Top racing performance, impressive endurance and genuine team spirit:
MINI John Cooper Works and Bulldog Racing achieve another spectacular success
in the SP3T class at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
Nürburg. Sensational result for MINI John Cooper Works and Bulldog Racing at the 24 hours of Nürburgring: at the end of an exciting race weekend, the team achieved second place in the SP3T class – behind the BMW M2 Racing.
With 111 laps and over 2,700 kilometers completed over a 24-hour period, the crew impressively demonstrated the engineering skills of the MINI brand – and showed real team spirit in one of the toughest challenges in motor racing.
Following last year’s class victory and second place in 2023, this is the third podium finish in a row for the MINI John Cooper Works and Bulldog Racing team in the highly competitive SP3T class.
The cockpit team of Samantha Tan (CAN), Toby Goodman (GBR), Sebastian Sauerbrei (GER) and Markus Fischer (AUT) in the MINI John Cooper Works not only proved their driving skills and stamina in the “Green Hell” – but also real nerves of steel: After a successful start, the 24-hour race had to be interrupted on Saturday afternoon due to a power failure: The restart only took place after around two hours at 7:45 pm. With full focus, the driver team continued the race through the shortest night of the year – and made up over 60 places in the overall standings over the course of the race.
As in the previous year, Markus Fischer drove the team’s fastest lap. With a strong lap time of 10:02, he was even able to beat last year’s fastest lap. It was the first 24 hours of Nürburgring for Samantha Tan and Toby Goodman – and a successful premiere with second place in the SP3T class.
It was not only with sensational lap times and impressive endurance that the MINI 24-hour race car earned the respect of competitors and spectators at the Nürburgring: thanks to its exterior skin designed exclusively with the fashion and lifestyle brand Deus Ex Machina, the MINI John Cooper Works was a highlight of the race weekend even before the start.
280,000 fans cheered on the teams at the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring – a new record. This makes the race one of the most popular motorsport events in the world again this year. There was also a lot of action off the track: some racing enthusiasts stayed up late into the night with the teams and celebrated the drivers at the 53rd edition of the legendary Eifel classic – around the clock.
We congratulate our colleagues from ROWE Racing with the BMW M4 GT3 Evo on their overall victory and first place in the SP3T class with the BMW M2 Racing.