BMW Motorsport News – Issue 33/2018.

Whether in the DTM, the FIA World Endurance Championship, 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.

British GT Championship: Jack Mitchell and Century Motorsport are the new GT4 champions.

Mission accomplished: Jack Mitchell (GBR) and Century Motorsport claimed the GT4 title in the last race of the British GT Championship at Donington Park (GBR). Mitchell and his team-mate Dean MacDonald (GBR), in the #43 BMW M4 GT4, needed just an eighth-place finish in class to stay ahead by one point in the drivers’ standings. Their team-mates Ben Green and Ben Tuck (both GBR) finished fifth in the #42 car and claimed second place in the drivers’ championship. This meant that Century Motorsport was also able to claim the team title in its debut season with the BMW M4 GT4.

VLN: Pole position and podium for the BMW M6 GT3.

It was a successful seventh race of the season in the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring (GER) for the BMW M6 GT3. After four hours of racing, Falken Motorsports celebrated a podium finish with the #3 entry. Stef Dusseldorp (NED) and Peter Dumbreck (GBR) secured third place. The two Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3s crossed the line in eighth and ninth overall taking third and fourth positions in the SP9 PRE class. Jordan Tresson (FRA), Rudi Adams (GER) and Hunter Abbott (GBR) had started the race from pole position in the #35 BMW M6 GT3.

Victory in the BMW M235i Racing Cup class went to Tristan Viidas (EST) from the Securtal Sorg Rennsport team. He triumphed ahead of FK Performance team’s Juha Hannonen (FIN) and Patrick Hinte (GER) and Florian Naumann (GER) and Michael Fischer (AUT) from Hofor Racing powered by Bonk Motorsport. Victory in the V4 class was claimed by Pixum Team Adrenalin Motorsport’s Christopher Rink, Danny Brink and Philipp Leisen (all GER) in the BMW 325i. In the V2 class, first place went to Reiner Thomas and Manfred Schmitz (both GER) in the BMW 318is. The #828 and #178 BMW M4 GT4s of Securtal Sorg Rennsport and Ring Racing claimed second and third places in the SP10 category.

ADAC GT Masters: BMW Team Schnitzer just misses out on podium at season finale.

At the ADAC GT Masters season finale at Hockenheim (GER), Timo Scheider (GER) and BMW Motorsport Junior Mikkel Jensen (DEN) secured fourth place in the final race, just missing out on a podium finish in the overall standings. As the track dried out during the qualifying session, Scheider had driven to fifth place on the starting grid. The BMW works driver was in third position early in the race, but Jensen was unable to defend as his tyre grip diminished during the second half of the race. The duo did reach the podium however, finishing third in the Junior standings. “That was certainly a nice way to end the season,” said Scheider, who was celebrating a personal milestone with his 350^th competitive race. “Many thanks to BMW Motorsport, BMW Team Schnitzer and Mikkel Jensen for a great year in the ADAC GT Masters. I had plenty of fun and learned a lot, even though I've been doing this for a while.”

In the second of BMW Team Schnitzer’s BMW M6 GT3s, BMW Motorsport Junior Dennis Marschall (GER) and Victor Bouveng (SWE) finished in eleventh place to repeat their result from Saturday's race. Scheider and Jensen had finished 14^th in that race. Jens Klingmann (GER) and Christopher Zöchling (AUT) retired early on Saturday in the MRS GT-Racing BMW M6 GT3. The duo secured 20^th place on Sunday.

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

It was an outstanding race weekend for the BMW Team Teo Martín at the penultimate event of the International GT Open season at Monza (ITA). Fran Rueda (ESP) and Andrés Saravia (GTM) won Saturday's race in the BMW M6 GT3 and finished second in Sunday's race. Ahead of the Barcelona (ESP) season finale, the duo are just three points behind the leaders in the drivers’ championship and still have a chance of claiming the title. Brazilian drivers Márcio Basso and Guilherme Salas headed the amateur standings for both weekend races in their BMW M6 GT3. The two final races take place on 20th and 21st October at the “Circuit de Catalunya”.

Blancpain GT Series Asia: BMW Team Studie celebrates one-two result.

BMW Team Studie is well on its way to the team title in the Blancpain GT Series Asia GT4 class, boasting a lead of over 100 points with two races to go. The Japanese team, fielding two BMW M4 GT4s, celebrated a one-two result in Sunday's race at the penultimate race weekend of the season at Shanghai (CHN). Takayuki Kinoshita and Sunako Jukuchou (both JPN) won in the #81 car, ahead of their team-mates Max Chen and Ken Urata (both JPN). Kinoshita and Jukuchou had claimed second place in Saturday's race, while Chen and Urata finished fifth. The two final races of the season will take place on 13^th and 14^th October at the “Ningbo International Speedpark” (CHN). Kinoshita and Jukuchou are just eleven points off the lead in the GT4 drivers’ championship and are still in with a chance of claiming the title.

Alessandro Zanardi: New world record in endurance triathlon.

Four weeks ago, BMW works driver Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) caused a stir at his DTM guest appearance at Misano (ITA). Now he has enjoyed further success in a different discipline, just fifty kilometres to the north. On Saturday, Zanardi took part in the “Ironman Italy Emilia-Romagna” in Cervia (ITA) – and set a new world record. The BMW brand ambassador needed a total time of 08:26.06 hours to complete 3.8 kilometres of swimming in the Mediterranean, 180 kilometres of cycling with his handbike and then the 42.2-kilometre marathon distance in his race wheelchair. That is the fastest time yet recorded by a triathlete with physical disabilities. Zanardi improved on his previous personal best by more than half an hour. He was one of the very top athletes at the event, finishing in fifth place overall out of around 2,700 participants. Zanardi had recorded his previous best time in an endurance triathlon in Barcelona, one year ago, when he finished in 08:58.59 hours to crack the nine-hour mark for the first time. “The new world record and fifth place overall - that was just fantastic,” said Zanardi. “The secret of success in an endurance triathlon is learning to divide your energy up. Surrounded by nearly 3,000 other athletes, you have to do your own thing, concentrate on your own plan from the start to the finish and stick to every detail. I have also made some improvements to my equipment. I have a new swimsuit and needed less than an hour. 58 minutes was much better than I had expected. I have developed a new seating position for my handbike, designed purely for speed, and I have also improved my technique in the race wheelchair. This all added up and led to this success. But now I am concentrating totally on motor racing again. It is a great privilege in my life being able to switch back and forth between disciplines.”