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.
DTM: Bruno Spengler challenges winter sports stars to a contest.
In less than 100 days BMW Motorsport will get its fifth DTM season
since its comeback in 2012 underway with the opening race in
Hockenheim (DE). But even when there are no races, the BMW drivers
don’t sit back and relax. Bruno Spengler (CA) took on the ultimate
challenge on ice and snow last weekend. At the Winter Challenge hosted
by BMW Bank, one of BMW Motorsport’s premium partners, the Canadian
took on biathlon idol Fritz Fischer (DE) and luge legend Georg Hackl
(DE), each with a team made up of fans. In an interview, Spengler
talks about the event and his love of winter sports.
Three questions for… Bruno Spengler.
Bruno, you are totally crazy about sport, so the BMW Bank
Winter Challenge must have been a dream come true for you…
Bruno Spengler: “Absolutely! The scenery at Königssee and in
Saalfelden alone, which was the backdrop for this exceptional
competition, was fantastic. To set the mood, on the first evening, we
held an ice kart challenge and went on a torch-lit hike to an Alpine
meadow. This encouraged real team spirit. Then the actual competition
day was on Saturday. We competed in three disciplines – a biathlon,
luge and in a BMW Driving Experience. It was a fantastic experience to
line up against Fritz and Georg. They are legends in their sports.
They have won a combined total of eight medals at the Olympic Games
and have been world champions 12 times. That is an impressive record.
And they are both fantastic people. We got on really well. Despite the
cold temperatures, a lot of sweat was flowing, as was plenty of
adrenalin. The three of us are extremely competitive people who always
give 100 percent and want to win. In the end, Fritz and his team just
edged it, but the result is not that important. The focus was on fun,
and we had plenty of that at the Winter Challenge. There was a lot of
laughter. The prize-giving ceremony hosted by Magdalena Neuner in the
mountain village of Priesteregg in the evening was a fantastic
surprise and a brilliant way to round off the event for everyone involved.”
Does this type of competition help you keep fit for the
upcoming DTM season, even though the focus is on fun?
Spengler: “Definitely, every type of sporting activity helps
prepare for the season. If you aren’t fit, you have no chance in the
DTM. You can only win races when you are at your peak both physically
and mentally. That’s why I always go full throttle in winter. When
cross-country skiing or snowshoeing in Canada, I lay the foundations
for the season in terms of endurance. However, my perfect sport is
biathlon. The shooting exercises help me remain focussed, even when my
pulse rate is extremely high.”
What are your expectations going into the 2016 DTM season?
Spengler: “We have to wait and see where we are compared to our
competitors. I want to get the best out of myself and my car – that’s
my first goal for the 2016 season. I may have been the best BMW driver
again in 2015 and able to win a few podium positions, but I was unable
to get a victory. I want to change that in the coming season. For me
there is nothing better than standing at the very top of the podium
after a race. That’s what I live for.”
—
DTM: Timo Glock teaches bob stars to drift.
It wasn’t only Bruno Spengler (CA) who ventured onto ice and snow
this week. His BMW team-mate in the DTM, Timo Glock (DE), was also on
slippery ground last week. He impressed some of the fastest
bobsledders in the world with his feel for driving in the BMW Snow
Driving Challenge on the Rettenbach glacier (AT) in the Ötztal Alps.
The highest winter training course driving terrain in the world is
located at an altitude of 3,000 metres, and is where the winter sports
stars were flown in by helicopter directly from the Olympic bobsled
run in Innsbruck-Igls (AT). Under Glock’s instruction, the bob stars
mastered demanding challenges such as the drift slalom, traction
challenge and off-road course, and had plenty of fun at the wheel of
the sporty BMW models. Among those competing were reigning two-man bob
world champion Francesco Friedrich (DE) with his pusher Thorsten
Margis (DE), as well as four-man bob Olympic Games winner Steven
Holcomb (US). For the athletes, this was the perfect warm-up for the
upcoming BMW IBSF World Championships in bob and skeleton to be hosted
from 8th to 21st February. “It’s always a lot of fun with the bob
athletes,” said Glock. “They were able to take their mind
off the World Championships for a while and really went for it today.
It’s always great to meet other athletes from the BMW Sport family.”
MotoGP: BMW M2 MotoGP Safety Car takes leading role in
pinnacle of motorcycle racing.
BMW M goes into the 2016 MotoGP season with a Safety Car based on the
new BMW M2 Coupé. The BMW M2 MotoGP Safety Car is the new highlight of
the official MotoGP fleet and immediately takes a leading role in the
pinnacle of motorcycle racing. The BMW M2 Coupé unveiled in Detroit
(US) in January 2016 provides the ideal basis for the MotoGP Safety
Car. The new inline six-cylinder engine with innovative M TwinPower
Turbo technology and three-litre capacity guarantees an extremely
sporty performance. With a maximum output of 272 kW/370 hp and a
maximum torque of 7,000 rpm, the extremely rev-happy powertrain really
makes its mark out on the track. The intelligent, lightweight concept,
low point of gravity and small, unsprung weight are further trump
cards, which help ensure the maximum agility and dynamics of the
high-performance coupé. In the BMW M factory in Garching near Munich
(DE), the production car was modified, optimised and prepared by hand
for its new role in MotoGP.