IGTC: Sheldon van der Linde to compete in home event at Kyalami.
BMW DTM driver Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) will compete in a very
special race in November. The South African will contest the 9-hour
race at Kyalami (RSA) for BMW Team Schnitzer in a BMW M6 GT3 at the
season finale of the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC). It is the
first time in his international career that he will head to South
Africa for a home race. “It goes without saying that it is something
incredibly special for me – probably even the highlight of my season,”
said van der Linde. “Some of my family, like my grandparents, have
never seen me compete in an international race live. Now they will
finally be able to at Kyalami. I’m expecting the atmosphere to be
awesome since it has been quite a while since a major international
race has been held in South Africa so it will be something new for the
fans and they will be excited. And there will be other South African
drivers starting alongside me, among them my brother Kelvin. I’m
really looking forward to the whole event.” Van der Linde will share
the cockpit with the two regular drivers Augusto Farfus (BRA) and
Martin Tomczyk (GER). The second Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3
will have Nick Catsburg (NED), Mikkel Jensen (DEN) and Christian
Krognes (NOR) at the wheel. The race will be held on 22nd/23rdNovember.
VLN: Three BMW M6 GT3s in the top ten.
The sixth round of the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring (GER)
saw the participants compete in the 42nd RCM DMV
Grenzlandrennen. In the 4-hour race, three BMW M6 GT3s made it into
the top ten of the overall classification. In changeable conditions,
the #3 Falken Motorsports car took the chequered flag in fifth place.
Peter Dumbreck (GBR) and Alexandre Imperatori (CHN) shared duties at
the wheel. Seventh place went to the #34 BMW M6 GT3 of Walkenhorst
Motorsport, driven by BMW works driver Nick Catsburg (NED), David
Pittard and Jody Fannin (both GBR). They were immediately followed
across the line by the #35 sister car of Rudi Adams, Jörn
Schmidt-Staade (both GER) and Jordan Tresson (FRA). The Walkenhorst
Motorsport trio also secured the class win in the SP9 Pro-Am category.
In the SP10 class, BMW Motorsport Junior Erik Johansson (SWE) and
Heiko Eichenberg (GER) celebrated their next win with the #181 BMW M4
GT4 of Team AVIA Sorg Rennsport. In addition, they claimed a strong
11th place in the overall classification. Team AVIA Sorg
Rennsport also triumphed in the V4 class when victory went to the BMW
325i driven by Torsten Kratz (AUT), Oliver Frisse (GER) and Moran Gott
(GBR). More class wins were taken by BMW teams in the SP4 and VT2 categories.
BMW M240i Racing Cup: First win of the season for Setsaas,
Hansesaetre and Oberheim.
The BMW M240i Racing Cup held its sixth event of the season with the
VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring (GER). After four hours of
racing, Sintre Setsaas, Inge Hansesaetre (both NOR) and Moritz
Oberheim (GER) of Team AVIA Sorg Rennsport celebrated their first win
of the season. Pixum Team Adrenalin Motorsport’s David Griessner (AUT)
and Yannick Fübrich (GER) finished the race in second position. Third
place went to Juha Hannonen (FIN) and Christian Konnerth (GER) of Team
FK Performance Motorsport. After the sixth event of the season,
Fübrich and Griessner not only remain in the lead in the BMW M240i
Racing Cup classification but also in the VLN overall standings. In
the overall championship, they have collected 47.48 points so far.
China GT Championship: Victory for Yelloly/Yu and the BMW M6
GT3 at Tianjin.
Tianjin in China hosted the ninth and tenth race of the season in the
China GT Championship. The race weekend ended with a victory for the
BMW M6 GT3. In race two on Sunday, Nick Yelloly (GBR) and Lin Yu (CHN)
were unbeatable in the FIST-Team AAI #90 car and crossed the line in
first place. On Saturday, the duo had finished race one in fourth
place. “Yesterday, we were unlucky with the safety car, today it was
the other way around,” said Yelloly. “It’s our first win since Ningbo
and I’m really happy. I’m also delighted for Lin as we are not far
away from his home town Bejing and secured this win.” Their team-mates
Jesse Krohn (FIN) and Betty Chen (TWN) finished the races in the #91
BMW M6 GT3 in fifth and fourth places respectively. Yelloly is leading
the GT3 drivers’ championship and the same goes for FIST-Team AAI in
the team championship. The season finale will be held from
11th to 13th October at Shanghai (CHN).
In the GT4 category, Team Master Champ raced onto the podium with the
#999 BMW M4 GT4, securing third place in race two on Sunday. In race
one, the team had crossed the line in fourth position. The FIST-Team
AAI #17 BMW M4 GT4 finished the two races in sixth and seventh places respectively.
International GT Open: Beitske Visser and Šenkýř Motorsport in
action at Silverstone.
BMW Motorsport Junior Beitske Visser (NED) competed her second race
event with Šenkýř Motorsport in the International GT Open at the
weekend. This time, the team was in action at Silverstone (GBR) with
the BMW M6 GT3. Together with team-mate Richard Gonda (SVK), Visser
finished Saturday’s first race in eighth position. In Sunday’s second
race, the Visser/Gonda duo were fourth to cross the finish line.