BMW M Motorsport works driver Dan Harper played a key role in a surprise challenge for a podium finish in the 2025 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, following a tremendous charge forward from 18th on the grid alongside Max Hesse and Philipp Eng.

Harper and his ROWE Racing team-mates bounced back from misfortune in qualifying to charge up the order and lead the biggest GT3 race in the world through the night, before a frustrating retirement with just ten minutes left on the clock denied him a third-career top six finish in the Ardennes classic.

Full of confidence following a maiden IMSA win at Watkins Glen the weekend prior, Harper and his long-time colleague Hesse headed into their fourth attempt at the blue-riband endurance event of the GT World Challenge Europe season looking to build on multiple podium challenges in the race in previous years.

The duo were joined by three-time 24 Hours of Spa winner Philipp Eng behind the wheel of the #998 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, with a big test ahead of them as they lined-up as part of a record-breaking 75 car entry for the iconic endurance race.

The action in Belgium begun with free practice and pre-qualifying on Thursday, with the typically unpredictable and ever-changing weather at Spa-Francorchamps meaning that Harper got some laps under his belt in both wet and dry conditions.

Qualifying followed later in the day, with the target being a top 20 result to earn a spot in Superpole the next day. It was mission accomplished under the cover of darkness, as good performances from each driver in their 15-minute segments put them tenth fastest overall.

Eng mounted their challenge in Superpole the next day, however a red flag stoppage just as he was about to complete his first of two flying laps would cost them dear. With the peak of the tyre having gone by the time he returned to the track for his second attempt, he could only end up 18th quickest.

The #998 crew knew they would have to play the long game to make progress in the race and Eng made steady progress through the opening two hours. Harper then jumped in for a single stint, settling into the race and getting a feel of the car in race trim as he ran in 13th position overall.

Hesse and Eng continued their challenge as day turned to night in the Ardennes forest, before Harper jumped in at 11pm local time for his first night stint. The talented Northern Irishman moved them into the top ten for the first time as they became the leading BMW M4 GT3 EVO in the race.

One of the key moments of the race for the team came at the ten-hour mark with Hesse behind the wheel, as a full course yellow (FCY) during a pitstop cycle worked in their favour. Gaining time over a number of rivals, they were propelled from a top six standing into the race lead.

Entering an exciting duel with the eventual race-winning #63 Lamborghini over the next few hours, Hesse, Eng and then Harper kept them in the top three as dawn broke. Unfortunately with five and a half hours left on the clock though, it was their turn to be disadvantaged by a FCY period. With the caution period starting just after they had pitted, they ended up losing around a minute to a number of their rivals including the Lamborghini and their sister ROWE Racing BMW, dropping them to the bottom of the top six overall and with a lot of time to try and regain.

This combined with there being no safety car periods for the final seven and a half hours of the race to bunch up the field ensured they were set for a sixth-place finish at the chequered flag. There would be one final bout of bad luck though, as a mechanical issue forced them into retirement with the finish in sight.

Dan Harper: “The CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa is an incredible event and it seems to getting bigger and better every year. To have a record-high 75 cars on the grid this year was amazing, and to have over 125,000 fans at the circuit over the weekend made it feel all the more special. We didn’t drive our car in the prologue back in March as it was on a container coming back from Macau, so we were thrown in at the deep end a bit on Thursday. ROWE Racing did a great job to get it ready for action, and it just took us a bit of time to get the setup tweaked to how we wanted it. We got there with it though and the car was very fast in the race. Our challenge was made a bit harder by Superpole, which was frustrating as it was situation entirely out of our control with the red flag, but we made the best of it and focused on staying out of trouble and making steady progress in the early hours.
It worked well for us and to come all the way through to the race lead is testament to the efforts on track and also the great teamwork and strategy by the team. To run in the top three for over a third of the race was great, but unfortunately a full course yellow period went against us. We needed a safety car period in the last portion of the race to close the gap and give us a shot at regaining the lost ground, but it sadly never came. We didn’t have the pace to beat the Lamborghini and congratulations to them on the win, but I feel we were quick enough to have taken a podium had luck been with us. Overall, we’re immensely proud of our performance. It was brilliant racing with Philipp for the first time and being back with the ROWE Racing crew. While it didn’t end up with a podium finish for either car in the end, it was a great showing from the team and BMW to have two cars in the podium battle for so long.”