Niklas Krütten impressed at the world-famous 24-hour race at Spa- Francorchamps: the 20-year-old from Trier finished runner-up in the Gold Cup alongside team-mates Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer (France) and Calan Williams (Australia).
The trio, at the wheel of the 590-hp BMW M4 GT3 run by the W Racing Team, came home 14th out of a total field of 70 cars.
After a very rainy and eventful qualifying, the number 30 BMW started the classic endurance race from 45th place. Right from the word go, the team launched a spectacular fightback, consistently working its way through the field in both the Gold Cup and the overall standings. Niklas Krütten showed nerves of steel in his stints and was able to gain several places. Six hours into the race, the team actually took the lead in their class. Many exciting battles ensued, and the trio was running second in the Gold Cup by the halfway point of the race. Having made it through the night unscathed, the team kept a cool head in the closing stages and stayed clear of the many skirmishes out on the track. After 24 hours and 536 laps of racing at the 7.004-kilometre circuit in Belgium, the drivers of car number 30 were rewarded for their efforts with a deserved second place in the Gold Cup and 14th overall.
Niklas Krütten: “On the whole, it was a good race for us. We would obviously have liked to have won, but second place is okay and means a lot of points. We started from 45th overall and fifth in the Gold Cup. Given that, finishing 14th overall and runner-up in the Gold Cup is not bad. The team did a flawless job with the strategy and the pit stops.”
Niklas Krütten returns to action this weekend with a race in the Nürburgring Endurance Series (7th to 8th July). The next round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge takes place from 15th to 16th July in Misano, Italy.