BMW Motorsport News

Dress rehearsal for 24 Hours of Daytona – virtual Formula E
race in Las Vegas delights fans and drivers.

 

  • IWSC: BMW Team RLL and Turner Motorsport testing in Daytona.
  • Formula E: virtual Formula E race in Las Vegas.
  • Formula E: Félix da Costa teaches NBA stars some tricks.
  • Asian Le Mans Series: fourth and fifth place for AAI Motorsport.

 

Whether in the DTM, 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.

 

IWSC: BMW Team RLL and Turner Motorsport testing in Daytona.

Three weeks before the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s
(IWSC) new season starts at the legendary 24 Hours of Daytona (US),
BMW Team RLL and the Turner Motorsport team completed their dress
rehearsals at the Daytona International Speedway this weekend. Both
teams took part in the three-day “Roar before the 24”, giving them the
opportunity to perform comprehensive testing and see how the
competition measures up for the first time this season. BMW Team RLL
will compete in the GTLM class with two BMW M6 GTLMs, just like last
year. These will be car numbers 19 and 24. The classic 24-hour race
will also see the 19th BMW Art Car in action, which was
designed by John Baldessari (US) and officially presented last year.
There have been some changes to the driver pairings this year. During
a total of seven test sessions, Bill Auberlen (US), Alexander Sims
(GB), Augusto Farfus (BR) and Bruno Spengler (CA) shared the cockpit
of the number 19 BMW M6 GTLM Art Car. Martin Tomczyk (DE), John
Edwards (US), Kuno Wittmer (CA) and Nick Catsburg (NL) shared driving
duties in the number 24 car. Turner Motorsport competed with a BMW M6
GT3 and one of the drivers was BMW works driver Jens Klingmann (DE).

Formula E: virtual Formula E race in Las Vegas.

A very special event took place this weekend in Las Vegas (US) to
help bridge the long gap to the next race in the FIA Formula E
Championship in Buenos Aires (AR) on 18th February. Prize
money of one million US dollars was up for grabs in the Visa Vegas
eRace, a virtual Formula E race that took place during the Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) trade fair. The 20 Formula E drivers were up
against ten gamers who had qualified for the event. This was the first
event featuring drivers from a top-ranking racing series competing
against selected gamers in a specially-created contest. Taking part
was BMW works driver António Félix da Costa (PT), who is competing for
the MS Amlin Andretti Team supported by BMW this season. The
Portuguese driver claimed first place in the qualification race and
his team-mate Robin Frijns (NL) finished third. The race itself was
won by Dutch driver Bono Huis, who secured the top prize of 200,000 US
dollars. Félix da Costa enjoyed another highlight, in addition to
competing in the virtual race on the games console: together with his
fellow Formula E competitors Sam Bird (GB) and Mitch Evans (NZ), he
took part in a night-time show drive through Las Vegas in the Qualcomm
BMW i8 Safety Car.

Formula E: Félix da Costa teaches NBA stars some tricks.

For BMW works driver António Félix da Costa (PT), this weekend was
all about virtual racing. The Visa Vegas eRace gave the Portuguese
driver the opportunity to teach basketball legends Shaquille O’Neal,
Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith (all US) some special tricks. At the
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) trade fair, Félix da Costa showed the
NBA stars the most important tips and tricks for getting the most out
of the race simulator, which was also used in the virtual race on Saturday.

Asian Le Mans Series: fourth and fifth place for AAI Motorsport.

The AAI Motorsports team had some vigorous support this weekend at
the third race of the Asian Le Mans Series in Buriram (TH). BMW DTM
driver Tom Blomqvist (GB), who had already made a guest appearance
last year, was joined on the circuit by former BMW Motorsport Junior
Jesse Krohn (FI) and Philipp Eng (AT), the winner of the 24 Hours of
Spa. Blomqvist and Krohn shared driving duties in the number 90 BMW M6
GT3 with regular driver Akira Iida (JP), and crossed the line to
finish in fourth place in the GT class after four hours. Eng competed
together with Jun San Chen (TW) and Ollie Millroy (GB) in the number
91 BMW M6 GT3 and finished fifth. The final round of the 2016/2017
Asian Le Mans Series will take place on 22nd January in
Sepang (MY).