• BMW Team MTEK finishes in sixth place with its #81 BMW M8 GTE.
• The #82 BMW M8 GTE retires after four hours.
• Ernest Knoors: “The result doesn’t look spectacular, but the team
showed very good performance both on the track and in the
garage.”
Silverstone. BMW Team MTEK has finished in sixth place in the GTE Pro
class in the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC),
the Six Hours of Silverstone (GBR), with its #81 BMW M8 GTE piloted by
Martin Tomczyk (GER) and Nicky Catsburg (NED).
The sister car, the #82 BMW M8 GTE of António Félix Da Costa (POR) and Augusto
Farfus (BRA), retired due to a mechanical issue following four hours of racing.
Reactions to the Six Hours of Silverstone:
Ernest Knoors (Team Principal, BMW Team MTEK):
“In the end, the result doesn’t look spectacular, but the team gave a very good
performance both on the track and in the garage. We had the least time spent in the
pits of all the GTE Pro class cars and it’s only our second six-hour WEC race. The
engineers, mechanics and drivers all did their job extremely well and we leave
Silverstone very optimistic.”
Martin Tomczyk (#81 BMW M8 GTE):
“It was a difficult weekend. We thought we would be more competitive but we
pushed as hard as we could and sixth position is as good as we could get. Our car
didn’t have any issues throughout the entire race weekend and the team performed
perfectly. We will keep pushing in the same way for the rest of the season and the
results will come.”
Nick Catsburg (#81 BMW M8 GTE):
“I think we can actually be pleased with sixth because it is the best we could do. We
had a great set-up, the car didn’t miss a beat, and the team was fantastic from start
to finish. We can’t ask for more than that.”
António Félix da Costa (#82 BMW M8 GTE):
“As a team, we’re learning every day here in the WEC. Personally, I’m also learning
more with every endurance racing stint that I complete. Together we are getting
stronger, which is why it is a shame we had an issue here in Silverstone, but we will
return the the WEC Six Hours of Fuji ready to try again.”
Augusto Farfus (#82 BMW M8 GTE):
“It was a big learning curve for us this weekend; we have a new car, which is new to
this track and at a championship in which we have only had one previous six-hour
race. That said, the balance of the car felt good and our tyre strategy would have
played out well towards the end of the race, so we have lots of positives to take
away.”
