BMW Motorsport News – Issue 36/16.

IWSC: Second GTD victory for Turner Motorsport in the 2016 season.

Two months after the first win for the new BMW M6 GT3 in North America, which BMW works drivers Jens Klingmann (DE) and Bret Curtis (US) achieved in Mosport (CA), the Turner Motorsport duo struck again: At the penultimate race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) in Austin (US), Klingmann and Curtis clinched their second GTD victory of the season with the number 96 BMW M6 GT3. After 71 laps, finishing driver Klingmann secured the repeat triumph for the team of boss Will Turner (US). The number 97 sister car, driven by Markus Palttala (FI) and Michael Marsal (US), retired at the “Circuit of the Americas” due to a technical issue. Now all that is left of the 2016 IWSC season is the grand finale – the tradition-steeped “Petit Le Mans” in Road Atlanta (US) on 1st October.

IWSC: Fourth place for Werner and Auberlen in the BMW M6 GTLM.

BMW Team RLL also battled for valuable points in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at the “Circuit of the Americas”. In the GTLM class, Dirk Werner (DE) and Bill Auberlen (US) finished in fourth place after 73 laps. The experienced duo started from seventh on the grid and made up good ground during the course of the race, clinching their best result since the race in Mosport (CA) in July. Werner and Auberlen finished fourth there as well. Their team-mates John Edwards (US) and Lucas Luhr (DE) crossed the finish line in seventh in Austin (US).

Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup: ROWE Racing rewarded with a point for catch-up.

ROWE Racing delivered a strong catch-up race after an unfortunate qualifying session at the second home event in the Blancpain GT Series at the Nürburgring (DE). The two BMW works drivers Philipp Eng (AT) and Alexander Sims (GB) along with Nick Catsburg (NL) in the BMW M6 GT3 with number 99 started from 37th on the grid and worked their way up into tenth place, thereby picking up a championship point. However, it wasn’t enough for Eng and Sims to hold on to third place in the overall standings of the Endurance Cup. The two BMW DTM drivers Martin Tomczyk (DE) and Tom Blomqvist (GB), who in the sister car alongside Stef Dusseldorp (NL) were in action for ROWE Racing for the first time, also worked their way through the field impressively and after starting from 34th on the grid finished in 15th. “I overtook a lot in my stint at the start and saw a lot of action. That shows once again that GT racing is a great deal of fun,” said Tomczyk. BMW Team Italia with Stefano Comandini (IT), Max Koebolt (NL) and Stefano Colombo (IT) in the BMW M6 GT3 picked up a point in the Pro-AM Cup standings for finishing tenth. Karim Ojeh (SA), Olivier Grotz (LU) and Julian Darras (FR) of Team Boutsen Ginion Racing finished in 14th place.

BTCC: Collard finishes on the podium in Silverstone.

Sam Tordoff (GB) of West Surrey Racing headed to the penultimate race weekend of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) as overall leader. However, in all three races at Silverstone (GB), his team-mate Rob Collard (GB) was the best-placed BMW driver in the field. In the first two races of the day, Collard came ninth and seventh respectively. Tordoff finished in eleventh place in the BMW 125i M Sport in both races. The third WSR driver, Jack Goff (GB), crossed the finish line in 12th and 13th. Collard started the third and final race from second on the grid – and ultimately finished third. Tordoff also made it into the top-10, taking the chequered flag in sixth, while Goff came 11th. The title will be decided at the BTCC season finale in Brands Hatch (GB) on 1st/2nd October.