Summit meeting for stars of the ice channel at 1,600 metres: Medal favourites at the bobsleigh and skeleton world championships enjoy BMW driving pleasure.

Königssee. The race before the race: the preparations for the second week of competition are in full swing for the participants in the 2017 BMW IBSF Bobsleigh + Skeleton World Championship in Königssee (GER). This is where the champions in the four-man bob and skeleton events will be crowned. Before this happens on Friday, the four-time two-man bob world champion Francesco Friedrich (GER), reigning four-man bob champion Oskars Melbardis (LAT), Olympic winner Steven Holcomb (USA) & co. took part in a special downhill event and enjoyed the breath-taking views over the areas around Berchtesgaden and Salzburg from a height of 1,600 metres: they headed down the curves of the famous Rossfeldstraße behind the wheel of powerful BMW models.

Friedrich, having claimed the world championship title in the two-man bob event, with Thorsten Margis (GER), for the third time in a row last weekend, mastered the challenging descent at the wheel of the 370 HP BMW M2 Coupé. Johannes Lochner (GER) and his brakeman Joshua Bluhm (GER) conquered the mountain in the BMW M3. The BMW M6 Coupé, the BMW M5, the BMW 440i xDrive Cabrio and the BMW X6 xDrive50i were also in action.

Like Friedrich, reigning four-man bob world champion Melbardis took his world championship trophy here. He will be defending his title at the weekend in the Deutsche Post Ice Arena in Königssee, Germany. Holcomb, the Canadian duo of Justin Kripps and Jesse Lumsden, Nico Walther (GER) and the skeleton ladies Tina Hermann and Jacqueline Lölling (both GER) also showed their driving talents during this special training event.

You can watch the video of this summit meeting for bobsleigh and skeleton stars on the BMW Group Sports Facebook page, with the following link: bit.ly/2mlAYek

Overview of the BMW car fleet at the summit meeting:

BMW M2 Coupé (combined fuel consumption: 8.5 to 7.9 l/100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 199 to 185 g/km)

BMW M3 (combined fuel consumption: 8.8 to 8.3 l/100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 204 to 194 g/km)

BMW M6 Coupé (combined fuel consumption: 9.9 l /100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 231 g/km)

BMW M5 (combined fuel consumption: 9.9 l /100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 231 g/km)

BMW 440i xDrive Cabrio (combined fuel consumption: 7.6 l /100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 177 g/km)

BMW X6 xDrive50i (combined fuel consumption: 9.7 l /100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 227 to 225 g/km)