BMW Motorsport News - Issue 39/2018.

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. 

DTM: Class 1 BMW M4 DTM hits the “virtual” racetrack for the first time.

The first roll-out has already been completed successfully and BMW M Motorsports in Munich is continuing to work hard on further development of the BMW M4 DTM, which is modified in accordance with Class 1 regulations. The DTM car for the 2019 season has now made its first appearance on a racetrack – albeit a virtual track. Last week, BMW DTM driver Marco Wittmann (GER) completed a simulator test with the Class 1 BMW M4 DTM. The two-time DTM champion was impressed by the new generation of the race car. “It was a very cool experience,” said Wittmann. “You can clearly feel that the car has considerably more power than before. We can all look forward to that – spectators and us drivers alike. The higher performance will alter our driving style, as we will be approaching corners significantly faster, so the braking points will come sooner. We must obviously wait to see how it is in reality, as this was just the first drive in the simulator. However, you can gain an initial impression and I think that the Class 1 regulations will make for quite a show next year. I am already really looking forward to actually driving the new car in the tests.” The first ITR test ahead of the 2019 season will take place from 11th to 14th November 2018 at Estoril (POR).

DTM: Eng now able to travel to the racetrack in the BMW M5 Competition.

Philipp Eng (AUT) now has a new company car in his garage: the BMW DTM driver travelled to Salzburg (AUT) to receive his new BMW M5 Competition this week (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 10.8 – 10.7; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 246 - 243). With 625 PS under its bonnet, the BMW M5 Competition is the most powerful model so far in the history of BMW M. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in an impressive 3.3 seconds and, with its M-specific damper setting and optimised M sports exhaust system, it is raising the bar in the high-performance sedan class. “The name says it all with the BMW M5 Competition,” says Eng. “The performance is unbelievable, and the torque is extremely good. I particularly like the sound, especially when downshifting. There are very few cars that achieve the balancing act between sports car and sedan as perfectly as the BMW M5 Competition. I can drive at over 300 km/h, but also extremely efficiently. It feels great to have the BMW M5 Competition as my new company car.”

Customer Racing: BMW M4 GT4 is “Race Car of the Year”.

“And the winner is... the BMW M4 GT4!” – The latest member of BMW M Motorsport’s customer racing range was named “Race Car of the Year” during Wednesday evening’s presentation ceremony at the Professional MotorSport World Expo Awards in Cologne (GER). The BMW M4 GT4 impressed the 20-strong expert jury, consisting of leading motorsport and technology journalists, seeing off strong opposition from many other automobile manufacturers involved in motor racing. This accolade is the highlight of what has been a thoroughly successful debut season for the BMW M4 GT4, which has been littered with victories and titles all over the world. The BMW M4 GT4 made its debut in customer hands at the 24-hour Dubai (UAE) race in January 2018. Since then, it has claimed countless race wins and podiums around the world, including the prestigious victory in the fiercely-contested SP10 class at the Nürburgring 24 Hours (GER). Other highlights included GT4 titles in the Blancpain GT Series Asia and the British GT Championship. As well as the BMW M4 GT4, West Surrey Racing Team was also recognised. The team, from Sunbury-on-Thames (GBR), received the award for “European Race Series Team of the Year”. The team enjoyed a perfect season in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), winning the Drivers’ title with Colin Turkington (GBR) and taking first place in the Team competition. BMW also won the Manufacturers’ Championship.

Customer Racing: Ben Tuck named “Top British GT4 Driver”.

British weekly motorsport newspaper Motorsport News has honoured Ben Tuck (GBR) for his outstanding performances in the BMW M4 GT4, awarding him the accolade “Top British GT4 Driver”. Tuck made his debut in the British GT Championship at the wheel of the Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 in 2018. He won one race, started from pole twice, claimed two podiums and five top-five results. He also set a fastest lap time. At the end of an outstanding rookie season, Tuck missed out on the title in the GT4 class by just one point, ending the year as runner-up.

Japanese Super GT: ARTA narrowly misses out on GT300 title.

Autobacs Racing Team Aguri (ARTA) led the Driver and Team competitions in the Japanese Super GT Championship ahead of the final race weekend in Motegi (JPN). However, things did not run entirely to plan in qualifying for Shinichi Takagi (JPN) and Sean Walkinshaw (GBR) in the #55 BMW M6 GT3. They started the eighth and final race of the season from tenth on the grid. The duo struggled to make up any ground in the race itself, and eventually crossed the finish line in ninth place. That meant Takagi and Walkinshaw had to settle for second place in the Drivers’ Championship at the end of an exciting season. In the Team competition, ARTA ended the Super GT year in second place.