BMW Motorsport News – Issue 28/16.

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.

International GT Open: BMW Team Téo Martin on the podium twice at Silverstone.

BMW Team Téo Martin extended their sequence of successes at the International GT Open: on the fourth race weekend of the season, the team celebrated a podium finish at the legendary Silverstone circuit, the “Home of British Motor Racing”. Pieter Schothorst (NL) delivered a strong performance on his debut in the #1 BMW M6 GT3. The Dutch driver was only introduced to the team shortly before the start of the event. Together with Miguel Ramos (PT), he finished the first race of the weekend in third place. In the second race on Sunday, the duo finished in sixth position. Their team-mates Gustavo Yacaman (CO) and Fernando Monje (ES) enjoyed even more success. After claiming sixth place in Saturday’s race, the two drivers then also made it to the podium with a second-place finish on Sunday. The next races in the International GT Open take place at the Red Bull Ring (AT) on 10th and 11th September.

Japanese Super GT: Augusto Farfus bolsters BMW Team Studie in Suzuka.

It is not only the highlight of the season in the Japanese Super GT Championship (JP), but also the oldest race in Japan: the 45th staging of the International Suzuka 1000 km promises to be an exciting affair again this year. When the BMW M6 GT3 takes to the 5.807-kilometre track on 27th/28th August, it will have two BMW works drivers at the wheel. Augusto Farfus (BR) will lend his support to BMW Team Studie in the GT300 class at round six of the Japanese Super GT Championship, where he will share the driving duties in the BMW M6 GT3 with his fellow BMW works driver Jörg Müller (DE) and Seiji Ara (JP). Suzuka is by no means new territory for Farfus: he also contested the 1000-kilometre race in 2014 as a guest starter for BMW Team Studie. The DTM ace finished third in the BMW Z4 GT3 to take his place on the podium. At his side back then: the very same Jörg Müller and Seiji Ara.

Japanese Super GT: Race to catch up rewarded with tenth-place finish.

As the third round of the Japanese Super GT Championship 2016 had been called off in the aftermath of an earthquake, the enforced break came to an end this weekend as the season resumed at “Sportsland Sugo”. Jörg Müller (DE) and Seji Ara (JP) were competing in the BMW M6 GT3 in the GT300 class. After concluding a difficult qualifying session in 17th place, the two BMW Team Studie drivers displayed plenty of fighting spirit to cross the finish line in tenth. Shinichi Takagi (JP) and Takashi Kobayashi (JP) from the Autobacs Racing Team Aguri in the second BMW M6 GT3 had to retire early The imposing bulk of Mount Fuji (JP) will provide the backdrop for the next race in the Japanese Super GT Championship on 7th August.

ADAC GT Masters: António Félix da Costa on the pace at the first attempt in the BMW M6 GT3.

Premiere for BMW DTM driver António Félix da Costa (PT): he made his GT debut in the race at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg (AT). Félix da Costa competed in the ADAC GT Masters as a guest driver, sharing the cockpit of the Schubert Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 with BMW Motorsport Junior Jesse Krohn (FI). Félix da Costa felt at home in the GT race car right away and proved this with his consistently fast-paced performance. He finished his first GT qualifying session in a strong fourth place. Unfortunately, he and Krohn suffered some bad luck: they were unable to convert their performances into great results, being forced to retire early due to not-at-fault collisions in both races.

IWSC: Turner Motorsport in sixth and seventh places at Lime Rock.

Two weeks ago, Bret Curtis (US) and BMW works driver Jens Klingmann (DE) celebrated the first win outside Europe for the BMW M6 GT3, in the GTD class at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC). On Saturday, the two Turner Motorsport drivers moved on to tackle the seventh race of the season at Lime Rock Park (US). After 161 laps, they claimed sixth place in the #96 BMW M6 GT3. Their team-mates Markus Palttala (FI) and Michael Marsal (US) finished seventh. However, BMW Team RLL were not so fortunate on their return to the GTLM class at Lime Rock Park: both BMW M6 GTLMs were forced to retire from the race after accidents. The next IWSC race is scheduled to take place on 7th August at Road America (US).

ICTSC: P6 for Clay and Cooke.

In Saturday’s two-and-one-half-hour Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race at Lime Rock Park (US), the number 84 BimmerWorld Racing BMW 328i of James Clay (US) and Tyler Cooke (US) was the best-placed BMW in the field with a sixth place finish in the Street Tuner (ST) class. An 11th place finish was scored by the number 65 Murillo Racing 328i threesome of Brent Mosing (US), Justin Piscitell (US) and Tim Probert (US). Two additional BMWs competed in the ST class, finishing 14th and 17th. The class was won by the number 25 Mazda.