ROWE BMW No. 98 withdrawn after accident in qualifying – Sportscar365

Image: SRO

The No. 98 BMW M4 GT3 of ROWE Racing will not take part in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup in Monza after an accident in qualifying on Sunday.

Maxime Oosten went off the track in the second part of the three-stage qualifying run and crashed into the wall of the Variante Ascari, which resulted in a red flag.

A BMW spokesperson confirmed to Sportscar365 that the car will not be able to take part in the three-hour race at the Italian circuit, which is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. CEST (9:30 a.m. EDT).

Oosten was to share the car with fellow countryman Robin Frijns and full-time driver Marco Wittmann. Oosten and Frijns were brought in as replacements for Nick Yelloly and Philipp Eng because of an overlap with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round in Indianapolis.

ROWE won the 3 Hours of Monza last year with Wittmann, Yelloly and Frijns, but its best result so far this season was fifth place at the Nürburgring.

The withdrawal means the field at Monza is now down to 51 cars. The No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 will start this afternoon's race from pole position after leading qualifying on Sunday morning.

Davey Euwema is the European editor of Sportscar365. Euwema lives in the Netherlands and covers, among others, the FIA ​​​​World Endurance Championship, the European Le Mans Series and the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS.