BMW Motorsport News – Issue 03/17.

Turner Motorsport announces line-up for 24 Hours of Daytona – BMW works drivers at international press launch of the BMW M760Li xDrive.

• IWSC: Turner Motorsport announces driver line-up for the 24-hour race in Daytona.
• General: BMW works drivers visit the international press launch of the BMW M760Li xDrive.
• Dubai 24 Hour: Jörg Müller pleased with performance.
• Asian Le Mans Series: season finale in Malaysia.
  
  

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.

IWSC: Turner Motorsport announces line-up for 24 Hours of Daytona.

Strong line-up for the 24 Hours of Daytona (USA): when the new IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) season starts next weekend with this legendary classic race, Turner Motorsport will be competing in the GTD class with an powerful driver line-up. DTM driver Maxime Martin (BEL) will be sharing driving duties in the number 96 BMW M6 GT3 with BMW works driver Jens Klingmann (GER), the BMW Motorsport Junior of the Year 2014, Jesse Krohn (FIN), as well as Justin Marks (USA). The 24-hour race in Daytona starts this Saturday, 28^th January, at 14:30 local time (20:30 CET).

General: International Press Launch for the BMW M760Li xDrive – BMW works drivers visit Palm Springs .

The international press launch for the new BMW M760Li xDrive kicked off last Thursday in Palm Springs (USA) with a special programme of events. Around 130 domestic and international journalists had the chance to put the exclusive new M Performance automobile from BMW through its paces. The top model in the successful BMW 7 series is the most powerful BMW series production car ever, while an acceleration time of just 3.7 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h means it also has the fastest acceleration of any BMW car. The journalists were joined in Palm Springs by four BMW works drivers. The DTM drivers Bruno Spengler (CAN), Marco Wittmann (GER) and Augusto Farfus (BRA), as well as Martin Tomczyk (GER), who will give his racing debut in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) next week, acted as instructors to lead the journalists through the exciting programme on the track. Test drives on public roads and on the track, as well as active driving workshops at the BMW Performance Center West, gave the journalists present a lasting impression of the 610 HP BMW M760Li with its Twin Power Turbo 12-cylinder petrol motor. The experienced BMW drivers were delighted with this latest model. “It is great fun to drive the BMW M760Li xDrive. This car has everything you could wish for It is a real highlight for me to be part of this event in Palm Springs,” said Bruno Spengler after his first stint as an instructor. International trade visitors will have the chance to take a closer look at the combination of luxury and performance provided by the BMW M760Li xDrive until 8^th February.

Dubai 24 Hour: Jörg Müller pleased with performance.
The Dubai 24 Hour took place last weekend, marking the first highlight of the 2017 motorsport season. On the grid: the BMW M4 GT4, which is still in development. This was the first test of the car under race conditions, and was completed successfully by BMW works drivers Jörg Müller and Jens Klingmann (both GER), as well as BMW Motorsport Junior Ricky Collard (GBR), together with the Schubert Motorsport team. This was a special moment for Collard in particular. “As a BMW Motorsport Junior, it is really special for me to be involved in the development of a new race car with experienced BMW drivers”, he said. “It was great fun to test the new BMW M4 GT4 under race conditions for the first time, together with Jörg and Jens.”

Three questions for... Jörg Müller.

Jörg, the Dubai 24 Hour officially opened the 2017 motorsport season. Did you enjoy it?

Jörg Müller: “It is always nice to head for the sun in Dubai at the start of the year, and to take part in a race there with almost 100 cars. It is a great start to the season and the Dubai 24 Hour is a great event, year after year.”

This was the first test for the new BMW M4 GT4. How did it go?

Müller: “This was definitely a successful debut for the BMW M4 GT4. Other than that, it all went smoothly. Finishing a 24-hour race like that without a scratch on the car is simply unbelievable. So we are pleased with this first event. We learned a lot.”

You successfully completed the 24 hours together with Jens Klingmann and Ricky Collard. What was it like to share the cockpit with them?

Müller: “The team produced some sensational driving. Our BMW Motorsport Junior Ricky Collard did a great job and Jens Klingmann showed once again that he has racing in the blood. We performed very well as a team, and it was great fun to be part of this event.”

Asian Le Mans Series: season finale in Malaysia.

The 2016/17 Asian Le Mans Series season concluded this weekend with the 4 Hours of Sepang at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. As had been the case at the previous race in Buriram (THA), the AAI Motorsport team was supported by BMW works drivers Tom Blomqvist (GBR) and Philipp Eng (AUT). Blomqvist shared driving duties in the number 90 BMW M6 GT3 with regular driver Akira Iida (JP) and Lam Yu (CHN) and crossed the line in sixth place in the GT class after four hours. Finishing directly behind them in seventh place was Eng, who competed together with Jun San Chen (TW) and Ollie Millroy (GB) in the number 91 BMW M6 GT3.