Whether in the DTM, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, or countless other
championships: Week after week BMW teams and drivers around the
world do battle for points, victories and titles. Away from the
track too, members of the large BMW Motorsport family around the
world are also creating headlines. The “BMW Motorsport News” allows
us to regularly summarise all the action for you in a compact and
informative manner. This way, you are always up to speed.
VLN: BMW teams get underway in the Nordschleife season.
The battle for points and victories has started again in the “Green
Hell”. The test and set-up sessions fell victim to the weather
conditions, but the 64th ADAC Westfalenfahrt on Saturday marked the
official start of the 2018 VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring. The
best-placed BMW drivers were Nick Catsburg (NED), John Edwards (USA)
and Richard Westbrook (GBR) in the ROWE Racing number 98 BMW M6 GT3.
After four hours of racing they claimed tenth place overall. Jens
Klingmann (GER) and Peter Dumbreck (GBR) reached eleventh in the
Falken Motorsports BMW M6 GT3. For 2018, the SP9 category is split
into subcategories for the first time and points are up for grabs in
all three of them. First place in the SP9 Masters standings went to
Henry Walkenhorst, Rudi Adams and Andreas Ziegler (all GER) in the
number 36 BMW M6 GT3. Uwe Ebertz (GER) and Michael Hollerweger (AUT)
also recorded a class win in the number 160 Pixum Team Adrenalin
Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 in the SP8T category. In the SP10 class, the BMW
M4 GT4 of Team 828 Racing by Sorg Rennsport crossed the line in second
place with Heiko Eichenberg (GER) and Yannick Mettler (SUI) behind the
wheel. Victory in the V4 class went to Marcel Manheller and Carsten
Knechtges (both GER) in the BMW 325i. In the SP4 category, Robert
Pentén (SWE) and Olli Kangas (FIN) claimed first position in the BMW
325i. The second race in the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring is
scheduled to take place on 7th April.
BMW M235i Racing Cup: Dramatic finale at
season-opener.
The Pixum Team Adrenalin Motorsport
triumphed in the BMW M235i Racing Cup class at the first round of the
VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring. David Griessner (AUT) and
Yannick Fübrich (GER) secured victory in the number 650 car after four
hours of racing. Tobias Müller, Nico Otto and Lars Peucker (all GER)
finished second in the Team Scheid – Honert Motorsport number 666 BMW
M235i Racing. Third place went to Tristan Viidas (EST) and Inge
Hansesaetre (NOR) from Team Securtal Sorg Rennsport. There was a
dramatic end to the race for two-time Cup champion Michael Schrey
(GER); the defending champion started the final lap leading the BMW
M235i Racing Cup, however Schrey came to a standstill just metres from
the finish and pushed his number 1 car over the line. His efforts were
in vain, as he was removed from the standings after the race. A total
of 19 BMW M235i Racings started the first race of the VLN season.
FIA WEC: Fitness camp for BMW drivers in Viareggio.
Around six weeks before the start of the season, the four regular BMW
drivers in the FIA World Endurance Series (WEC) underwent a week of
intensive fitness training. From Tuesday to Thursday, Nick Catsburg
(NED), António Félix da Costa (POR), Augusto Farfus (BRA) and Martin
Tomczyk (GER) completed a three-day fitness camp in Viareggio (ITA).
Supervised by team doctor Dr. Riccardo Ceccarelli (ITA) and his
Formula Medicine Team, the four drivers trained according to a
schedule specially tailored to their requirements. “The training camp
was a welcome opportunity for us, the drivers, to meet up away from
the racetrack,” says Tomczyk. “The training was tough but we had a lot
of laughs and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. Dr. Ceccarelli is a
motorsport institution. He has been doing this for some years and he
has worked with many of the big names. We know that we are in good
hands with him.”
Australian GT: Top 10 for BMW M6 GT3, class win for BMW M4
GT4.
Steve Richards (NZL) and Dean Grant (AUS)
celebrated a successful start to the Australian GT Championship with
two top-10 finishes. The BMW Team SRM drivers shared the cockpit of
the number 100 BMW M6 GT3 at Albert Park in Melbourne (AUS). Richards
made a promising start to the season with sixth place in the first of
four races that took place as part of the Australian Grand Prix event.
The New Zealander bettered that in race three when he finished in
fifth position. The weekend marked Grant’s debut in the BMW M6 GT3 and
he finished 14th and 15th in his two races. Xavier West (AUS) was also
behind the wheel of the BMW M4 GT4 at the Melbourne track. The
Australian driver from BMW Team SRM claimed victory in the GT4 class
in the first race, before crossing the line in second place in the
other three races. The second race weekend in the Australian GT
Championship takes place on 14th and 15th April at the Bend Motorsport
Park (AUS).
BMW customer racing: New all-round service for teams in Germany.
BMW M Motorsport is continuing to extend the services provided to
customer teams and will include the BMW dealership organisations more
closely in technical support for close-to-production race cars. Four
dealerships in Germany, Autohaus Rolf Horn, Autohaus Cuntz, the
Walkenhorst Gruppe and Schubert Motors, have been specially trained as
BMW M Motorsport Partners in the BMW Group Training Academy, focussing
on technical support for the bodywork, drivetrain, chassis and
electronics in the new BMW M4 GT4. With immediate effect, private BMW
teams competing with the BMW M4 GT4 can address technical questions to
these BMW M Motorsport Partners. The second stage of training sees
these dealerships also being prepared to offer technical support for
the BMW M235i Racing. Teams can find more information about this new
all-round service in the customer racing portal from BMW M Motorsport.
The new service offering represents even closer collaboration between
motorsport and production in customer racing, and simplifies access to
technical support for BMW M Motorsport customers. The training for the
German dealerships is a pilot project. The plan is to expand this
concept to other markets.
Pirelli World Challenge: double podium for the BMW M4 GT4 in Austin.
The second race weekend in the Pirelli World Challenge brought
two podium finishes for the BMW M4 GT4 at the “Circuit of The
Americas” (USA). In the second race of the weekend, the BMW M4 GT4s
driven by Justin Raphael (USA) and Stevan McAleer (USA) from Team
Classic BMW, and Samantha Tan (USA) and Nick Wittmer (CAN) from BMW
Team ST Racing, claimed second and third positions in the GTS Pro/AM
standings. The Tan/Wittmer duo had finished sixth in the first race on
Saturday. In the GTS AM standings, Aurora Straus (USA) and Al Carter
(USA) had every reason to celebrate; after Saturday’s second-place
finish, the two drivers were victorious in the final race on Sunday. A
total of nine BMW M4 GT4s were competing in Austin. Karl Wittmer (CAN)
made it onto the podium in the TC class. The Canadian from Team BMW
Classic drove his BMW M235i Racing to third place, just ahead of Johan
Schwartz, who was also underway in the BMW M235i Racing. In total,
eleven BMW M235i Racings were competing in the TC class. The second
race in this category had not finished at the time of going to press.
The third race weekend in the Pirelli World Challenge is scheduled to
take place from 13th to 15th April at Long Beach (USA).