BMW Motorsport News – Issue 36/2019.

Whether in the DTM, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar
Championship, the ABB FIA Formula E 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.  

 

DRM Classics: Flasch and Thiemer at the wheel of the BMW 320
Group 5.

The DRM Classics demo runs were highlights in the support programme
of the Hockenheim (GER) DTM finale. More than 20 race cars from DTM‘s
predecessor series “Deutsche Rennsport-Meisterschaft“ (DRM) took to
the track on all three days. The series played a major role in the
German-speaking racing world between 1972 and 1985. A total of nine
BMW race cars were in action, among them the BMW M1, the BMW 2002 and
the BMW 3.0 CSL. The BMW 320 Group 5 from 1977, the former car of the
legendary BMW Junior Team, also took part in the highspeed demo runs.
Jochen Neerpasch, the first CEO of the BMW Motorsport GmbH, was
present, while Markus Flasch, the Director of BMW M GmbH, sat at the
wheel on Friday and Saturday. “This has been a fascinating
experience,“ he said. “Our brand is defined by its heritage. If you
see the ongoing enthusiasm of the fans for the BMW 320 Group 5, then
it‘s something really special. I‘m proud to be able to do such drives
with M – the strongest letter in the world.“ On Sunday, Jens Thiemer,
Head of BMW Brand Management, sat at the wheel. He added: “This
obviously is a legendary car that wrote history for BMW. Therefore it
was an honour for me to drive such a car during the DRM Classics in
the DTM support programme. The BMW 320 Group 5 ran really well in the
rain, although you first had to get used to the conditions out there.
After four or five laps, however, everything felt fine.“

 

GT4 Scandinavia: Söderström and Serwanski secure second place
in the Pro-Am standings. 

The GT4 Scandinavia finale took place this weekend at Mantorp Park
(SWE) – and the Lestrup Racing team rounded off the season with two
more top ten finishes. In the #97 BMW M4 GT4, Oliver Söderström and
Robert Serwanski (both SWE) claimed eighth and fifth places in the two
races on Saturday. The duo can look back over a successful season that
featured a total of four wins. They concluded the season 13 points
away from first place, just missing out on the title in the Pro-Am
drivers’ standings.

 

Italian GT Championship: Bad luck for Alex Zanardi and BMW
Team Italia.

The Italian GT Championship weekend did not quite go to plan for the
BMW Team Italia. At the penultimate race of the season at Mugello
(ITA), BMW works driver Alessandro Zanardi (ITA), BMW
Motorsport Junior Erik Johansson (SWE) and Stefano Comandini (ITA) in
the #15 BMW M6 GT3 were forced to retire early due to a technical
issue. The team had approached the race weekend with high hopes. The
guest appearance by Zanardi stirred memories of past successes. He had
previously appeared at the Italian GT Championship finale in 2016.
That was his debut appearance in the BMW M6 GT3 and his victory in
Sunday’s race was celebrated throughout the paddock. Zanardi returned
to Mugello in the cockpit of a modified BMW M6 GT3, racing for BMW
Team Italia headed by team principal Roberto Ravaglia (ITA). However,
retiring from the penultimate race of 2019 put paid to any hopes of
claiming the series title. 

 

Nonetheless, BMW Team Italia still had reason to celebrate. Giuseppe
Fascicolo, Francesco Guerra and Andrea Fontana (all ITA) reached the
podium in the GT4 class with the trio in the #207 BMW M4 GT4 crossing
the line in second place.