BMW Motorsport News - Issue 13/2019.

Whether in the DTM, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the ABB FIA Formula E 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: BMW M Motorsport presents Official Partners and Suppliers.
BMW M Motorsport can count on the support of a large number of partners in the 2019 DTM season. In addition to Premium Technology Partner Shell and five Premium Partners, a total of seven Official Partners and two Official Suppliers are on board. Akrapovič, the BMW Driving Experience, BMW M GmbH, BMW M Performance Parts and the H&R Spezialfedern GmbH & Co. KG are all continuing their involvement as Official Partners. Oakley and PUMA will continue to equip the BMW teams and drivers in their capacity as Official Suppliers. Becker Carbon, specialist for fibre-reinforced composite components, returns to the ranks of the BMW M Motorsport Official Partners as part of a technical partnership. The company was previously a Partner in the DTM from 2013 to 2015. Official Partner RoboMarkets is a new member of the BMW M Motorsport family. Founded in 2012, the multi-asset-broker has recorded strong growth in recent years and now provides professional services for institutional and private customers across Europe. The “RoboMarkets” logo is prominently featured on the roof and bonnet of the CATL BMW M4 DTM. BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt: “We are proud to be able to count on such large number of strong partners in the upcoming DTM season. They all ensure that we can operate works racing at the highest level. I would like to extend my thanks on behalf of everyone at BMW Motorsport. It is of particular importance to me to note that our partnerships normally extend far beyond simply displaying partner logos. We are interested in structuring the partnerships so that they deliver added value for everyone involved. Together we are strong.”

VLN: Top five result for BMW Team Schnitzer on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Numerous class wins and a top five result in the overall standings at the third race of the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring (GER) mean that BMW teams and drivers can look back at a successful race weekend in the Eifel mountains. After the length of the first VLN race was reduced due to fog and the second race had been stopped due to snow, the third VLN race took place over the full distance, allowing fans and spectators to enjoy typical Eifel conditions. Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) and Nick Yelloly (GBR), in the BMW Team Schnitzer #42 BMW M6 GT3, kept their nerve despite some severe downpours and finished in fifth place after 24 laps. The ROWE Racing #99 BMW M6 GT3 finished immediately behind them in sixth position with Marco Wittmann (GER), Jesse Krohn (FIN) and John Edwards (USA) sharing driving duties at the wheel. It was an early retirement for the second ROWE Racing BMW M6 GT3, however, the #98 car having been driven by Philipp Eng (AUT), Mikkel Jensen (DEN) and Tom Blomqvist (GBR). A total of seven BMW M6 GT3s had started the race. BMW also had reason to celebrate in the individual classes. In the V4 class, victory was claimed by Stefan Beyer, Emin Akata (both GER) and Thorsten Kratz (AUT) in the Sorg Rennsport team BMW 325i. The team from Wuppertal (GER) was also able to celebrate in the hard-fought SP10 class. In the #181 BMW M4 GT4, BMW Motorsport Junior Erik Johansson (SWE) and Heiko Eichenberg (GER) finished in second place. Florian Wolf, Arne Hoffmeister (both GER) and Manuel Amweg (SUI) rounded off the podium behind them. Further class wins were recorded by Christopher Dreyspring and Christer Jöns (both GER) in the Schubert Motorsport team BMW M2 Competition in the SP8T class, and by Marcel Manheller and Carsten Knechtges (both GER) from the Manheller Racing team in the BMW 328i, in the VT2 class. In total, more than 60 BMW entries were competing at the third VLN race weekend. The fourth race in the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring takes place on 13th July with the 50th Adenauer Trophy. However, many BMW teams and drivers will be back in the Eifel region in just a few weeks for the six-hour qualifying race, the final endurance test before the legendary 24-hour race on the Nürburgring Nordschleife which takes place on 18th and 19^th May.

BMW M240i Racing Cup: next success for Griessner/Fübrich.
Reigning champions David Griessner (AUT) and Yannick Fübrich (GER) remain right on course to defend their title in the BMW M240i Racing Cup. The duo from Pixum Team Adrenalin proved unbeatable in the third race of the season in the CUP5 class, which takes place as part of the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring. The two drivers took a dominant win in the #650 BMW M240i Racing to extend their lead in the overall standings. Behind them, Nico Otto and Lars Peucker (both GER) finished second in the legendary #666 “Eifelblitz” from the Scheid-Honert Motorsport team. Marc Ehret, Christian Konnerth (both GER) and Juha Hannonen (FIN) in the FK Performance Motorsport #679 BMW M240i Racing completed the podium. A total of 21 BMW M240i Racings were competing. The fourth race in the BMW M240i Racing Cup takes place on 13^th July.

ADAC GT Masters: BMW M6 GT3 in sixth place after strong recovery performance.
BMW Motorsport works driver Jens Klingmann (GER) and Nicolai Sylvest (DEN) put on an impressive recovery performance in the season-opener of the ADAC GT Masters at Oschersleben (GER), securing a good sixth place finish. The duo started Sunday’s race from 14^th place in the MRS GT Racing team #14 BMW M6 GT3 and worked their way up by eight positions. This also equated to third place in the Junior standings for Sylvest. The pair had crossed the finishing line in 17^th place in Saturday’s race. The second race weekend in the ADAC GT Masters takes place from 17^th to 19^th June in Most (CZE).

ADAC GT4 Germany: perfect debut for BMW M4 GT4 in Oschersleben.
Gabriele Piana (ITA) and Marius Zug (GER) celebrated a perfect start in the newly-created ADAC GT4 Germany in the RN Vision STS team #7 BMW M4 GT4. The duo finished second in qualifying before claiming victory in Saturday’s race at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben (GER). The new race series delivered excitement right up to the final metres of Sunday’s race as well, but BMW just missed out on another podium finish. Michael Schrey (GER) and Thomas Jäger (AUT) ended the race in fourth place in the #3 BMW M4 GT4, followed by Claudia Hürtgen (GER) and Michael Fischer (AUT) in fifth position in the #2 BMW M4 GT4. Both cars are competing in the ADAC GT4 Germany for Hofor Racing powered by Bonk Motorsport. The duo of Piana/Zug finished tenth in Sunday's race. A total of five BMW M4 GT4s were competing. The next race in the ADAC GT4 Germany takes place from 7^th to 9^th June at the Red Bull Ring (AUT).

Blancpain GT World Challenge America: successful weekend for BMW M customer racing cars.
A large line-up of cars from the BMW M Motorsport customer racing range enjoyed numerous successes at the Virginia International Raceway (USA). The BMW M6 GT3, the BMW M4 GT4, the BMW M240i Racing and BMW M235i Racing were competing at the legendary circuit in the Blancpain GT World Challenge America.

A strong recovery performance in Saturday’s race saw Justin Rapheal (USA) and Stevan McAleer (GBR) claim victory in the SprintX overall standings for the first time in the Team Classic BMW #29 BMW M4 GT4. This also equated to victory in the SprintX East championship. Greg Liefooghe and Sean Quinlan (both USA) rounded off a strong result with third place in the #19 BMW M4 GT4 from Stephen Cameron Racing. Randy Mueller and James Clay (both USA) crossed the finishing line immediately behind them in the Epic Motorsport #3 BMW M4 GT4 to claim the win in the SprintX East AM standings. The second race and the sprint race had not yet finished at the time of publication. In Saturday’s race, Precision Driving Tech’s Marko Radisic (USA) had driven the best-placed BMW M4 GT4 to fourth place, narrowly missing out on a podium finish in the AM standings.

BMW also had reason to celebrate in the TC class, with six BMW cars out in front after the first race. In the Rooster Hall Racing #80 BMW M235i Racing, Johan Schwartz (DEN) claimed victory ahead of Toby Grahovec (USA) in the Classic BMW #26 BMW M240i Racing and the #81 BMW M235i Racing of Steve Streimer (USA), also competing for Rooster Hall Racing. The second race had not finished at the time of going to press.

The BMW M6 GT3 was also competing at the Virginia Raceway. In Saturday’s race, Henry Schmitt (USA) and Greg Liefooghe crossed the line in 14^th place in the #87 BMW M6 GT3 from the Stephen Cameron Racing team. Once again, Sunday's race had not yet finished at the time of publication.

BTCC: Double win for Turkington in Donington.
Reigning champion Colin Turkington (GBR) made an impressive return at the second round of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) at Donington (GBR). The British driver claimed victory in the first two races in the West Surrey Racing #1 BMW 330i M Sport. He had laid the foundations for the wins with first place in qualifying. He secured ninth place in the third and final race. West Surrey Racing team-mate Tom Oliphant (GBR), competing in the #15 BMW 330i M Sport, finished the first race in third place and was in a promising position for much of the second race before dropping out of the points after a spin. He finished in 13^th position in the third race. The third car competing for West Surrey Racing, the #77 BMW 330i M Sport, was driven by Andrew Jordan (GBR) who retired from the first race and was unable to appear in either of the subsequent races. Stephen Jelley (GBR), competing for the Parker Racing team in the #12 BMW 125i M Sport, finished in 17th place in the first race and secured 20th position in the third race. He had to retire from the second race. The next BTCC race weekend will take place at Thruxton (GBR) on 18^th and 19^th May.

DTM: Flying lessons for Marco Wittmann with aerobatics world champion Matthias Dolderer.
Two-time DTM champion Marco Wittmann (GER) was flying high last week as part of a film shoot for the SAT.1 TV station. Wittmann and his two fellow DTM drivers Nico Müller (SUI, Audi) and Ferdinand von Habsburg (AUT, Aston Martin) paid a visit to aerobatics world champion Matthias Dolderer (GER) in Tannheim (GER) to experience a particularly fast-paced flying lesson. Dolderer took the racing drivers on a round trip to show them some spectacular aerobatic manoeuvres. Wittmann was first up and was even able to take the controls himself for some manoeuvres. “This was my second time in the cockpit with Matthias after 2016, but it was just as exciting and spectacular as the first time,” said Wittmann. “Many thanks to Matthias for the invitation to this fantastic event! I hope he will now be able to accept our invitation to the DTM, so that we can return the favour.” SAT.1 will show the complete film of this day of aerobatics for Wittmann and his fellow DTM drivers as part of the live broadcast of the season-opener from Hockenheim (GER) this coming weekend.