Strong showing at the world’s largest motoring “garden party”: BMW Group Classic presents BMW Motorsport icons at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2013.

Note: This press release is a 1:1 copy of the original issued by BMW headquarters in Germany. No adaptations have been made to cater for the UK market.
 

Munich. 2013 will see the world’s largest motoring “garden party” – held in the grounds of Lord March’s Goodwood House every year since 1993 – celebrating “the best of the first 20 years”. The one-of-a-kind Goodwood Festival of Speed will mark its 20th anniversary from 12-14 July this year, once again conjuring up a unique atmosphere for the fastest, loudest and most exciting racing machines from the past and present. The event has been one of the highlights of the calendar for BMW Group Classic for many years now, and BMW will line up for the 2013 edition of the legendary Hillclimb with a total of nine extraordinary BMW racing cars and motorcycles piloted by some world-renowned personalities. The company’s involvement this year will be headlined by two very special anniversaries: the founding of BMW Motorrad 90 years ago and Nelson Piquet’s Formula One World Championship win with the Brabham BMW BT52 30 years ago.

The participating BMW racing motorcycles/cars and their riders/drivers are:

BMW R 50 (1966), rider: Helmut Dähne

BMW RS 54 sidecar (1970), riders: Theo Sattler and Hans Jürgen Eckert

BMW Boxer Cup R 1100 S (2002), riders: Michael Neeves, Marc Potter

BMW Power Cup K 1200 R (2005), riders: Michael Neeves, Marc Potter

BMW HP4 (2013), rider: Chaz Davies

BMW S 1000 RR (2013), rider: Michael Neeves

Brabham BMW BT52 (1983 Formula One World Championship-winning car), driver: Nelson Piquet

BMW V12 LMR (Le Mans winning car 1999), drivers: Marc Surer and Steve Soper

BMW M1 Procar (1979), driver: Riccardo Patrese

90 years of BMW Motorrad – racing success straight off the start line.

The history of BMW Motorrad can be traced back to the BMW R 32 developed by Max Friz in 1923. Over the decades since, BMW’s motorcycle wing has earned itself a glowing reputation around the world thanks to a stream of pioneering innovations, motor sport triumphs, outstanding quality standards and distinctive design. The racing machines in action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed pay tribute to the BMW two-wheelers’ impressive record of success on the track and allow visitors to experience at close quarters the rapid pace of technical development over the decades.

Back on track – the restored Brabham BMW BT52.

1983 was a very special year for the BMW brand. Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet piloted a Brabham BMW to the Formula One World Championship crown – the first driver in Formula One history to win the title in a car powered by a turbocharged engine. It took just 630 days after BMW linked up with the British Brabham team as engine supplier for the sensation to come about; BMW Motorsport had laid down a milestone.

The 1983 World Championship-winning Brabham BMW BT52 has been comprehensively restored to mark the 30-year anniversary of its title triumph. The Historic Motorsport team headed by Norbert Knerr set about piecing the tricky puzzle of the Formula One car back together – a complex and detailed task. The restoration of the BT52 was carried out with help from the company’s present-day development departments, as well as the mechanics and senior figures involved in the project back in 1983. With precious little technical documentation to be found, the expertise and commitment of those who were there at the time was particularly important; indeed, without their input the project could never have materialised in this form.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed will provide the newly restored Formula One car with its official driving debut – and it goes without saying that Nelson Piquet will be behind the wheel once again for the occasion.