Whether in the DTM, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the ABB FIA Formula E
Championship, or countless other championships: Week after week BMW
teams and drivers around the world do battle for points, victories
and titles. Away from the track too, members of the large BMW
Motorsport family around the world are also creating headlines. The
“BMW Motorsport News” allows us to regularly summarise all the
action for you in a compact and informative manner. This way, you
are always up to speed.
DTM: BMW drivers in final fitness preparations.
The BMW DTM drivers underwent intensive training this week. From
Thursday to Sunday, Philipp Eng (AUT), Joel Eriksson (SWE), Bruno
Spengler (CAN), Marco Wittmann (GER) and DTM newbie Sheldon van der
Linde (RSA) completed a four-day fitness camp in Viareggio (ITA). Timo
Glock (GER) was unable to take part due to illness but will have a
personal training session with the Formula Medicine team in the coming
weeks. Team doctor Riccardo Ceccarelli (ITA) and his crew prepared an
extensive, diverse exercise plan to stand the drivers in good stead
for the upcoming DTM season. The focus was split equally between
fitness, reaction and mental training, with the programme including
workouts using various pieces of equipment as well as diverse outdoor
activities. “Doctor Ceccarelli is an absolute legend. Which is why
it’s fantastic working with him and his team,” said Eng. “Every
trainer here has an incredible amount of experience. The mental
training in particular is great fun. The fitness exercises can be as
well, but they are usually mainly challenging; that’s good as well
because it is the perfect preparation for us for the new DTM season.”
The 2019 DTM season gets underway with the first two races at the
Hockenheimring (GER) on 4th and 5th May. Before that, the official ITR
test drives will be held at the Lausitzring (GER) from 15th to 18th April.
TC America: BimmerWorld Racing to field two BMW M240i Racings.
When the TC America season, formerly the Pirelli World
Challenge, gets underway with the first race at the “Circuit of the
Americas” near Austin (USA) this weekend, BimmerWorld Racing will
return to action. Team principal James Clay’s (USA) crew will field
two BMW M240i Racings. The cockpit of car #82 will be manned by
Cameron Evans (USA); in the sister #94 car, Chandler Hull (USA) will
be at the wheel. The BMW customer racing entry-level model has a new
name as of the 2019 season, the BMW M240i Racing, thanks to an
extensive Evo package. Among other things, the upgrade includes
optimised engine software, while new end plates for the rear wing
contribute to the aesthetic improvements to the cars used in race
series and cup classes around the world. The TC America season is made
up of seven sprint races of 40 minutes each. The races will be held at
many well-known racetracks in North America, such as the “Virginia
International Raceway” and “Road America” (both USA).
China GT Championship: Nick Yelloly to race for AAI Motorsports.
This week, the AAI Motorsports team announced its official
line-up for this year’s China GT Championship season. The Taiwanese
team will field a total of three BMW M6 GT3s and one BMW M4 GT4 at the
seven race weekends. The first race weekend in Malaysia will see Nick
Yelloly (GBR) as part of the action following his first experience of
BMW cars in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and at the DTM Young
Driver Tests last year. As a BMW works driver, the 28-year-old will
contest other races this season; the full programme will be announced
at a later date. In China GT, Yelloly will contest the GT3 class
alongside Junsan Chen of Taiwan in a #90 BMW M6 GT3. The #91 and #92
sister cars’ cockpits will be shared by Jody Fanin (GBR) and Betty
Chen, and Ivan Lee and Kevin Chen (all TWN). Oscar Lee (USA) and
Yuanhow Yao (TWN) will be behind the wheel of the BMW M4 GT4. The
first race weekend of the season will be held at the “Sepang
International Circuit” (MAS) from 16th to 17th March.