BMW Motorsport News – Issue 28/16.

Whether in the DTM, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar 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.

International GT Open: BMW Team Téo Martin on the podium twice
at Silverstone.

BMW Team Téo Martin extended their sequence of successes at the
International GT Open: on the fourth race weekend of the season, the
team celebrated a podium finish at the legendary Silverstone circuit,
the “Home of British Motor Racing”. Pieter Schothorst (NL) delivered a
strong performance on his debut in the #1 BMW M6 GT3. The Dutch driver
was only introduced to the team shortly before the start of the event.
Together with Miguel Ramos (PT), he finished the first race of the
weekend in third place. In the second race on Sunday, the duo finished
in sixth position. Their team-mates Gustavo Yacaman (CO) and Fernando
Monje (ES) enjoyed even more success. After claiming sixth place in
Saturday’s race, the two drivers then also made it to the podium with
a second-place finish on Sunday. The next races in the International
GT Open take place at the Red Bull Ring (AT) on 10th and 11th September.

Japanese Super GT: Augusto Farfus bolsters BMW Team Studie in Suzuka.

It is not only the highlight of the season in the Japanese Super GT
Championship (JP), but also the oldest race in Japan: the 45th staging
of the International Suzuka 1000 km promises to be an exciting affair
again this year. When the BMW M6 GT3 takes to the 5.807-kilometre
track on 27th/28th August, it will have two BMW works drivers at the
wheel. Augusto Farfus (BR) will lend his support to BMW Team Studie in
the GT300 class at round six of the Japanese Super GT Championship,
where he will share the driving duties in the BMW M6 GT3 with his
fellow BMW works driver Jörg Müller (DE) and Seiji Ara (JP). Suzuka is
by no means new territory for Farfus: he also contested the
1000-kilometre race in 2014 as a guest starter for BMW Team Studie.
The DTM ace finished third in the BMW Z4 GT3 to take his place on the
podium. At his side back then: the very same Jörg Müller and Seiji Ara.

Japanese Super GT: Race to catch up rewarded with tenth-place finish.

As the third round of the Japanese Super GT Championship 2016 had
been called off in the aftermath of an earthquake, the enforced break
came to an end this weekend as the season resumed at “Sportsland
Sugo”. Jörg Müller (DE) and Seji Ara (JP) were competing in the BMW M6
GT3 in the GT300 class. After concluding a difficult qualifying
session in 17th place, the two BMW Team Studie drivers displayed
plenty of fighting spirit to cross the finish line in tenth. Shinichi
Takagi (JP) and Takashi Kobayashi (JP) from the Autobacs Racing Team
Aguri in the second BMW M6 GT3 had to retire early The imposing bulk
of Mount Fuji (JP) will provide the backdrop for the next race in the
Japanese Super GT Championship on 7th August.

ADAC GT Masters: António Félix da Costa on the pace at the
first attempt in the BMW M6 GT3.

Premiere for BMW DTM driver António Félix da Costa (PT): he made his
GT debut in the race at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg (AT). Félix da
Costa competed in the ADAC GT Masters as a guest driver, sharing the
cockpit of the Schubert Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 with BMW Motorsport
Junior Jesse Krohn (FI). Félix da Costa felt at home in the GT race
car right away and proved this with his consistently fast-paced
performance. He finished his first GT qualifying session in a strong
fourth place. Unfortunately, he and Krohn suffered some bad luck: they
were unable to convert their performances into great results, being
forced to retire early due to not-at-fault collisions in both races.

IWSC: Turner Motorsport in sixth and seventh places at Lime Rock.

Two weeks ago, Bret Curtis (US) and BMW works driver Jens Klingmann
(DE) celebrated the first win outside Europe for the BMW M6 GT3, in
the GTD class at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC).
On Saturday, the two Turner Motorsport drivers moved on to tackle the
seventh race of the season at Lime Rock Park (US). After 161 laps,
they claimed sixth place in the #96 BMW M6 GT3. Their team-mates
Markus Palttala (FI) and Michael Marsal (US) finished seventh.
However, BMW Team RLL were not so fortunate on their return to the
GTLM class at Lime Rock Park: both BMW M6 GTLMs were forced to retire
from the race after accidents. The next IWSC race is scheduled to take
place on 7th August at Road America (US).

ICTSC: P6 for Clay and Cooke.

In Saturday’s two-and-one-half-hour Continental Tire SportsCar
Challenge race at Lime Rock Park (US), the number 84 BimmerWorld
Racing BMW 328i of James Clay (US) and Tyler Cooke (US) was the
best-placed BMW in the field with a sixth place finish in the Street
Tuner (ST) class. An 11th place finish was scored by the number 65
Murillo Racing 328i threesome of Brent Mosing (US), Justin Piscitell
(US) and Tim Probert (US). Two additional BMWs competed in the ST
class, finishing 14th and 17th. The class was won by the number 25 Mazda.