BMW Team RLL and the BMW Technician Race Crew Program Will Join Forces this Weekend at the IMSA Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut.

• Graduates of the BMW Service Technician Education Program and U.S. Marine Veterans from the BMW Military Service Technician Education Program will Serve as Support Crew Members for the Race.

• BMW Technician Race Crew Program was Established in 2018 to Recognize and Reward Outstanding Technicians Across the BMW Dealer Network.

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – July 15, 2019… Graduates of the BMW Service Technician Education Program (STEP) and a U.S. Marine veteran from the BMW Military Service Technician Education Program (MSTEP) will serve as support crew members for BMW Team RLL, helping to maintain the No. 24 and No. 25 BMW M8 GTE racing cars at the IMSA Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park on July 20.  STEP graduates Bretton Setzefpandt (Motowerks, Bloomington, MN), Sergei Pnchyschyn (BMW of Omaha, Omaha NE) and David Graves (BMW of Watertown, Watertown, CT) will join U.S. Marine MSTEP graduate Isaiah Garcia (BMW of Murrietta, Murrietta, CA) as they put to use the skills developed during BMW’s signature 16-week technician training course in support of BMW Team RLL.

The participating technicians represent some of the best BMW technicians in the U.S. who were nominated to participate by their dealer employers and chosen based on the high-level of skill and professionalism displayed on the job.  Each are graduates of the BMW STEP/MSTEP technical training programs which have produced nearly 5,200 BMW technicians over the past 22 years.

“Students who graduate from BMW’s STEP and MSTEP technician training programs do so with an invaluable skillset, prepared for a long and successful career in the automotive industry,” said Denise Melville, department head BMW Group University.   “What these men and women bring to our dealerships is critical to fulfilling BMW’s customer centric mandate and to the success of our business, which is why we’re happy to provide this once-in-a-lifetime adventure as a token of our appreciation.”

BMW’s STEP is a 16 week BMW technical training program that accepts candidates from post-secondary automotive training programs and provides them with a hands on BMW technical education for employment within the nationwide BMW dealer network. The program is currently taught in nine locations across the country, where students develop the skills needed to repair and maintain the current and future generations of BMW vehicles.  95% of graduates are offered well-paying jobs at BMW dealers nationwide.

The MSTEP (Military Service Technician Education Program) program was launched in 2018 at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California to assist veterans in seamlessly transitioning from a military career to a civilian career in the automotive industry. The program was launched in partnership with UTI (Universal Technical Institute), making BMW the first premium automotive manufacturer to deliver technical training on and active military base.

To qualify for STEP programs, students must be top of their class upon graduation from a post-secondary automotive program, while MSTEP candidates are military service men and woman transitioning out of the service who must adhere to the highest standards to qualify.  The BMW Group University STEP/MSTEP programs are some of the most comprehensive technician development programs in North America with classes starting throughout the year at nine locations. For more information please go to www.bmwstep.com.  

The BMW Group Technician Race Crew Program was established in 2018 to recognize and reward outstanding technicians across the BMW dealer network.  To date, a total of 54 BMW technicians have participated in the Race Crew Program.  BMW Customer Racing teams BimmerWorld Racing and ST Racing have also hosted technicians in 2018 and 2019.

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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 Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; technology offices in Silicon Valley and Chicago, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 347 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 148 BMW motorcycle retailers, 122 MINI passenger car dealers, and 37 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.

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

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