BMW Motorsport News – Issue 04/17.

Whether in the DTM, the IMSA WeatherTech 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.

GT racing: 18^th BMW Art Car to be presented in Beijing at end of May.

This weekend, the BMW M6 GTLM Art Car designed by US artist John Baldessari enjoyed a much-heralded race outing at the 24 Hours of Daytona (USA). Dr. Thomas Girst, Head of Cultural Engagement BMW Group, and BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt gave a press conference at the event, during which they announced that the 18^th BMW Art Car, designed by Chinese artist Cao Fei, will be presented to the public in Beijing (CHN) at the end of May. The BMW M6 GT3 will take to the track at the FIA GT World Cup in Macau (MAC) in November.

Formula E: António Félix da Costa on promotional tour in New York.

BMW works driver António Félix da Costa (PRT) spent two days in New York (USA) last week to promote the debut of the FIA Formula E Championship in the “Big Apple”. Races nine and ten of the season will take place on 15^th and 16^th July in the district of Brooklyn, which boasts a spectacular view of the Manhattan skyline. Félix da Costa took his Formula E powerhouse onto the track for a demonstration – and with big-name support: American Football star Victor Cruz (USA) of the NFL team New York Giants took the opportunity to get a taste of Formula E before the races in July. Félix da Costa continued his promotional tour in New York with a host of media appointments. “We’ve had good experiences so far in Formula E with how we approach new cities,” said Félix da Costa. “I think New York is going to raise the bar on any other city. I can’t wait to race here for real in July.” 

ICTSC: Season opener at Daytona.

The four-hour BMW Endurance Challenge At Daytona, the opening round of the 2017 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship, was won by Cameron Cassels (CAN) and Trent Hindman (USA) driving the Grand Sport class number 12 Porsche on Friday . The Street Tuner class victory went to the number 73 MINI JCW of Derek Jones and Mat Pombo (both USA). The win was the first for the MINI USA programme. The top-finishing BMW in the race was the number 81 BimmerWorld Racing BMW 328i of Ari Balogh and Gregory Liefooghe (both USA), seventh in ST.