Munich. This year, successful racing cars are the
focus at the traditional Festival of speed being held at Goodwood in
South-east England. The successes of these cars left enduring traces
and this has earned them a place of honour in the history of motor
sport. BMW Group Classic is sending numerous winners in automobile and
motorcycle racing history from its portfolio of vehicles to the
British Isles. The selection encompasses a wide range of disciplines
in which classics from the brands BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad created a
sensation in their time. These events range from the Mille Miglia and
the 24 Hours of Le Mans, through the Tourist Trophy and the German
Touring Car Championship (DTM), to Formula 1 and the Dakar Rally.
The festival takes place on the estate of Lord March from 29 June to
2 July 2017. The hillclimb is a focal point when racing cars from
yesteryear will once again demonstrate their racing talent. The
demonstration drives in the style of historic competitions hark back
to a private hillclimb held by the grandfather of today’s host in the
park of Goodwood House. This racing atmosphere was created for the
first time in 1936.
Mille Miglia winner meets World Champion of Formula 1, Touring
Car Champion meets Winner of the Dakar Rally.
Fans of historic motor sport can look forward to a rendezvous in
Goodwood with the BMW 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupé. In 1940, this
car took overall victory at the Mille Miglia in a new record time with
its reliable six-cylinder engine, reduced weight and favourable
aerodynamic values. The Brabham BMW BT52 undoubtedly also ranks among
the vehicles that are worthy of the motto for the Festival of Speed
2017, “Peaks of Performance – Motor-sport’s Game Changers”. In 1983,
it became the first vehicle in the history of Formula 1 to succeed in
taking the World Championship title with the assistance of a
turbocharged engine. The racing car is in the professional hands of
long-time Formula 1 driver Ricardo Patrese, who was a member of the
Brabham BMW Team in 1983.
A BMW M3 Group A DTM is also lining up at the start of the hillclimb
with Italian racing driver Roberto Ravaglia at the wheel. The first
generation of the BMW M3 laid the foundation for an exceptional career
which made this vehicle the most successful model in touring-car
history. In 1987, Ravaglia won the first Touring Car World
Championship driving the BMW M3. Two years later, he again took the
title in the German Touring Car Championship. The appearance of the
BMW V12 LMR recalls the success achieved in the 24 Hour Race at Le
Mans in 1999. The car is being driven by Pierluigi Martini from Italy.
Together with Joachim Winkelhock and Yannick Dalmas, he gained overall
victory in the legendary endurance race driving this vehicle powered
by a twelve-cylinder engine.
The MINI brand is represented at the Festival of Speed 2017 with a
series winner which laid the cornerstone for its successes in off-road
terrain. In the period from 2012 to 2015, the MINI ALL4 Racing stormed
to four back-to-back victories at the Dakar Rally, the world’s most
challenging endurance competition. The MINI ALL4 Racing succeeded in
achieving an equivalent successful back-to-back series over four years
in the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup.
Tourist Trophy Winners from two eras and a World Champion
sidecar combination.
The supercharged BMW WR 500 from 1929 presented at the Festival of
Speed 2017 is one of the milestones in the history of racing at BMW
Motorrad. A flat-twin Boxer engine with vertical drive shaft and
supercharger propelled this motorcycle to an outstanding achievement
and to its legendary status in racing history. In 1939, Georg
“Schorsch” Meier won the Senior TT at the Tourist Trophy on the Isle
of Man riding a supercharged BMW. Numerous other successes were to
follow in circuit and road races. A change in the regulations during
the post-war period prohibited the use of superchargers in racing and
this put an end to any further series victories.
The classic motorcycle comes face to face at Goodwood with a Tourist
Trophy Winner from the recent past. Two-times Superbike World Champion
Troy Corser is presenting the BMW S 1000 RR Senior TT there from the
year 2014. The Australian played a significant role in developing the
four-cylinder superbike, which Michael Dunlop from Northern Ireland
rode to a three-fold success on the Isle of Man in 2014. Dunlop won
the races in the Superstock TT, the Superbike TT and the Senior TT.
The contingent from BMW Group Classic is completed by a sidecar and
two incumbent World Champions. Pekka Päivarinta and Kirsi Kainulainen
from Finland, current title holders in the FIM Sidecar World
Championship (SWC), will appear in the hillclimbs with their BMW
Sidecar LCR. The sidecar combination is powered by the four-cylinder
engine from the BMW S 1000 RR. This power unit and the experts from
BMW Motorrad Motorsport enabled the two Finns – who are also a couple
off the race track – to secure the World Championship Title in the
2016 season and write racing history. This was already the fifth World
Championship in the career of Pekka Päivarinta. But his co-rider was
on the podium for the first time. Kirsi Kainulainen is the first
female World Champion in the history of road racing.
You will find images of the event from 1 July on the BMW Group
Classic Media Server under http://www.bmwgroupclassic-downloads.com
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