Munich. There is no longer any such thing as a winter break in
modern motor racing – not if you have such an exciting portfolio of
activity as BMW Motorsport. In the ABB FIA Formula E Championship,
BMW i Andretti Motorsport celebrated a thrilling debut with victory
in Ad Diriyah (KSA) in mid-December, while the first highlights of
the BMW M Motorsport programme are already scheduled for the new
year. In this interview, BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt
reviews 2018 and looks forward to the new season to explain why BMW
i Motorsport and BMW M Motorsport are a perfect match.
Mr. Marquardt, an eventful year of motorsport with many
highlights for BMW is coming to an end. Which were the most
memorable moments for you?
Jens Marquardt: “There are plenty to choose from, as it
was an intensive 2018 season for BMW Motorsport, with a comprehensive
programme from the very first race. Of course, I particularly like to
look back at the big wins – such as the one-two result for the BMW M6
GT3 at the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race, the first triumph for the
BMW M8 GTE in the US, winning the FIA GT World Cup in Macau or Timo
Glock’s DTM victory at Hockenheim after his epic duel with Gary
Paffett. António Félix da Costa’s win in our very first Formula E race
stands out in particular. BMW is just starting to race with
fully-electric cars, and we won at the first attempt. Thus, we made
BMW Motorsport history this year. Of course, the DTM guest appearance
by Alex Zanardi and our return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans were very
special too. In short, we experienced a host of great moments in 2018,
for BMW i Motorsport and also for BMW M Motorsport.”
Your memories of the Formula E season-opener will be
especially vivid. What was your experience of this weekend?
Marquardt: “The first competitive appearance with a new
race car like the BMW iFE.18 is always particularly exciting, even
more so when you consider that our Formula E debut was a historic
event. This is our first season in electric motor racing. It also
marks our return to single-seater racing after an absence of nearly
ten years. We already had a good feeling after the tests. We hoped
that our BMW i drivetrain would be competitive right from the start
and the season-opener in Ad Diriyah showed just that. António Félix da
Costa clinched pole position and then victory in the very first
Formula E race for BMW i Andretti Motorsport. That was the perfect way
to round off our 2018 season and the perfect start to our Formula E project.”
What does this success mean to you?
Marquardt: “I am particularly proud of this – and of the
whole team behind it. I know just how much passion and dedication
everyone involved has put into this project. Compared to other
manufacturers, the Formula E involvement is organised differently at
BMW. The Formula E project saw the closest collaboration ever between
BMW developers from motor racing and from production. The ideas just
keep flowing in our ‘TechLab’. What makes it even more special is that
the same people who developed the e-components for the Racing eDrive01
drivetrain are also working on the electric drives of the future for
the BMW Group. The result is an extremely efficient, high-performance
BMW i drivetrain, which – as we saw in the first race – is good enough
to win from the word go. On the track, we have also shown that BMW is
one of the world’s leading manufacturers in terms of electromobility.
This success gives a great boost to our series and motor racing
developers. Now we want to continue in this vein.”
And that was not the only premiere this year for BMW Motorsport…
Marquardt: “Correct. The BMW M8 GTE also completed its
first race in 2018. The appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where
we were certainly competitive in terms of speed until around the
halfway point, was the absolute highlight. That was also the location
for the official presentation of the new BMW 8 Series Coupe. That
model and the BMW M8 benefit from the on-track experience collected
during development of the BMW M8 GTE, and during competitive racing.
As the year progressed, we also recorded the first wins for our top
model in GT racing, in the IMSA series. In customer racing, the BMW M4
GT4 also celebrated its debut with our customer teams and drivers. Its
track record in the first year was simply sensational. The new car
celebrated wins and titles all over the world. It really hit the mark.”
And in the DTM?
Marquardt: “There was a whole lot going on, both on and
off the track. The result is what matters: the future of the DTM is
secure. In 2019, our new two-litre turbo engine will help us to battle
it out with competitors old and new and record results that were
missing this year and meant that we weren’t able to really get
involved in the battle for the title. Now that we can concentrate
fully on the sporting side of things, the series can only get even
stronger. Now it’s just about the racing.”
In your opinion, how do BMW i Motorsport and BMW M Motorsport
fit together?
Marquardt: “It is of fundamental importance that the two
motorsport areas do not operate solely for their own benefit. The
focus must be on the value for the company as a whole. Technology is
the decisive driver in both areas. The BMW M8 GTE is the pioneer for
its production counterpart, Formula E is our ‘TechLab’ for iNEXT and
future generations of cars from BMW i. Our focus is always on the
close alliance between production and motor racing, so that every race
kilometre and all the experience we gain also benefit BMW customers.
In strategic terms, we are very well set up overall. BMW i Motorsport
and BMW M Motorsport are also a great visual match. The shared design
features for all our cars ensure that this will remain so, regardless
of whether they use combustion or electric engines. These include the
matt black cockpit elements that can be found on the BMW iFE.18 and on
our BMW M race cars from the BMW M4 DTM to the BMW M4 GT4. I think
that these visual design elements are fantastic. They are symbolic of
how the components of the two worlds fit together.”
What will the new year bring in motorsport terms?
Marquardt: “I hope that the new season will provide BMW
Motorsport fans with thrilling races, wins and maybe even titles once
again. There will certainly be no time for a break in 2019: there are
two Formula E races and the 24-hour race in Daytona with Alex Zanardi
in January, then our debut in the Intercontinental GT Challenge at
Bathurst at the start of February, with Walkenhorst Motorsport and BMW
Team Schnitzer. This fast pace will continue throughout the whole
year. We are really looking forward to the new DTM with BMW Turbo
Power, the grand finale of the ‘WEC Super Season’ with the BMW M8 GTE
at Le Mans and much, much more. BMW Motorsport has never been so
multifaceted or had so many points of contact to series development.
Whatever happens, it’s going to be an eventful year.”