BMW Motorsport News – Issue 17/13.

Whether in the DTM, the American Le Mans Series 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. 

ADAC GT Masters: ‘PIXUM Team Schubert’ wins at Spa-Francorchamps.

This Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps (BE), Dominik Baumann (AT) and Claudia Hürtgen (DE) won the fourth ADAC Masters round of the 2013 season. With their BMW Z4 GT3, the ‘PIXUM Team Schubert’ pairing won the race on the drying track in superior style and, following this triumph, holds third position in the overall-championship. Meanwhile, the championship lead is held by another BMW Z4 GT3, with two race weekends of the season contested. Simon Knap (NL) and Jeroen den Boer (NL), racing for Team DB Motorsport, finished third in both races and rewarded themselves for their consistency by taking the first position on the championship table. By finishing sixth on Sunday, Yelmer Buurman (NL) and Martin Matzke (CZ) secured the best result for Team Vita4One Racing. Jörg Müller’s (DE) BMW Z4 GT3 no 20 was involved in a massive accident with Audi’s René Rast (DE). While, given the circumstances, Müller was lucky to avoid injury, Rast had to be taken to a nearby hospital. “I saw René’s car extremely late and, when I realised it was almost stopping on the track, averting the crash was just impossible” Müller said. “I wish René all the best and hope that he gets well quickly and will be back in the cockpit soon.” 

ALMS: Another impressive race for BMW Team RLL at Laguna Seca.

In the third American Le Mans Series (ALMS) round, at Laguna Seca (US), BMW Team RLL secured its third podium of the season. In the GT class, Dirk Müller (DE) and John Edwards (US) took their BMW Z4 GTE #56 to third place. Thanks to this result, two-time GT champion Müller took the lead in the driver championship standings. Meanwhile, a technical problem forced Bill Auberlen (US) and Maxime Martin (BE) into early retirement. 

DTM: Werner ready for the next challenge.

A week ago, in the season opener at Hockenheim (DE), Dirk Werner delivered in fantastic style to secure the best result in his DTM career so far. At the wheel of the SAMSUNG BMW M3 DTM he made history by working his way up from 20th on the grid to finish second. It was the most sensational comeback in the history of the DTM and Werner’s fellow BMW driver Augusto Farfus (BR) was the only man in the field who was faster.   

Three questions to… Dirk Werner. 

Dirk, how many congratulations did you get, following your runner-up finish at Hockenheim? 

Dirk Werner: “I didn’t count them exactly but it was quite a lot. When I took the first look at my mobile after the race I already had been sent countless SMS. In addition, there was a big number of phone calls and emails sent by relatives, friends, former Team Principals and even people I hadn’t been in close contact with in the recent past. It was really great to see that all these people are following my career.”   

How do you personally assess your first DTM podium?  

Werner: “As I see it, the first DTM podium is a kind of breakthrough and a huge relief. Making it to the podium was one of my goals when entering the DTM. In 2012, I came close to making it twice but failed in the end. Now I finally made it. And it goes without saying that continuing with this performance must be the new goal.” 

Will realising this goal be possible as early as in the forthcoming race at Brands Hatch? 

Werner: “It’s a new race and so I’m starting from scratch again and will have to work hard again to be successful. But thanks to the Hockenheim podium I’m travelling to Brands Hatch with boosted motivation – and even more so as last year’s race at Brands Hatch didn’t go too well, for me. I have made a good start to the season, and I want to build on that by making it into the points as consistently as possible in the coming races.” 

--- 

24h Nürburgring: The countdown is on.

Next weekend, the heart of international endurance racing is once again beating in the ‘Green Hell’. BMW will be represented on the grid of the 41st running of the 24-hour race, held at the Nürburgring Nordschleife (DE) on 19th May, not only by BMW Team Schubert, but also by BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS. One of the Belgian team’s cars will be raced by BMW Motorsport test and development driver Maxime Martin (BE), Yelmer Buurman (NL) and Andrea Piccini (IT) while Team Principal Bas Leinders (BE), Markus Palttala (FI), Henri Moser (CH) and Richard Göransson (SE) will alternate at the wheel of the squad’s second BMW Z4 GT3.