BMW Privateer Drivers Victorious at Pirelli World Challenge Season Finale

Toby Grahovec and Classic BMW Motorsports Score TC Class Driver and Team Titles. Michael Mills and Mills Motorsport Win SprintX GT Driver and Team Titles.

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – Oct. 12, 2016 . . . BMW privateer drivers scored four championships at this weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge season finale races, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, Calif., to cap the BMW’s return season to PWC sprint racing competition.

Toby Grahovec, of Little Elm, Texas, was crowned TC class driver’s champion after two third-place finishes in rounds 11 and 12 at the classic 2.54-mile, 11-turn road course this weekend. The Classic BMW Motorsports driver raced to 10 podium finishes in the 12 round sprint series in the No. 26 BMW M235i Racing this year, including two victories to score his first Pirelli World Challenge championship. He finished fourth in the only two races he did not podium. Classic BMW Motorsports also took the TC class Team title. BMW finished second in TC manufacturer points standings to cap an excellent inaugural season for the BMW M235i Racing in North America.

“It has been an amazing year,” said Grahovec. “We received the M235i Racing cars 10 days before the first race at the Circuit of the Americas and I was the winner in the second round race that weekend. The car has been consistent and reliable throughout the season. It was easy to get it into the zone at every track and our record bears that out. The support we received from BMW was fabulous.”

In the SprintX GT class, following a fourth place finish in Round 5, Michael Mills raced the No. 46 Mills Racing BMW Z4 GT3 to the top of the Round 6 podium and the SprintX GT class Sportsman driver’s championship. His co-driver this weekend was BMW of North America driver John Edwards. In the previous four rounds BMWNA driver Kuno Wittmer co-drove with Mills.

Mills said, “I want to thank BMW NA for supporting me and the team this season. Kuno and John made a great contribution and, along with the engineering support we received, made all the difference in learning what was best for the Z4. We were able to build up quite a point’s lead this year and to finish the last round on the top step of the podium was a great ending to a great year.”

“BMW is very pleased with the success demonstrated in our first season in Pirelli World Challenge competition in quite a few years,” said Victor Leleu, BMW NA Motorsport Manager. “The response to the M235i Racing platform has been outstanding and I’m delighted the inaugural season for the car in North America has resulted in both the driver’s championship for Toby and the team championship for Classic BMW Motorsports. In the hands of Michael Mills and Mills Racing the BMW Z4 GT3 continued its winning ways with the SprintX GT driver and team titles. We look forward to supporting the increasing numbers of BMWs participating in Pirelli World Challenge in 2017.”

BMW of North America Customer Racing

BMW of North America’s customer racing program supports privateer BMW drivers across North America with racing cars, engineering, parts and contingency. During 2016, BMWNA supported the M235i Racing, BMW Z4 GT3 and BMW M6 GT3 platforms. For more information, please contact Victor Leleu, BMW NA Motorsport Manager at victor.leleu@bmwna.com.

BMW Group In America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003.  The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country.  BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 and X4 Sports Activity Coupes.  The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 341 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 153 BMW motorcycle retailers, 126 MINI passenger car dealers, and 36 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers.  BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

The BMW Group

With its three brands, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services.  As a global company, the BMW Group operates 30 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2014, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.118 million cars and 123,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2013 was euro 7.91 billion on revenues amounting to approximately euro 76.06 billion. As of 31 December 2013, the BMW Group had a workforce of 110,351 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

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Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwgroupusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com.

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