there was a red flag lasting nearly one hour just before half past nine. When the race finally restarted, Luhr showed great fight to close towards the front cars, showing his experience with calm and fast running in traffic. He spent several laps in the lead during the pitstop cycle, and the car was around a minute from the lead of the race at midnight.

For #66, there is lots of work to do after the earlier accident. Farfus pushed as hard as he could, but some small handling issues from the crash were making his life difficult. He was 10 laps down.

Bas Leinders, Team Principal
“We’re in a big fight at the front with #77. At the moment, it’s clear the Audis have an advantage – especially on the straights – but we are doing what we can. The pitstops have been stunning and we’ll just keep pushing. With #66, it’s a shame that an unlucky crash has left them with a lot of work to do, but their spirit is fantastic and they continue to push hard. Let’s see where we are when dawn comes. I also want to send my wishes to the drivers involved in the accident, and hope for good news from that situation.”

Jörg Müller, BMW Z4 GT3 #66
“It’s obviously frustrating to be down the field, but that’s motor racing. We’re continuing to fight and we still have pride to push for here. The car isn’t perfect, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to stop pushing. I hope that the news from the accidents earlier is all positive. These moments can be the downside of motorsport, and it’s extremely unfortunate, but I wish them all the best.”

Lucas Luhr, BMW Z4 GT3 #77
“I was behind one Audi, and had a big fight, and I think I caught him quite a bit. At the end, the problem is they are too quick on the straight – we’re equal in the braking, slightly better on the apex, but it’s very tough. We’re lacking so much straightline speed, it makes passing incredibly hard. I hope everybody involved in the accident is fine. That is scary. There have been a lot of accidents already, and I hope that period is past. Let’s hope the drama is over for now and we can have good, clean racing until the end.”