Whether in the DTM, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar
Championship, the ABB FIA Formula E 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.
GT4 America SprintX/SprintX West: Title win for the BMW M4
GT4.
Sean Quinlan and Gregory Liefooghe (both USA) have
won the title in the GT4 America SprintX series. The duo in the #19
BMW M4 GT4, run by the Stephen Cameron Racing team, finished third in
an exciting final race of the season at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway
(USA). Prior to this, they had been embroiled in a thrilling battle
with their closest rivals in the title race, Jason Hart and Matt
Travis (both USA/Porsche). Quinlan/Liefooghe had finished fourth in
Saturday’s opening race.
Jon Miller and Harry Gottsacker (both USA) also had reason to
celebrate. Having wrapped up the title in GT4 America SprintX West at
the latest race weekend at the Portland International Raceway (USA),
the duo in the #28 ST Racing BMW M4 GT4 were victorious in the Sunday
race. This followed second place in the Pro-Am class on the Saturday.
In total, five BMW M4 GT4s competed in the final race weekend of GT4 America.
TC America: Johan Schwartz ends the season with a win in Las
Vegas.
Johan Schwartz (DEN) claimed win number nine at
the final round of the TC America season. He was victorious in the #80
BMW M240i Racing run by the Rooster Hall Racing team at the Las Vegas
Motor Speedway (USA). Schwartz, who had already been crowned TC
America champion ahead of the final race weekend, also finished
runner-up to claim a spot on the podium in the Saturday race. Third
place in both races went to Chandler Hull (USA) in the #94 BMW M240i
Racing fielded by the Copart / BimmerWorld Racing team. In total,
eight BMW M240i Racings and one BMW M235i Racing were in action at the
final round of this season’s TC America.
Italian GT Championship: Double podium for BMW Team Italia to
end the season.
BMW Motorsport Junior Erik Johansson
(SWE) and Stefano Comandini (ITA) brought the curtain down on this
season’s Italian GT Championship with second and third places,
presenting BMW Team Italia with another two podiums. An eventful
Saturday race at Monza (ITA) saw the pair in the #15 BMW M6 GT3 work
their way from the back of the field to finish third, following a
collision at the start. In doing so, they kept their hopes of winning
the title in the Sprint competition alive. Johansson/Comandini
narrowly missed out on that title on Sunday, when they finished
runner-up. The duo ended the season second in the championship.
Despite this, they can look back on a successful season, in which they
won four races. In the second MRS-GT Racing car, the #14 BMW M6 GT3,
Marius Zug (GER) and Gabriele Piana (ITA) finished 15th on Saturday
and fifth on Sunday. Also in action were Giuseppe Fascicolo and
Francesco Guerra (both ITA) in the #207 BMW M4 GT4 of BMW Team Italia.
After a seventh place on Saturday, the duo came home fourth in the
final GT4 race of the season on Sunday. They also finished second in
the championship.
Blancpain GT World Challenge America: First place for Turner
Motorsport in Las Vegas.
Naoto Takeda and Takuya
Shirasaka (both JPN) missed out on a top-ten finish at the final race
weekend of this season’s Blancpain GT World Challenge America in Las
Vegas (USA). The Turner Motorsport duo in the #96 BMW M6 GT3 crossed
the finish line in twelfth place overall in the Saturday race. This
was enough to earn them first place in the Am class. The two Japanese
drivers failed to finish the final race of the season on Sunday.