The Board of Management of BMW AG has decided to strategically
realign its automobile racing activities. In doing so, the company is
setting course for a future BMW Group motorsport programme that is as
extensive as it is diversified. The commitments contribute to BMW M,
BMW i and MINI. The threads for the development of the cars and their
race outings will henceforth come together in BMW Group Motorsport.
This realignment, which comes seven years after the withdrawal from
Formula One and four years after returning to the DTM, once again
ensures that the BMW Group addresses important topics in the
ever-changing world of motorsport, is even more broadly positioned,
and can thus address different target groups around the world. Classic
motor racing and sustainability both play key roles, in order to
inspire fans of sporty driving at racetracks all over the planet. The
strong pillars of the programme for the coming years will be the DTM,
the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the IMSA WeatherTech
SportsCar Championship (IWSC), the cooperation with Andretti Formula E
in the FIA Formula E Championship, the customer racing programme in
the GT3 and GT4 categories, the promotion of talented young drivers,
and the extremely challenging Dakar Rally.
The focus on production-based motor racing, which was decided upon in
2009, will be further intensified. The commitments in the DTM and the
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship continue, and it is also
planned to race in the WEC with a new GT car. The BMW M4 GT4 will join
the range of models in the customer racing portfolio. BMW will also
work closely with US racing legend Michael Andretti’s (US) team in the
FIA Formula E Championship – the world’s leading racing series for
electric cars. As cooperation partner of Andretti Formula E, BMW
Motorsport will cooperate closely with the team, in order to
familiarise itself with processes in this innovative series, and to
check the possibility of a works involvement in the future. At the
same time, BMW i remains the “Official Vehicle Partner” of Formula E.
Ever since the inaugural season of the series in 2014/15, the BMW i8
Safety Car has taken to the track in Formula E as a high-performance
and efficient lead car. Furthermore, MINI’s successful cooperation
with Sven Quandt’s X-raid team at the Dakar Rally will also continue.
Klaus Fröhlich, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG,
Development, said: “The strategic realignment of the motorsport
activities is a strong commitment to motorsport on the part of our
company. It will remain a cornerstone within the BMW Group in the
future. Everyone knows that BMW and motorsport are intrinsically
linked. The commitments allow us to demonstrate our expertise in the
areas of technology and integration on international platforms,
including the world’s leading racing series for electric mobility and
classic motorsport. Electric mobility will continue to grow in
importance. In the last ten years, we have established a leading
position in the automobile industry in this field with BMW i. Through
our partnership with Andretti Formula E in the Formula E Championship,
we will now additionally see a close interaction between motor racing
and production development in our company, from which both departments
will benefit. On the production-based racing scene, we will be
represented with BMW M in the global WEC series in the future, as well
as the DTM and the IWSC. Our commitments complement each other
perfectly: we are going head to head with our most important global
competitors, whether through our works commitments or customer racing.
In short: The future strategy is excellently suited to the BMW Group.
Bring on the future.”
BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt also sees the bundling of all
automobile racing activities as an extremely positive development, and
said: “It is fantastic that the BMW Group will be even more broadly
positioned and represented in all relevant areas in the future. We
will continue to focus on Europe in the DTM, and are looking forward
to continuing the extremely close competition with the other premium
manufacturers over the coming years. Other relevant international
platforms will also be incorporated in the new strategy: the
commitment in Formula E sees us forge new paths and demonstrate our
expertise in the field of electric mobility. Over the coming years,
the cooperation with Andretti Formula E will primarily focus on
familiarising ourselves with the procedures and processes, and on
intensifying our knowledge. Our works driver António Félix da Costa
will be in action behind the wheel. A works involvement is then
conceivable as of the series’ fifth season. The premise for all these
steps is the further positive development of the series, which
includes increasing the capacity of the batteries, for example.”
Marquardt continued: “Starting with the 2018 season, we want to
further expand our activities in GT racing and compete in the FIA
World Endurance Championship, as well as the IMSA WeatherTech
SportsCar Championship. This obviously also includes our return to Le
Mans, which we are particularly looking forward to. The way the WEC
has developed so well makes us confident that there is a big future
for GT racing. This is also the motivation behind our further
expansion in the customer racing sector. Our range is already
spearheaded by a successful representative, in the form of the BMW M6
GT3. As of 2018, we will also be excellently represented by the BMW M4
GT4 in the GT4 class, which is currently experiencing something of a
boom. It goes without saying that we will also continue our successful
junior programme, in which we prepare talented youngsters in GT and
touring car racing for the bigger challenges ahead. At the same time,
we will also be ramping up our support of MINI’s Dakar Rally project
in the future. All in all, the BMW Group’s motorsport programme is
virtually unique in terms of its scope and diversity.”
Hildegard Wortmann, Senior Vice President Brand BMW, said: “The new
motor racing strategy is particularly characterised by a strong ‘brand
fit’. The different commitments ideally contribute to the attributes
that fans and customers connect with the respective brand. We will
extend the existing target groups and will – for instance – become
even more visible for urban and young customers, as with our Formula E
commitment. Overall we are very well positioned with this strategy in
motorsport and are represented on the most important markets
worldwide. BMW and motorsport – they belong together. This combination
has always shaped the brand.”
An overview of the BMW Group Motorsport programme.
DTM: BMW will continue its comprehensive commitment
in the DTM over the coming years. As arguably the best and most
popular touring car series in the world, the DTM provides the perfect
stage, on which to offer fans exciting racing of the highest possible
quality. The DTM will remain an important platform in the future,
particularly for BMW Germany. BMW will play an active role in ensuring
that the positive marketing developments seen this year will continue
in the future.
FIA World Endurance Championship: The plan is for BMW
to enter the FIA World Endurance Championship in the 2018 season. The
highlight of this championship is the 24-hour race in Le Mans (FR).
BMW claimed overall victory there in 1999 with the open prototype BMW
V12 LMR. The last time a BMW took its place on the grid at the
endurance classic near the river Sarthe was in 2011: back then, the
BMW M3 GT finished third in the LM GTE class. Since it was launched in
2012, the championship has enjoyed a positive development, forged new
paths in many regards, and won a lot of fans. Further details, such as
the model of car to be used and the team responsible for the car, will
be confirmed and announced over the coming months.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
: The series combines fantastic cars, iconic
racetracks, top-class drivers and passionate fans. In doing so, it
continues a long tradition of sports car racing in the USA and Canada,
in which BMW has always played a major role. In 1975, shortly after
BMW of North America was founded, the legendary BMW 3.0 CSL won the 12
Hours of Sebring. 2015 marked the 40th anniversary of this success.
BMW Motorsport and BMW Team RLL are in their eighth season together
this year. Team principal Bobby Rahal’s outfit first entered the
series – still known as the American Le Mans Series at the time – in
2009. Over the following years, the team won many races and celebrated
five titles in the GT class.
FIA Formula E Championship: The cooperation with
Andretti Formula E is initially set to run for two seasons. It
incorporates, for example, cooperation at engineer level and the
mutual use of resources. Depending on the general development of the
racing series, a works involvement is envisaged as of the series’
season 5, 2018/2019, provided the conditions and circumstances are
right. As part of this commitment, BMW Motorsport will provide its
works driver António Félix da Costa (PT) as a driver for Andretti
Formula E. The Portuguese, who has featured on the top step of the DTM
podium with BMW and has already tasted victory in Formula E, will
contest the entire 2016/17 FIA Formula E Championship. As well as the
new partnership, BMW i will remain the “Official Vehicle Partner” of
Formula E. This partnership allows BMW i to present the plug-in hybrid
BMW i8, as the Safety Car, and the fully-electric BMW i3, as the
Medical Car, in some of the largest cities in the world.
BMW Customer Racing: A comprehensive offering for
privateer teams and drivers from all over the world, to allow them to
compete successfully in motorsport with BMW cars, enjoys a long
tradition and will continue to play an important role in BMW Group
Motorsport in the future. The range of products is spearheaded by the
BMW M6 GT3, which made its race debut in 2016 and was soon winning
races. As of 2018, the range will also include another model, in the
form of the BMW M4 GT4. Built on the ideal basis provided by the BMW
M4 Coupé, this car is the reaction to the positive development of the
GT4 sector. Test outings at races are planned for this year, in order
to ensure that customers receive a perfect car that has been tested in
all conceivable situations. Possible innovations in entry-level motor
racing, which is currently catered for by the BMW M235i Racing, are
being evaluated.
BMW Motorsport Junior programme: The promotion of
promising young drivers dates back to the 1970s at BMW Motorsport.
During this time, this philosophy has produced many winners and
champions in various motorsport disciplines. The BMW Motorsport Junior
programme, a multi-level junior concept with a focus on GT and touring
car racing, was launched in 2014 and has been expanded consistently
since then. This programme will also continue to run in the coming years.
Dakar Rally: The proven cooperation with the X-raid
team and its team principal Sven Quandt, which yielded four wins at
the Dakar Rally for the MINI brand between 2012 and 2015, will
continue. The X-raid team will begin its campaign for Dakar win number
five with a MINI John Cooper Works at the start of 2017.
Press contact: Jörg Kottmeier, Phone: +49 (0) 170 566
6112, joerg.kottmeier@bmw.de Ingo
Lehbrink, Phone: +49 (0) 176 203 40224, ingo.lehbrink@bmw.de
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