BMW Motorsport News - Issue 14/2018.

Three questions for... Timo Glock.

With the win in Sunday’s race at the Hockenheimring (GER), Timo Glock (GER) rounded off his almost perfect first race weekend of the year in the DTM. In a memorable motorsport thriller, with plenty of changes at the front, he defeated Gary Paffett (GBR, Mercedes) at the wheel of his DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM, and celebrated his fifth DTM win.

Timo, the fans jumped out of their seats in the stands, this DTM race was exciting for everyone. What was it like from the perspective of the cockpit?

Timo Glock: “It was incredible. I don’t know what world I was in, but it was a different one somehow. The duel with Gary was like two boxers in the ring, who were smacking each other with the left hook and the right hook without stopping, and neither wanted to risk a knockout. It was simply racing at its finest. I won the race, but the winner is the DTM. It was an incredible message to everyone out there – and to Mercedes, who really should reconsider whether they want to withdraw from such a championship. That is what the fans want to see: emotions and a crazy battle, which was incredibly fair on both our parts. It was simply sensational.”

Third place on Saturday, pole position and the win on Sunday. Did you expect to have such a perfect start to the season before the weekend?

Glock: “No, not necessarily, because we didn’t know how good the car really is and how good the others are. But we have done an incredible job as a team. The guys did great work throughout the weekend, the car was brilliant the whole weekend and the team didn’t make a single mistake. We made minimal changes from Saturday to Sunday, which meant that the car had an incredible pace. This haul is a great start to the season.”

In two weeks, the season continues at the Lausitzring. What are your expectations as you head to that track?

Glock: “We need to wait and see. We haven’t been that strong at the Lausitzring in the past. We need to see if we have understood our car better and learned from the mistakes of last year. Then we will see how we do there this year.”

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IMSA: BMW Team RLL gets pole position in Mid-Ohio.

Strong performance by BMW M8 GTE in qualifying for the fourth race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in Mid-Ohio (USA): John Edwards (USA) got the best time in the #24 car while Alexander Sims (GBR) in the #25 BMW M8 GTE finished in third place. At their home race, BMW Team RLL had an excellent starting position for the race which got underway at 1:05 p.m. local time (7: 05 p.m. CEST). 

Japanese Super GT Championship: ARTA BMW M6 GT3 at Fuji.

Jubilation for Autobacs Racing Team Aguri (ARTA) in the Japanese Super GT Championship: at the second race of the season at Fuji (JPN), Shinichi Takagi (JPN) and Sean Walkinshaw (GBR) celebrated victory in the GT300 class with their #55 BMW M6 GT3. The duo had already secured pole position. Starting driver Takagi was able to build up a good lead in the initial stages. After the driver change, Walkinshaw was able to maintain a good pace. Takagi drove the third and final stint without any pressure from behind and brought the ARTA BMW M6 GT3 home with a lead of more than 25 seconds after 102 laps. It was the second start-to-finish victory in Fuji in a row for ARTA.

International GT Open: BMW Team Teo Martín wins at Paul Ricard.

BMW Team Teo Martín started the 2018 season of the International GT Open with a win in race one and a double podium in race two. The opener was at Paul Ricard in the south of France. In the race on Saturday, Fran Rueda (ESP) and Andrés Saravia (GTM) in the #47 BMW M6 GT3 finished on the top step of the podium – they won with a clear margin of more than 18 seconds. Their team-mates Lourenço Beirão da Veiga (POR) and Juan Cruz Álvarez (ESP) finished in fourth place in the #3 sister car. In the second race on Sunday, there was a double podium for BMW Team Teo Martín: Beirão da Veiga/Álvarez finished second and Rueda/Saravia third. In the team's third BMW M6 GT3, the two Brazilians, Márcio Basso and Thiago Marquez, shared the cockpit. The duo finished the two races in 17^th and 12^th places.

CTSCC: Podiums for BMW drivers in Mid-Ohio.

The IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (CTSCC) was also at the “Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course” (USA) at the weekend. In the BimmerWorld Racing #82 BMW M4 GT4 Tyler Cooke and James Clay (both USA) finished in third place in the GS class after 77 laps. Greg Liefooghe and Ari Balogh (both USA) also made it into the top ten, finishing eighth in the Stephen Cameron Racing #19 BMW M4 GT4. In the ST class, Nick Galante and Devin Jones (both USA) in the BimmerWorld Racing BMW 328i finished in third place behind the two MINI JCW cars.

Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup: BMW M6 GT3 wins Silver Cup classification.

Andrew Watson (GBR) and Lukas Moraes (BRA) of Team 3Y Technology won the Silver Cup classification with their BMW M6 GT3 in the first race at the second event in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup at Brands Hatch (GBR). In the second race, the duo crossed the finish line in second place in their class.

GT4 European Series: BMW M4 GT4 brings home three podiums.

The second race weekend of the GT4 European Series took place at Brands Hatch (GBR). The BMW M4 GT4 teams made it onto the podium a total of three times in the two races. In the first race, Simon Knap and Max Koebolt (both NED) finished second, ahead of their team-mates at MDM Motorsport, Koen Bogaerts and Mark van der Aa (both NED) in third place. In the second race, Knap and Koebolt repeated their strong performance and finished in second place again. The BMW Motorsport Juniors Beitske Visser (NED) and Dennis Marschall (GER) finished sixth in the second race. In the first race, which was red-flagged after an accident, the Juniors finished at the back of the field. 

BMW brand ambassador: Alessandro Zanardi on the para-cycling podium again.

BMW brand ambassador Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) got off to a successful start in the 2018 para-cycling season. He took part in the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Ostend (BEL) at the weekend. In the individual time trial on Thursday, Zanardi finished on the podium in second place. In the road race on Saturday, he was on his way to victory, but had to settle for fifth place with a deficit of 33 seconds after a turbulent closing phase. The weekend was rounded off with the team relay on Sunday evening, which was not completed at the time of the editorial deadline. “I’m very pleased with the result in the individual time trial since I wasn’t in best shape, so second place was really good,” said Zanardi. “However, I’m annoyed about the road race. My Dutch rival Tim de Vries and I were at the front for 64 kilometres, and it was clear that it would be between the two of us in the sprint finish. Everything was going according to plan, we dropped back in the final turn to sprint to the front for the final 800 metres but we couldn’t agree on who would take the lead so I ended up finishing in fifth place, and he came sixth. It was stupid, but it wasn’t the most important race of the year. I’m happy overall, since the weekend showed me that I am competitive enough to get gold medals in both the individual time trials and the road races. That means the Paralympic games in Tokyo in 2020 are no longer just a dream, they are gradually becoming a realistic goal.” At the beginning of August, Zanardi will compete in the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Maniago, Italy, to defend his titles.    

DTM: BMW M2 Competition with M Performance Parts unveiled.

At the world debut at the DTM opener at Hockenheim BMW works drivers Bruno Spengler (CAN) and Marco Wittmann (GER) unveiled the new BMW M2 Competition* with BMW M Performance Parts in the BMW world of experience on Saturday. The highlights of this special M automobile include the M Performance vehicle roof Carbon, the M Performance Carbon bonnet, the M Performance Carbon rear spoiler, the red M sports braking system and the Carbon/Alcantara M Performance interior kit. The new performance sports car in the BMW M portfolio was presented by BMW M Performance Parts product line manager Rudi Schneider (GER). The BMW M2 Competition, with its sublime driving performance, leaves all its class rival in its wake. The rebellious M car is also the ideal choice for the BMW M Performance Parts powerful components. Exclusive products inspired by motorsport make for an excellent presence and even more dynamics and driving pleasure.

*Fuel consumption in l/100 km (combined): 9.9 – 10.0 (9,2); CO2 emissions in g/km (combined): 225 - 228 (209 - 210)