Frijns, Marciello to represent BMW with Rowe Racing at Nurburgring 24 Hours

Frijns won the Nordschleife endurance epic for the Phoenix Audi squad on his most recent appearance in 2022, while former Mercedes driver Marciello claimed pole position last year and has twice finished third.

The duo will form part of a seven-strong factory roster contesting the event BMW last won in 2020 with a Rowe-run M6 GT3, in addition to their commitments for BMW's World Endurance Championship assault in the Hypercar class.

The team will field two M4 GT3s for the second round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, with fellow BMW WEC racers Marco Wittmann, Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor, with Augusto Farfus and Maxime Martin completing the line-up.

"At my last start on the Nordschleife in 2022, I won the 24-hour race together with Dries Vanthoor," said Frijns.

"Now, I am very excited about my debut for BMW M Motorsport.

"It is one of the biggest motorsport events in Germany, and the fans there are particularly enthusiastic.

"It never gets boring for a driver on the Nordschleife. I am curious to see how my debut in the BMW M4 GT3 will go."

Marciello said: “I am very excited to return to the Nordschleife – especially with BMW M Motorsport and ROWE Racing, as they have an impressive shared history of good results there.

"I have never won the race, but I have reached the podium. Accordingly, my hope for a strong race is great. But first, I need to prepare very well together with the team and in the new car."

It was also announced that Rowe will again field a two-car team in the full GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, with its 2023 Spa 24 Hours winning lineup of Wittmann, Philipp Eng and Nick Yelloly unchanged.

Photo by: Mercedes AMG

Race winner Raffaele Marciello, Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3

However IMSA commitments for Yelloly and Eng - who also won the Spa 24 Hours aboard a Rowe BMW in 2016 - at the six-hour Indianapolis round mean they will miss the clashing Monza round, where Wittmann will have different team-mates.

Farfus will join British GT champion Dan Harper and Max Hesse in the second car, replacing Neil Verhagen.

"BMW M Motorsport and Rowe Racing are entering their ninth season together in 2024, and the partnership has been a great success story from the first year," said BMW motorsport boss Andreas Roos.

"Two joint 24-hour victories at Spa-Francorchamps, one at the Nurburgring and we aim to further improve that record in 2024 with another strong lineup.

"I am very much looking forward to the races and the fantastic collaboration with Hans-Peter Naundorf and his team.

"It’s unfortunate that we don’t have all BMW M works drivers available due to some schedule conflicts, but thanks to our high-calibre and big line-up, we can still assemble incredibly strong teams."