BMW Motorsport News - Issue 32/2019.

IGTC: Sheldon van der Linde to compete in home event at Kyalami.

BMW DTM driver Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) will compete in a very special race in November. The South African will contest the 9-hour race at Kyalami (RSA) for BMW Team Schnitzer in a BMW M6 GT3 at the season finale of the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC). It is the first time in his international career that he will head to South Africa for a home race. “It goes without saying that it is something incredibly special for me – probably even the highlight of my season,” said van der Linde. “Some of my family, like my grandparents, have never seen me compete in an international race live. Now they will finally be able to at Kyalami. I’m expecting the atmosphere to be awesome since it has been quite a while since a major international race has been held in South Africa so it will be something new for the fans and they will be excited. And there will be other South African drivers starting alongside me, among them my brother Kelvin. I’m really looking forward to the whole event.” Van der Linde will share the cockpit with the two regular drivers Augusto Farfus (BRA) and Martin Tomczyk (GER). The second Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 will have Nick Catsburg (NED), Mikkel Jensen (DEN) and Christian Krognes (NOR) at the wheel. The race will be held on 22^nd/23^rdNovember.

VLN: Three BMW M6 GT3s in the top ten. 

The sixth round of the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring (GER) saw the participants compete in the 42^nd RCM DMV Grenzlandrennen. In the 4-hour race, three BMW M6 GT3s made it into the top ten of the overall classification. In changeable conditions, the #3 Falken Motorsports car took the chequered flag in fifth place. Peter Dumbreck (GBR) and Alexandre Imperatori (CHN) shared duties at the wheel. Seventh place went to the #34 BMW M6 GT3 of Walkenhorst Motorsport, driven by BMW works driver Nick Catsburg (NED), David Pittard and Jody Fannin (both GBR). They were immediately followed across the line by the #35 sister car of Rudi Adams, Jörn Schmidt-Staade (both GER) and Jordan Tresson (FRA). The Walkenhorst Motorsport trio also secured the class win in the SP9 Pro-Am category. In the SP10 class, BMW Motorsport Junior Erik Johansson (SWE) and Heiko Eichenberg (GER) celebrated their next win with the #181 BMW M4 GT4 of Team AVIA Sorg Rennsport. In addition, they claimed a strong 11^th place in the overall classification. Team AVIA Sorg Rennsport also triumphed in the V4 class when victory went to the BMW 325i driven by Torsten Kratz (AUT), Oliver Frisse (GER) and Moran Gott (GBR). More class wins were taken by BMW teams in the SP4 and VT2 categories. 

BMW M240i Racing Cup: First win of the season for Setsaas, Hansesaetre and Oberheim.

The BMW M240i Racing Cup held its sixth event of the season with the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring (GER). After four hours of racing, Sintre Setsaas, Inge Hansesaetre (both NOR) and Moritz Oberheim (GER) of Team AVIA Sorg Rennsport celebrated their first win of the season. Pixum Team Adrenalin Motorsport’s David Griessner (AUT) and Yannick Fübrich (GER) finished the race in second position. Third place went to Juha Hannonen (FIN) and Christian Konnerth (GER) of Team FK Performance Motorsport. After the sixth event of the season, Fübrich and Griessner not only remain in the lead in the BMW M240i Racing Cup classification but also in the VLN overall standings. In the overall championship, they have collected 47.48 points so far.

China GT Championship: Victory for Yelloly/Yu and the BMW M6 GT3 at Tianjin.

Tianjin in China hosted the ninth and tenth race of the season in the China GT Championship. The race weekend ended with a victory for the BMW M6 GT3. In race two on Sunday, Nick Yelloly (GBR) and Lin Yu (CHN) were unbeatable in the FIST-Team AAI #90 car and crossed the line in first place. On Saturday, the duo had finished race one in fourth place. “Yesterday, we were unlucky with the safety car, today it was the other way around,” said Yelloly. “It’s our first win since Ningbo and I’m really happy. I’m also delighted for Lin as we are not far away from his home town Bejing and secured this win.” Their team-mates Jesse Krohn (FIN) and Betty Chen (TWN) finished the races in the #91 BMW M6 GT3 in fifth and fourth places respectively. Yelloly is leading the GT3 drivers’ championship and the same goes for FIST-Team AAI in the team championship. The season finale will be held from 11^th to 13^th October at Shanghai (CHN).

In the GT4 category, Team Master Champ raced onto the podium with the #999 BMW M4 GT4, securing third place in race two on Sunday. In race one, the team had crossed the line in fourth position. The FIST-Team AAI #17 BMW M4 GT4 finished the two races in sixth and seventh places respectively.

International GT Open: Beitske Visser and Šenkýř Motorsport in action at Silverstone.

BMW Motorsport Junior Beitske Visser (NED) competed her second race event with Šenkýř Motorsport in the International GT Open at the weekend. This time, the team was in action at Silverstone (GBR) with the BMW M6 GT3. Together with team-mate Richard Gonda (SVK), Visser finished Saturday’s first race in eighth position. In Sunday’s second race, the Visser/Gonda duo were fourth to cross the finish line.