BMW sports stars visit BMW DTM teams in Spielberg.

Spielberg (AT), 1st June 2013. They have made it: after two days and five stages, the BMW Sports & Classic Rally has reached its end in Ehrenhausen (AT), near Graz (AT). BMW sport stars including BMW Group Sport Ambassador Katarina Witt (DE), BMW Brand Ambassador Prince Leopold of Bavaria (DE) and BMW Running Ambassador Jan Fitschen (DE) have been on the road since Thursday in historic BMW cars. Starting out at the BMW Museum in Munich (DE), the rally stopped in at Schliersee (DE), Königssee (DE) and Wörthersee (AT) on the way to its final destination. The participants did not allow the constant rain and unseasonal low temperatures to dampen the good spirit.

At Ehrenhausen the rally, which consisted of iconic BMW cars like the BMW 328, BMW 3.0 CSL, BMW M1 and the BMW Z8, reached its conclusion with a closing event in a jovial atmosphere. The participants took the opportunity to look back on their experiences over the course of the 780-kilometre journey. From there, a number of the sportsmen and women, along with the other guests, headed to Spielberg (AT) on Saturday, where Red Bull Ring hosts the third race of the DTM season this weekend. Once there, the participants were reunited with the eight BMW DTM drivers, who had joined them on the first two legs of the BMW Sports & Classic Rally.

The visit allowed the BMW sport stars to experience the world of motorsport at close hand. Germany’s number one marathon runner Fitschen, world luge champion Natalie Geisenberger (DE) and Olympic luge champion Felix Loch (DE) were given an exclusive taxi ride in a BMW M3 GT2 racing car, with BMW works driver Dirk Adorf (DE) at the wheel.

“That was really cool,” said Geisenberger after her second taxi lap of the Red Bull Ring. “I would have braked a bit earlier than Dirk here and there, but a racing driver obviously has a car like this under far better control than you or I. Anyway, I don’t do a lot of braking in the ice channel. We are getting a great insight into the work of the BMW teams here – and it is great fun.”

Loch also raved about his outing on the 4.326-kilometre track: “It was not my first taxi ride, so I had some idea of what to expect. It is just great fun to fly round the circuit in a racing car and see exactly what is possible. We could quite happily have driven another ten laps. Luge and motorsport both have speed in common. And the fascination for high speed is similarly high in both sports.”

Skeleton world champion Anja Huber (DE), bobsleigh world champion Francesco Friedrich (DE) and his pusher Jannis Bäcker (DE) also enjoyed visiting the four BMW teams at the Red Bull Ring. Among other things, the sport stars received a special garage tour from BMW Team Schnitzer, getting a unique look behind the scenes of the DTM.

“I usually run at about 20 km/h, but this was obviously far quicker,” said Fitschen. “I was a little bit uneasy before the ride, but it was enormous fun. A crazy feeling. We are really close to the action here and can get a clear picture of what the eight BMW drivers, who took part in the BMW Sports & Classic Rally with us, get up to. I will have my fingers crossed for the guys in qualifying later.”