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.”