BMW Motorsport News – Issue 41/14.

Whether in the DTM, the United SportsCar Championship, 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.

DTM: Wittmann and the Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM on the red carpet.
Motorsport meets high society: Marco Wittmann (DE) attended the 16th “GQ Men of the Year” awards in Berlin (DE) on Thursday evening. BMW is Official Partner of the event and provided an exclusive shuttle service, featuring various BMW M models. The eye-catcher on the red carpet was the Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM, with which Wittmann was crowned DTM champion this season. Many high-class national and international celebrities from the worlds of show business, music, sport, politics, culture and fashion took the opportunity to pose for photos with the winning car. One of the most coveted awards at the gala went to top model and BMW brand ambassador Karolína Kurková (CZ). She was named “Gentlewoman of the Year” by the men’s style magazine GQ Gentlemen's Quarterly. Football World Cup winner Miroslav Klose (DE) received an award in the “Sport” category. “It was a great evening,” said Wittmann. “The after-show party was particularly fun. Meeting a national hero like Miro Klose is a one-off experience. It was also fantastic to see Karolína Kurková again. We met working on a film for BMW Stories back in July. However, the biggest star was my Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM. I have to say, it looks really good on the red carpet.”

Bridgestone Production Car Championship: BMW driver Fourie wins title.
The BMW Sports Trophy teams also tasted success in South Africa. The season finale of the Bridgestone Production Car Championship at the Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria (ZA) saw BMW driver Johan Fourie and his ADF Motorsport team secure the titles in the Drivers’ Championship and the Team competition in the highest “Class A” category. Fourie won Saturday’s sprint race in his BMW M Performance Parts 335i – a result that gave him an unassailable lead going into the closing main race. This was Fourie’s third title in the series, having previously triumphed in 2008 and 2009. His team was crowned champions for the second time. “We worked hard for this title and never gave up,” said Fourie. “We scored points in every single race. That consistency was the key to our success. I would like to thank BMW for a magnificent car and ADF Motorsport for doing such a professional job at all times – both at the workshop and in the pit lane.”

BMW Sports Trophy: the legendary BMW 635 CSi is brought to life.
With the support of BMW South Africa, Alec Ceprnich and his son Bruce (both ZA) of Evolution 2 Motorsport converted a chestnut-coloured BMW 635 CSi Coupé into a racing car. It is modelled on the BMW 635 CSi Group A, in Original BMW Parts design, run by BMW Team Schnitzer. Alec and Bruce Ceprnich began the project five years ago. “A friend called my dad  and informed him that a contact was wanting to sell a left hand drive BMW 635 CSi that he currently had at his workshop in Johannesburg,” says Bruce Ceprnich. “That was the starting point to begin work on assembling our dream racing car.” Charly Lamm (DE), now Team Principal at BMW Team Schnitzer in the DTM, also played a part in their plans. “In 2011 my father visited the Schnitzer team and Charly Lamm, in order to find out more about the BMW 635 CSi, and view an original racer that is stored at the company premises in Freilassing,” explains Bruce. During this overseas visit, Alec also had the privilege to visit BMW Classic and the Mobile Tradition, during which he was able to obtain clarity regarding various design details, and specifications of the Group A racers, thus the trip was a key moment in the project.

With this knowledge gained, the antiroll bar was assembled and the paintwork on the road-going chassis removed using a sandblaster. The racing version of the BMW 635 CSi Coupé gradually began to take shape. The close contact with BMW Motorsport also allowed Alec and Bruce Ceprnich to get their hands on the extremely rare BBS three piece centre lock rims for the racing car. Bruno Spengler (CA), 2012 DTM champion, who travelled to South Africa for the local launch of the BMW M3 and BMW M4, was one evening brought by BMW South Africa to Evolution 2 Motorsport to see the project in the flesh and gain an understanding of the efforts put into the car to achieve the replication of the original racers. Then, on 31st August 2013, the waiting was over: the racing car made its first public appearance at the BMW Car Club Concourse Event which took place at the Montecasino Entertainment complex in Fourways (ZA), situated in the north of Johannesburg (ZA). However, the BMW 635 CSi was still to undergo its first track shakedown test: it proved its racing credentials on its maiden drive at the Zwartkops Raceway on 27th September this year, completing 40 laps without any trouble. The street car had been converted into a genuine racing car, and Alec and Bruce Ceprnich’s dream had come true. “The best thing for us was to see the passion with which the entire BMW family supported us throughout the project,” said Bruce Ceprnich. “That is exactly what makes BMW so special.”