BMW Motorsport News – Issue 08/12

Whether it’s in the DTM, in the American Le Mans Series or in countless other racing tournaments, BMW teams and drivers are on the hunt for points, victories and titles week in, week out. What’s more, the members of BMW Motorsport’s large family are also making the headlines around the world even when they aren’t on the track. With “BMW Motorsport News”, we summarise the events for you in a compact and informative package, meaning you’ll always stay up to date.

“Drive like Bruno”: Second Round in Maisach.

The second round of the BMW Driving Event with Bruno Spengler (CA) took place last week in Maisach. Even after his title win in the DTM final in Hockenheim, the Champion insisted on sharing his love of motorsport with the winners of the BMW Bank “Drive like Bruno” competition. He showed them first hand the real meaning of pure driving dynamics. Together with his driving pupils for the day, Spengler put cars such as the new BMW 1 through their paces, showing the high levels of performance they are capable of. In addition, in the Formula BMW Racing Experience the winners were given the opportunity to have a real racing experience in a Formula BMW FB02. Further information about the campaign can be found at www.drivelikebruno.de.

Spengler visits the BMW Bank.

DTM Champion Bruno Spengler visited premium partner BMW Bank last Tuesday, and was congratulated by the staff on his title win. During an autograph session, the employees were given the opportunity to meet Spengler in person. However, the Canadian also turned the tables: he didn’t just give autographs to his fans at BMW Bank, but also let them sign autographs on the matte black bonnet of his BMW Bank M3 DTM. At the end of the visit, countless messages and signatures had been written on the car. Spengler didn’t just visit BMW Bank, but held autograph sessions at two other BMW sites. He was also a guest on “Blickpunkt Sport” (‘Focus Sport’ – a TV show) with BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt on Monday, and appeared on the “Sport 1” broadcast “Motorsport News” on Wednesday. On Friday, he once again raised a glass to victory in the DTM with his team.

DTM presents the racing calendar for the 2013 season.
Before the season finale in Hockenheim, the ITR presented the racing calendar for the coming season. Eleven championship races have been announced, as opposed to the ten events held this year (the calendar is subject to change). The race in Moscow (RU) is the latest addition to the series and will be held on the 4th of August, 2013. This change has required that the Show Event in the Munich Olympic Stadium be set aside after two successful years. This was because it was not possible to turn it into a championship race in which points could be awarded. The penultimate race will take place in Spain on the 29th of September. The exact venue is yet to be confirmed.

An overview of the provisional DTM racing calendar for 2013:

VLN final cancelled – the BMW Trio wins the title in a production car.
The winter weather in the Eifel region prevented the last race of the VLN Endurance Championship from taking place on the Nürburgring. Sheet ice had formed on some stretches of track, and had already led to some of the timed practice rounds being cancelled. The race itself was later cancelled. This made the trio of Carsten Knechtges (DE), Tim Scheerbarth (DE) and Steven Jans (LU) very happy - the cancellation meant that they won the production car title in their BMW M3 in terms of points. The official award ceremony will take place on the 24th of November in the Rhein-Mosel Hall in Koblenz. Due to the cancellation, BMW Team Schubert missed their chance to shine once again in the season finale on the Nordschleife. Two BMW Z4 GT3s wanted to round off the season with further success after their opening victory at the start of the year. Uwe Alzen (DE), Phillip Wlazik (DE) and Niclas Kentenich (DE) were disappointed at not being able to race, as were the second crew, consisting of Stefan Landmann (AT), Peter Posavac (DE) and Abdulaziz Al Faisal (SA). The Team Marc VDS Racing also waited in vain to start in the Münsterland Cup in their BMW Z4 GT3.

The Japanese Super GT: The BMW Duo miss the podium by a whisker.
In rainy Motegi (JP), Nobuteru Taniguchi (JP) and Tatsuya Kataoka (JP) just missed a place on the podium, finishing in fourth place. After 51 rounds, the two Japanese drivers - in their BMW Z4 GT3 - came in just 3.3 seconds after the third place driver. Victory in the eighth round of the Super GT Championship went to Kyosuke Mineo (JP) and Naoki Yokomizo (JP) in the GT300 Class in their Porsche 911 GT3. In the overall ranking, Taniguchi and Kataoka hold 5th place, 30 points behind the leader. The second BMW Z4 GT3, with Taku Bamba (JP) and Masahiro Sasaki (JP) behind the wheel, finished in 17th place in Motegi.

Baku City Challenge: A Victory and Two Podium Positions for BMW Teams.
The Vita4One Racing Team rounded off the weekend in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku with a victory and two further places on the podium. Mathias Lauda (AT) secured victory on the street circuit in the second 30-minute sprint race on Saturday in his BMW Z4 GT3. In the main race on Sunday, which lasted over an hour and included a change of driver, Lauda took second place with Frank Kechele (DE) behind Frederic Makowiecki (FR) and Stef Dusseldorp (NL) in a McLaren. Third place went to the second BMW Z4 GT3 team of Yelmer Buurman (NL) and Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof (AT). The third BMW Z4 GT3 was driven by former Formula 1 drivers Jacques Villeneuve (CA) and Jos Verstappen (NL). They finished the race on Sunday in seventh place.