BMW Motorsport News – Issue 39/16.

VLN: ROWE Racing celebrates podium and class win.

Stef Dusseldorp (NL) and Alexander Sims (GB) completed a flawless race in difficult conditions at the ninth round of the VLN Endurance Championship and finished in a strong second place in the BMW M6 GT3 of ROWE Racing. The win went to the Lexus of Mario and Dominik Farnbacher (both DE), who competed in a special class. So the SP9 class win went to ROWE Racing. The number 36 BMW M6 GT3 of Walkenhorst Motorsport finished fifth ahead of the BMW Team Schnitzer number 42 car. The one-off appearance of the car racing for Falken Motorsport in eighth place saw a fourth BMW M6 GT3 finish in the top ten. In the BMW M235i Racing Cup class, the win went to Heiko Eichenberg (DE) of Securtal Sorg Rennsport for the second time in a row. He won ahead of the BMW M235i Racing of Pixum Team Adrenalin Motorsport and the FK Performance team. Alexander Mies (DE) and Michael Schrey (DE) of Bonk Motorsport, who had already clinched the championship, retired, as did the second-placed duo in the championship standings Rudi Adams (DE) and Thomas Jäger (AT) of Scheid-Honert Motorsport.

DTM: Bruno Spengler makes successful debut at the Nordschleife.

BMW DTM driver Bruno Spengler (CA) contested his first race at the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife (DE) in the VLN Endurance Championship on Saturday. The 2012 DTM Champion shared the cockpit of a BMW M235i Racing with his fellow Canadian Kuno Wittmer (CA). “I completed the number of laps that we intended. From that perspective, everything went according to plan,” said Spengler. “But it was a totally new experience for me. I don’t think I have ever looked in the rear-view mirror as often as I did today, and I haven’t mastered the track yet either, but I will drive at the season finale once again to continue getting used to the ‘Green Hell’.” It was also Wittmer’s first race in the Eifel. This season he has been racing for BMW Team RLL at the endurance classics in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the BMW M6 GTLM. Both Spengler and Wittmer must complete a certain number of race laps in a car such as the BMW M235i in order to be allowed to contest races in the BMW M6 GT3 on the demanding Nordschleife in the future. Before Spengler, the BMW DTM drivers Tom Blomqvist (GB) and António Félix da Costa (PT) made their Nordschleife debut in the BMW M235i Racing this season.

BMW Motorsport Junior Programme: Menzel makes debut in the BMW M6 GT3.

BMW Motorsport Junior Nico Menzel (DE) contested his first race in the BMW M6 GT3 in the ninth round of the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring (DE). Alongside BMW works driver Jens Klingmann (DE), Menzel gained valuable experience on the most difficult racetrack in the world and even got a good result. The number 42 BMW M6 GT3 of BMW Team Schnitzer crossed the finish line in sixth place. “I am very pleased with my race,” said Menzel after his GT3 debut. “I didn’t take any risks and held back when there was traffic. That’s where I lost the most time I think. But my lap times were okay despite that, even though they didn’t stand out. The experience of Jens Klingmann and BMW Team Schnitzer really helped me get to grips with the car quickly.” Jesse Krohn (FI) was the second BMW Motorsport Junior racing at the “Green Hell”. In the four-hour race, alongside Victor Bouveng (SE) and Christian Krognes (NO), he finished in fifth place in the number 36 BMW M6 GT3 of Walkenhorst Motorsport powered by Dunlop.

Formula E: Hong Kong ePrix opens third season.

The FIA Formula E Championship 2016/17 season got underway at the weekend. Part of the action: BMW i as the “Official Vehicle Partner” as well as the MS Amlin Andretti team supported by BMW. First, BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt along with Alejandro Agag (ES), Chief Executive Officer Formula E Holdings and the team representatives Roger Griffiths (US) and J.F. Thormann (US) presented details of the extended commitment to this series. Then it was the first race of the year for BMW works driver António Félix da Costa (PT) and his team-mate Robin Frijns (NL) on Sunday. Félix da Costa finished fifth, directly followed by Frijns in sixth. The second Formula E race of the year will be held in Marrakech (MA) on the 12th November.

Japanese Super GT: Podium position for the BMW M6 GT3 in Thailand.

For its penultimate race of the 2016 season the Japanese Super GT Championship headed to Thailand. The BMW M6 GT3 claimed another podium position at the Chang International Circuit. Shinichi Takagi (JP) and Takashi Kobayashi (JP) from Autobacs Racing Team Aguri finished in third place on the podium in the number 55 car. Jörg Müller (DE) and Seji Ara (JP) in the BMW Team Studie BMW M6 GT3 staged a strong catch-up, which took them from 16th on the grid to sixth place. Also, Morgan Haber (AU), who contests the Australian GT Championship in the BMW M6 GT3, made his Japanese Super GT debut in Chang. Haber was representing the colours of Vattana Motorsport and shared the cockpit of the BMW M6 GT3 with Chonsawat Asavahame (TH). The duo finished in 20th place.

BMW M235i Racing Cup Belgium: Maxime Dumarey wins in Zolder.

The BMW M235i Racing Cup Belgium held its final race of the season as part of the Belcar Trophy in Zolder (BE). Maxime Dumarey (BE) got the win in the number 240 PK Carsport car. Second and third place on the podium went to the BMW M235i Racing with the number 34 and 142 cars of VR/Qvick Racing. The title had been decided before the finale in Zolder: The 2016 BMW M235i Racing Cup Belgium Champion is Guillaume Dumarey (BE / PK Carsport).

GT4 European Series: Successful season finale for Racing Team Holland.

The final two races of the GT4 European Series were held in Zandvoort (NL) at the weekend. It was an extremely successful season final for Racing Team Holland by Ekris Motorsport. Ricardo van der Ende (NL) and Bernhard van Oranje (NL) finished in second place in their Ekris M4 GT4 in the first of the two races on Sunday morning. Their team-mates Simon Knap (NL) and Rob Severs (NL) also made it onto the podium in third place. Then in the second race on Sunday afternoon, the team finished the season with a one-two result: Knap/Severs won the race, van der Ende/van Oranje finished second. The successful final weekend was rounded off by another two top ten positions for the BMW M3 GT4 in the second race: Pieter-Christiaan van Oranje and Tim Coronel (both NL / Racing Team Holland by Intercar) finished in fifth place, the brothers Tristian and Yorick Boorsma (both NL / NMT Racing Team) finished eighth.

Pirelli World Challenge: Grahovec celebrates title win in the Touring Class.

Toby Grahovec (US) is the 2016 champion in the Touring Class of the Pirelli World Challenge. At the season finale in Laguna Seca (US) Grahovec finished the first of the two races in third place on the podium in his BMW M235i Racing. This saw the 37-year-old extend his number of points to a total of 1,050 and clinch the title before the second and final race on Sunday. This also meant that his team, Classic BMW Motorsports, won the team standings. Max Fedler (US / Summit of Everest Motorsports) also achieved a top ten position with his BMW M235i Racing in the first race when he finished ninth. The second race of the season finale was not yet over at the time of publication.