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BMW Motorsport Juniors get to know each other at welcome event – Climbing with BMW Outdoor Ambassador, Stefan Glowacz.
Thu Apr 30 11:21:34 CEST 2015 Press Release
The 2015 BMW Motorsport Juniors spent three days getting to know each other before their training begins in earnest. From Monday to Wednesday, 2014 BMW Motorsport Junior of the Year, Jesse Krohn (FI), and his four successors Victor Bouveng (SE), Nick Cassidy (NZ), Louis Delétraz (CH) and Trent Hindman (US) met up at a specially organised welcome event.
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Munich (DE), 30th April 2015. The 2015 BMW Motorsport Juniors spent three days getting to know each other before their training begins in earnest. From Monday to Wednesday, 2014 BMW Motorsport Junior of the Year, Jesse Krohn (FI), and his four successors Victor Bouveng (SE), Nick Cassidy (NZ), Louis Delétraz (CH) and Trent Hindman (US) met up at a specially organised welcome event. Following a short introduction from their head instructor and mentor Dirk Adorf (DE), the Juniors were welcomed to the BMW Family in Munich (DE) by BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt.
“Our new BMW Motorsport Junior programme proved to be very successful in its debut season in 2014. In Jesse Krohn, we helped to develop an outstanding young driver, who we are now continuing to support on the GT racing scene, and for whom we have high hopes,” said Marquardt. “In Victor Bouveng, Nick Cassidy, Louis Delétraz and Trent Hindman we are once again supporting four talented young drivers this year, as we offer them the optimal preparation for a successful career in GT racing. Each of these four drivers has already gained initial experience in motorsport, and a number have already achieved notable success. However, all four Juniors are hungry for more. They want to become even stronger, to improve both on and off the track, and to find out more about working at the very highest level of motor racing. We are giving them the opportunity to do just that in 2015.”
Following the welcome, the Juniors learned more about the production of BMW vehicles on a tour of the factory, and were given an impression of the sheer size of the group that they now represent. “The tour of the factory was very impressive,” said Hindman, who finished 11th in the BMW Sports Trophy Drivers’ Competition in 2014. “I now know why BMW makes the best cars in the world.” Bouveng, who has already raced in BMW Motorsport colours in the BMW M235i Racing media car at the qualifying race for the Nürburgring 24 Hours (DE), was also impressed: “It was great to see how big the BMW production halls are, and to see the robots at work. It is a fantastic industry.”
From the visit to the BMW plant on Monday, the Juniors headed to Innsbruck (AT), where another highlight awaited them on Tuesday. BMW Outdoor Ambassador Stefan Glowacz (DE), one of the best extreme climbers in the world, gave the young drivers a climbing course lasting several hours, which offered an insight into what makes the sport so fascinating. Each of the juniors put their skills to the test on climbing routes of varying degrees of difficulty. While climbing, they were constantly secured to one of their new colleagues. As well as all the participants enjoying the challenge, team building also played a central role in this workshop.
“When climbing, you are always dependent on your partner belaying you. This partner has your life in their hands. Therefore, you have to trust each other 100 per cent and be in tune with each other while climbing. This makes the sport perfectly suited to team building,” said Glowacz. “I found it inspiring to see how the racing drivers, professionals in their own discipline, handled themselves on unfamiliar ground. Even though this was the first time in a climbing hall for some of them, you could still see that they are quick to get into a new sport and willing to broaden their horizons.”
Jesse Krohn is no newcomer when it comes to climbing. He is a keen climber in his spare time and has reached an impressive standard. “Jesse is really an outstanding climber,” said Glowacz, having first belayed for Krohn and then climbed parallel with him on a more challenging route. “That was a very special day for me, and one that I will not forget for a long time,” said Krohn. “I am a big fan of climbing, and Stefan is one of my heroes. Furthermore, the Austrian national team was also practicing in the hall. It was fantastic to meet the climbers, who I normally marvel at on television or the Internet.”
Delétraz and Cassidy also enjoyed the welcome event. “I think it was very important for us all to get to know one another at an event like this,” said Delétraz, who had taken part in the Formula BMW Talent Cup in 2012. “After all, we are all part of the same family now.” Cassidy added: “We all want to be as much a part of the BMW brand as possible. This event was an excellent way to start. We will be sharing a car on the Nordschleife, so it is very important to get on well and trust one another.”
On day three of the welcome event, the Juniors were given comprehensive media training to prepare them for their roles as representatives of the BMW brand away from the race track. “For those of us in charge of the programme, it was extremely important for our Juniors to really get to know one another at the very start of their time together,” said Dirk Adorf. “For some of them, this was the first time they have worked as part of a team. Teamwork is one of the core elements of our training programme. With that in mind, this event was an ideal way to start.”
Over the course of the year’s training, the 2015 BMW Motorsport Juniors will compete in races in the BMW M235i Racing, as well as completing tests in the Formula BMW FB02. They will also undergo fitness, mental and simulator training. Krohn will race in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) at the wheel of a BMW Z4 GTE in his second year. He will also drive a BMW Z4 GT3 in the VLN Endurance Championship at the Nürburgring from the third race of the season onwards.