BMW Motorsport News – Issue 21/2017.

IWSC: Turner Motorsport in Detroit with best result of the
season so far.

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) headed to Detroit
(USA) this weekend where the Turner Motorsport team got their best
result of the season to date in the GTD class. BMW works driver Jens
Klingmann (GER) and Bret Curtis (USA) crossed the finish line in
fourth place in the number 96 BMW M6 GT3 after a strong pursuit.
Curtis started the 100-minute race on the street circuit of Belle Isle
from twelfth on the grid and soon moved up a few places. After the
driver change and a perfect pit stop from the Turner Motorsport crew,
Klingmann rejoined the race in seventh place. He moved even further up
the field, finishing fourth only narrowly missing out on a podium
position. The GTLM class of the IWSC, in which BMW Team RLL fields two
BMW M6 GTLM, took a break over the Detroit weekend and will hold its
next race on 2nd July in Watkins Glen (USA).

 

Blancpain GT Series: Eventful races in Zolder.

Just one week after the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring (GER), the
ROWE Racing team took on the next round of the Blancpain GT Series
Sprint Cup in Zolder in Belgium. In the qualifying race on Saturday,
the two BMW works drivers Philipp Eng (AUT) and António Félix da Costa
(POR) in the number 99 BMW M6 GT3 went on a pursuit that saw them move
from 24th on the grid up to 14th place. The two
Finns Markus Palttala and Jesse Krohn in the number 98 sister car
crossed the finish line in 26th place. In the main race on
Sunday, Félix da Costa soon moved up from 14th into eighth
place, but was spun by a rival. He continued the race in
30th position but he and Eng had to retire later due to the
damage sustained. During that time Palttala/Krohn worked their way up
through the field, finishing in twelfth place after the sixty minutes
of racing.

 

Italian GT Championship: BMW Team Italia on the podium in Misano.

On the second race weekend of the Italian GT Championship in Misano
(ITA), BMW Team Italia celebrated its first podium position of the
season. The two regular drivers Stefano Comandini and Alberto Cerqui
(both ITA) clinched second place with the BMW M6 GT3 in Saturday’s
race. The duo finished in fifth place in Sunday’s race. The third race
weekend of the season is scheduled for 16th to
18th June in Monza (ITA).

 

BMW Group Classic: Le Mans winner BMW V12 LMR wows in Silverstone.

The BMW V12 LMR – a race car inextricably linked with BMW’s
motorsport history. The twelve-cylinder prototype celebrated the
overall win at the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA) in 1999 and on
Friday, the BMW V12 LMR delighted the fans once again. British racing
team Williams celebrates 40 years of racing this year, and to mark the
occasion hosted an anniversary event in Silverstone (GBR). Williams
gave fans the chance to see historic and current racing cars from the
1970s to today, including the Le Mans winning car from BMW, which BMW
Group Classic took to Great Britain specially for the Williams
anniversary. It goes without saying that the BMW V12 LMR took to the
track and completed a few demo laps on the Silverstone Circuit, with
long-time BMW works driver Steve Soper (GBR) at the wheel.