BMW Motorsport News – Issue 34/2017.

VLN: Sixth race of the season at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.

The 40^th RCM DMV Grenzlandrennen, the sixth race of the season in the VLN Nürburgring Endurance Championship, was held at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (GER) on Saturday. The Walkenhorst Motorsport team contested the SP9 class with two BMW M6 GT3s. After four hours of racing, Christian Krognes (NOR), Michele di Martino (GER) and Matias Henkola (FIN) crossed the finish line in seventh place overall in the number 100 car. Their team-mates Alex Lambertz (GER), Jordan Tresson (FRA) and Sebastian Morris (GBR) retired. BMW Team Schnitzer contested the SP-X class with a BMW M6 GT3, and will do so again in the next two VLN races. The car is kitted out with parts from the Evo package, which BMW Motorsport is currently testing for its customers, with a view to the 2018 season. The outings purely serve to subject the components to another endurance test and mean that customers can look forward to a fully matured Evo package which has proved itself at the Green Hell. The BMW Motorsport Juniors Mikkel Jensen (DEN), Dennis Marschall (GER) and Beitske Visser (NED) also gained more experience on the Nordschleife in a BMW M235i Racing.

BMW M235i Racing Cup: Fourth win in a row for Michael Schrey.

Within the framework of the VLN Endurance Championship at the Nürburgring (GER), it was also the sixth race of the season for the BMW M235i Racing Cup. The reigning BMW Sports Trophy winner Michael Schrey (GER) clinched his fourth win in a row and extended his lead in the class. After four hours of racing, the Bonk Motorsport driver had a lead of 54 seconds over Heiko Eichenberg (GER) in the Securtal Sorg Rennsport BMW M235i Racing. Third place on the podium went to Thomas Jäger (AUT) and Rudi Adams (GER) in the “Eifelblitz” of Scheid-Honert Motorsport. A total of 18 cars contested the class.

International GT Open: BMW Team Teo Martín wins at Silverstone.

BMW Team Teo Martín remained on the road to success in the International GT Open at the fifth round of the season at Silverstone (GBR). On Sunday, the team celebrated not only its third win of the year – but also a one-two result. The team’s two BMW M6 GT3 cars dominated Sunday’s race, starting from first and second on the grid. After an hour of racing, it was Lourenço Beirão (POR) and BMW works driver António Félix da Costa (POR) in the number 51 BMW M6 GT3 who were victorious. Their team-mates Fran Rueda (ESP) and Victor Bouveng (SWE), in the number 65 sister car, crossed the finish line in second place, trailing by just 0.356 seconds. They had an advantage of more than 15 seconds over third place. In the first race on Saturday, Beirão/Félix da Costa finished in seventh place while Rueda/Bouveng finished ninth.

Pirelli World Challenge: Top-six lockout in Austin.

The Pirelli World Challenge headed to the Circuit Of The Americas (COTA) in Austin (USA) this weekend for races nine and ten of the season. In the TC class, the BMW M235i Racing drivers celebrated a top-six lockout in the first of two races on Saturday. Victory went to Stephen Cameron Racing’s Greg Liefooghe (USA). Nick Wittmer (CAN) set the fastest race lap in the ST Racing BMW M235i Racing and clinched second place. Anthony Magagnoli (USA) of Rooster Racing rounded off the podium in third. The second race of the weekend will be held on Sunday evening European time.

DTM: BMW Team RMG becomes a Facebook hit.

A swimming pool, a blue swimming noodle and three mechanics from BMW Team RMG are all you need for a summer hit on Facebook. Ahead of the next DTM race at the Nürburgring (GER), BMW works driver Timo Glock (GER) headed to Mallorca (ESP) with champion Marco Wittmann (GER) and his Eifel-based team. During a team-building exercise on the holiday island, three of his mechanics filmed a video in which they are angling for a “fish” at the pool that they then show off proudly. Only, the “catch” is one of the three mechanics, who “bites” and is “fished” out of the water using the swimming noodle. Glock posted the video on his Facebook page www.facebook.com/TimoGlockofficial on the 27th August, with the comment “This could be the video of the year!!! Yes, we had fun”. And the DTM star turned out to be right. Within a matter of minutes, the clip became an online hit. To date, 20 million people have watched the video of the three RMG mechanics. It currently has over 170,000 likes and its reach is on the up. The clip becoming a viral hit is largely thanks to the fact that the video has been shared by other Facebook users an incredible 247,531 times to date – including by a fishing forum and the page buzzvideos.com. “Unbelievable” was Glock’s comment on the success of the Facebook post. “Thanks a lot for all the shares and views! But the guys deserved it with their brilliant performance!“

You can see the 1:40 minute “fishing clip” at https://www.facebook.com/TimoGlockofficial/videos/10154580478256627/.