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BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert impressed again with another strong performance at the penultimate race weekend of the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series in Zolder (BE). However, their good work went unrewarded on Sunday, as the main race came to a premature end after just one corner for drivers Thomas Jäger (AT) and Dominik Baumann (AT). 

Right from the outset the team from Oschersleben’s (DE) BMW Z4 GT3 was among the fastest cars in the field. Jäger and Baumann qualified sixth for the qualifying race on Saturday morning. They then started Saturday afternoon’s qualifying race from the same position. Baumann was behind the wheel for the first half of the race and handed the car over to Jäger in fifth place. However, a number of cars were relegated positions for completing their mandatory pit stops during a safety car period. BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert dropped back down the field, but Jäger was able to fight back into eighth. This made the Schubert BMW Z4 GT3 the best-placed BMW. 

The team started Sunday’s main race from a promising eighth on the grid. However, after a rolling start, their race came to an abrupt end in the chaos in turn one. Jäger was hit by another car, and it was game over for the number 76 BMW Z4 GT3. The season finale of the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series will be held on 1st and 2nd November in Baku (AZ). 

Stefan Wendl (Team Manager Schubert Motorsport): “As far as the performance is concerned, we actually made a better start to the weekend than I expected. The set-up we had simulated in the run-up to the event worked superbly from the word go. That allowed us to focus on details, which in turn led to us being the best-placed BMW in qualifying and the qualifying race. We could have done even better, had we not lost places for stopping during the safety car period. However, that is racing for you. Unfortunately we were very unlucky in the main race today. It was a great shame that we were hit and our race was over. The car was not all that badly damaged, but the performance would no longer have been there, so it made no sense to continue.” 

Dominik Baumann (BMW Z4 GT3, car number 76): “We did a good job. We had a fast car, and showed in qualifying what we are capable of. We progressed to the third and final qualifying session for the first time, and finished up sixth. I was really happy with my stint in the qualifying race. Unfortunately we lost a few positions in the pits thanks to the safety car period. On the whole, however, we were happy with eighth place on the grid for the main race. Unfortunately that came to a premature end in turn one. It is a shame, as we could have been up there with the front-runners. That is life though. It was a racing incident.” 

Thomas Jäger (BMW Z4 GT3, car number 76): “The weekend actually started well. We were very competitive in qualifying and were right up there. We started the qualifying race from sixth on the grid, and Dominik immediately found himself back in the leading group. Everyone came into the pits during the safety car period, and it was obviously a bit chaotic. Unfortunately we lost a few places, but eighth place was actually a good starting position for the main race. It could have worked out really well for us, but unfortunately our race was over in turn one. We will now concentrate on ending the season with a good result in Baku.”