PressClub Greece · Article.
BMW Motorsport News – Issue 37/16.
Mon Sep 26 08:45:58 CEST 2016 Δελτίο τύπου
DTM action in Budapest – Mies and Schrey already crowned champions in BMW M235i Racing Cup.
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BMW Motorsport News – Issue 37/16.
Whether in the DTM, 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: Wittmann on course for
title.*
During the eighth DTM weekend of
the season, 39,500 spectators saw varying degrees of
success for the BMW teams in the two races that took
place in Budapest (HU). On Saturday, only championship
leader Marco Wittmann (DE, 188 points) scored any
points, finishing in seventh place. His closest
challenger, Edoardo Mortara (IT, Audi) won the race, a
result that makes the exciting battle between these two
drivers even more thrilling. Wittmann was the
best-placed BMW driver on Sunday, in fourth place -
however, this time four of his brand team-mates also
made it into the top ten. The BMW Team RMG driver now
takes a 26-point lead to the grand season finale at the
Hockenheimring (DE) in mid-October. In the
manufacturers’ championship, BMW is in second place with
565 points.
*Update: After Sunday’s DTM race at the Hungaroring, following a report from the technical delegate, the stewards of the meeting concluded that the underfloor of Marco Wittmann’s car did not comply with the technical regulations.
Wittmann was excluded, BMW Team RMG announced an appeal. In the provisional race results, António Félix da Costa (PT) is now the best-placed BMW driver in third.
DTM: Farfus and Blomqvist thrill fans in the
heart of Budapest.
Augusto Farfus (BR)
and Tom Blomqvist (GB) let the engines roar in Budapest
city centre ahead of the DTM weekend at the Hungaroring
(HU). In front of the impressive backdrop of Heroes’
Square and the famous Chain Bridge in the heart of the
Hungarian capital, they put on a thrilling show for fans
on Thursday in the Shell BMW M4 DTM Race Taxi and BMW M4
GTS DTM Safety Car. After an autograph session and press
conference, they cruised through the streets of Budapest
as part of a powerful convoy. Farfus and Blomqvist were
joined by Jamie Green (GB, Audi), Nico Müller (CH,
Audi), Maximilian Götz (DE, Mercedes) and Paul Di Resta
(GB, Mercedes) in their cars, as the convoy travelled
through the city. In late summer weather, their
action-packed appearance was the highlight of a festival
of motorsport. “What a show that was,” said Farfus. “It
was great to drive in front of so many fans here in the
city centre. We put on a really good show and
demonstrated how powerful the Shell BMW M4 DTM Race Taxi
and the BMW M4 GTS DTM Safety Car are.” Blomqvist was
also visibly impressed by the publicity stunt. “That was
a real highlight,” said the BMW Team RBM driver. “I
really enjoyed the day. You could hardly wish for a
better advertisement for the DTM.”
DTM: First BMW for the next
generation.
Nice surprise for Timo Glock
(DE) and Maxime Martin (BE): before the 15th and 16th
races of the DTM season in Budapest (HU), two BMW
drivers, who had both become fathers in the previous
week, were presented with a BMW Baby Racer III by their
six team-mates. Of course, no-one can yet tell if
Glock’s daughter Leni Malou and Martin’s son Félix will
follow in the footsteps of their racing driver fathers.
In any case, they can practice at home for that
eventuality on their BMW Baby Racer IIIs - but only when
they are 18 months old, of course.
VLN: Mies and Schrey reach their target – record
lap for the BMW M6 GT3.
The destination
of the drivers’ title in the BMW M235i Racing Cup was
decided with two races of the season still to go.
Alexander Mies (DE) and Michael Schrey (DE) from Team
Bonk Motorsport hold an unassailable lead. Although
points count double at the season finale, the duo lead
by 72 points and cannot be caught even if results
removed from the standings are taken into account at the
end of the season. Third place in the class for the duo
at the eighth race of the VLN Endurance Championship at
the Nürburgring (DE) was sufficient for them to claim
the overall VLN title in, in theory at least. In purely
arithmetical terms, their competitors could still have a
chance of the title; however, the average scores for the
classes in question mean that this is a theoretical
chance and Bonk Motorsport will claim a fourth VLN title
at the end of the season. Mies and Schrey had won the
first seven VLN races and the 24-hour race in their
class. They lost their perfect record but were delighted
with their title nonetheless. Victory in the BMW M235i
Racing Cup class went to Heiko Eichenberg (DE) from the
Securtal Sorg Rennsport team. He won ahead of his
team-mates Max Kottmayr (DE), Kevin Warum (DE) and Erik
Johannson (SE). Walkenhorst Motorsport also had reason
to celebrate early on. Christian Krognes (NO) drove the
number 36 BMW M6 GT3 to pole position with a time of
7:53.375 minutes, setting a new lap record for the VLN
variant of the Nordschleife. However, both BMW M6 GT3s
from this team retired early from the race.
Italian GT Championship: Podium for the BMW M6
GT3.
At the penultimate race weekend in
the Italian GT Championship 2016 at Imola (IT), BMW Team
Italia celebrated another top three placing. In the
second race on Sunday, Stefano Comandini and Alberto
Cerqui (both IT) finished in third place in the BMW M6
GT3 after 29 laps. They had claimed fifth place in the
first race. The final two races in the Italian GT
Championship 2016 will take place concurrently with the
DTM finale in Hockenheim (DE) in mid-October. The number
15 BMW M6 GT3 will be competing in Mugello (IT).