BMW Motorsport News

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. 

 

DTM: Class 1 BMW M4 DTM hits the “virtual” racetrack for the
first time.

The first roll-out has already been completed successfully and BMW M
Motorsports in Munich is continuing to work hard on further
development of the BMW M4 DTM, which is modified in accordance with
Class 1 regulations. The DTM car for the 2019 season has now made its
first appearance on a racetrack – albeit a virtual track. Last week,
BMW DTM driver Marco Wittmann (GER) completed a simulator test with
the Class 1 BMW M4 DTM. The two-time DTM champion was impressed by the
new generation of the race car. “It was a very cool experience,” said
Wittmann. “You can clearly feel that the car has considerably more
power than before. We can all look forward to that – spectators and us
drivers alike. The higher performance will alter our driving style, as
we will be approaching corners significantly faster, so the braking
points will come sooner. We must obviously wait to see how it is in
reality, as this was just the first drive in the simulator. However,
you can gain an initial impression and I think that the Class 1
regulations will make for quite a show next year. I am already really
looking forward to actually driving the new car in the tests.” The
first ITR test ahead of the 2019 season will take place from 11th to
14th November 2018 at Estoril (POR).

 

DTM: Eng now able to travel to the racetrack in the BMW M5 Competition.

Philipp Eng (AUT) now has a new company car in his garage: the BMW
DTM driver travelled to Salzburg (AUT) to receive his new BMW M5
Competition this week (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 10.8 –
10.7; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 246 – 243). With 625 PS under
its bonnet, the BMW M5 Competition is the most powerful model so far
in the history of BMW M. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in an
impressive 3.3 seconds and, with its M-specific damper setting and
optimised M sports exhaust system, it is raising the bar in the
high-performance sedan class. “The name says it all with the BMW M5
Competition,” says Eng. “The performance is unbelievable, and the
torque is extremely good. I particularly like the sound, especially
when downshifting. There are very few cars that achieve the balancing
act between sports car and sedan as perfectly as the BMW M5
Competition. I can drive at over 300 km/h, but also extremely
efficiently. It feels great to have the BMW M5 Competition as my new
company car.”

 

Customer Racing: BMW M4 GT4 is “Race Car of the Year”.

“And the winner is… the BMW M4 GT4!” – The latest member of BMW M
Motorsport’s customer racing range was named “Race Car of the Year”
during Wednesday evening’s presentation ceremony at the Professional
MotorSport World Expo Awards in Cologne (GER). The BMW M4 GT4
impressed the 20-strong expert jury, consisting of leading motorsport
and technology journalists, seeing off strong opposition from many
other automobile manufacturers involved in motor racing. This accolade
is the highlight of what has been a thoroughly successful debut season
for the BMW M4 GT4, which has been littered with victories and titles
all over the world. The BMW M4 GT4 made its debut in customer hands at
the 24-hour Dubai (UAE) race in January 2018. Since then, it has
claimed countless race wins and podiums around the world, including
the prestigious victory in the fiercely-contested SP10 class at the
Nürburgring 24 Hours (GER). Other highlights included GT4 titles in
the Blancpain GT Series Asia and the British GT Championship. As well
as the BMW M4 GT4, West Surrey Racing Team was also recognised. The
team, from Sunbury-on-Thames (GBR), received the award for “European
Race Series Team of the Year”. The team enjoyed a perfect season in
the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), winning the Drivers’
title with Colin Turkington (GBR) and taking first place in the Team
competition. BMW also won the Manufacturers’ Championship.

 

Customer Racing: Ben Tuck named “Top British GT4 Driver”.

British weekly motorsport newspaper Motorsport News has honoured Ben
Tuck (GBR) for his outstanding performances in the BMW M4 GT4,
awarding him the accolade “Top British GT4 Driver”. Tuck made his
debut in the British GT Championship at the wheel of the Century
Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 in 2018. He won one race, started from pole
twice, claimed two podiums and five top-five results. He also set a
fastest lap time. At the end of an outstanding rookie season, Tuck
missed out on the title in the GT4 class by just one point, ending the
year as runner-up.

 

Japanese Super GT: ARTA narrowly misses out on GT300 title.

Autobacs Racing Team Aguri (ARTA) led the Driver and Team
competitions in the Japanese Super GT Championship ahead of the final
race weekend in Motegi (JPN). However, things did not run entirely to
plan in qualifying for Shinichi Takagi (JPN) and Sean Walkinshaw (GBR)
in the #55 BMW M6 GT3. They started the eighth and final race of the
season from tenth on the grid. The duo struggled to make up any ground
in the race itself, and eventually crossed the finish line in ninth
place. That meant Takagi and Walkinshaw had to settle for second place
in the Drivers’ Championship at the end of an exciting season. In the
Team competition, ARTA ended the Super GT year in second place.