BMW Motorsport News – Issue 30/2017.

ADAC GT Masters: BMW Team Schnitzer claims second place at the Nürburgring.

The BMW Team Schnitzer enjoyed a successful Sunday at the Nürburgring (GER), as Philipp Eng (AUT) and Nick Catsburg (NED) reached the podium in second place. The historic circuit in the Eifel region hosted the fifth of seven race events in the ADAC GT Masters 2017. Eng claimed pole position with the BMW M6 GT3. In an exciting, hard-fought race, the Austrian driver then led during his stint and handed over to Catsburg at the top of the standings. Once the field positions had sorted themselves out after the end of the pit-stop window, Catsburg was in second place. He was able to fight off his competitors and defend second to the finish line. The duo endured some bad luck with the weather on Saturday, however. Rain set in during the qualifying session and ensured that no-one was able to record another fast time. Catsburg and Eng had to settle with 16^th place on the grid. They worked their way up to ninth place during the race. After this fifth round, Eng lies in second place in the drivers’ standings.

Japanese Super GT: ARTA BMW M6 GT wins in Fuji.

Celebrations for the Autobacs Racing Team Aguri in the Japanese Super GT Championship: at the fifth race of the season in Fuji (JPN), Shinichi Takagi (JPN) and Sean Walkinshaw (GBR) celebrated a win in the GT300 class with their BMW M6 GT3, the duo having previously secured pole position. Starting driver Takagi was able to build a lead in the early stages of the race. After the driver change, Walkinshaw recorded the fastest race lap and drove the ARTA BMW M6 GT3 to a comfortable first-place finish after 62 laps. “The win feels just fantastic. I would like to thank the team for providing us with this amazing car. Sean Walkinshaw outdid himself today,” said Takagi. Team-mate Walkinshaw added: “I am delighted with this win. The car felt great, the tyres remained consistently good for the whole race and the team worked perfectly in the pits. During his stint, Shinichi made sure that we had a large lead. That was outstanding. Thanks to everyone involved for making this win possible.” The front row of the grid was controlled by BMW, as Jörg Müller (GER) and Seiji Ara (JPN) started the race from second place in the BMW M6 GT3 from the BMW Team Studie. They finished in sixth position in the GT300 class.

IWSC: BMW M6 GTLM starting from third place at Road America.

The BMW teams in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) are competing in the ninth race of the season this weekend at Road America near Elkhart Lake (USA). In the GTLM class, Alexander Sims (GBR) claimed third place in qualifying for the number 25 BMW M6 GTLM from the BMW Team RLL. The British driver is sharing driving duties with Bill Auberlen (USA). Meanwhile, BMW works driver Martin Tomczyk (GER) recorded the fifth-fastest time in the number 24 car. However, he and team-mate John Edwards (USA) were demoted on the grid order due to an engine change penalty. In the GTD class, BMW works drivers Jens Klingmann (GER) and Jesse Krohn (FIN) secured second place on the grid in the Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3. The race will take place on Sunday evening, European time.

ICTSC: Thunderstorm prevents top result at Road America.

The seventh out of ten races in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (ICTSC) season took place at Road America (USA). A thunderstorm with lightning led to the race finishing 40 minutes before the scheduled time. This also meant that Tyler Cooke (USA) and James Clay (USA) from Team BimmerWorld Racing were not able to capitalise on their chance of recording a top result. Driving the number 84 BMW 328i, the duo had claimed pole position in the Street Tuner class, and they led for majority of the race in wet conditions. A yellow-flag phase began as Clay handed over to Cooke in the pits. This was followed swiftly by the red flag. In the provisional standings for the ST class, they finished in sixth place. Their team-mates Greg Liefooghe (USA) and Ari Balogh (USA) were in eleventh position. Michael Johnson (USA) and Stephen Simpson (USA) recorded a 15^th place finish in the BMW 228i from JDC Miller Motorsports.