Whether in the DTM, the FIA World Endurance Championship, 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.
British GT Championship: Jack Mitchell and Century Motorsport
are the new GT4 champions.
Mission accomplished: Jack Mitchell (GBR) and Century Motorsport
claimed the GT4 title in the last race of the British GT Championship
at Donington Park (GBR). Mitchell and his team-mate Dean MacDonald
(GBR), in the #43 BMW M4 GT4, needed just an eighth-place finish in
class to stay ahead by one point in the drivers’ standings. Their
team-mates Ben Green and Ben Tuck (both GBR) finished fifth in the #42
car and claimed second place in the drivers’ championship. This meant
that Century Motorsport was also able to claim the team title in its
debut season with the BMW M4 GT4.
VLN: Pole position and podium for the BMW M6 GT3.
It was a successful seventh race of the season in the VLN Endurance
Championship Nürburgring (GER) for the BMW M6 GT3. After four hours of
racing, Falken Motorsports celebrated a podium finish with the #3
entry. Stef Dusseldorp (NED) and Peter Dumbreck (GBR) secured third
place. The two Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3s crossed the line in
eighth and ninth overall taking third and fourth positions in the SP9
PRE class. Jordan Tresson (FRA), Rudi Adams (GER) and Hunter Abbott
(GBR) had started the race from pole position in the #35 BMW M6 GT3.
Victory in the BMW M235i Racing Cup class went to Tristan Viidas
(EST) from the Securtal Sorg Rennsport team. He triumphed ahead of FK
Performance team’s Juha Hannonen (FIN) and Patrick Hinte (GER) and
Florian Naumann (GER) and Michael Fischer (AUT) from Hofor Racing
powered by Bonk Motorsport. Victory in the V4 class was claimed by
Pixum Team Adrenalin Motorsport’s Christopher Rink, Danny Brink and
Philipp Leisen (all GER) in the BMW 325i. In the V2 class, first place
went to Reiner Thomas and Manfred Schmitz (both GER) in the BMW 318is.
The #828 and #178 BMW M4 GT4s of Securtal Sorg Rennsport and Ring
Racing claimed second and third places in the SP10 category.
ADAC GT Masters: BMW Team Schnitzer just misses out on podium
at season finale.
At the ADAC GT Masters season finale at Hockenheim (GER), Timo
Scheider (GER) and BMW Motorsport Junior Mikkel Jensen (DEN) secured
fourth place in the final race, just missing out on a podium finish in
the overall standings. As the track dried out during the qualifying
session, Scheider had driven to fifth place on the starting grid. The
BMW works driver was in third position early in the race, but Jensen
was unable to defend as his tyre grip diminished during the second
half of the race. The duo did reach the podium however, finishing
third in the Junior standings. “That was certainly a nice way to end
the season,” said Scheider, who was celebrating a personal milestone
with his 350th competitive race. “Many thanks to BMW
Motorsport, BMW Team Schnitzer and Mikkel Jensen for a great year in
the ADAC GT Masters. I had plenty of fun and learned a lot, even
though I’ve been doing this for a while.”
In the second of BMW Team Schnitzer’s BMW M6 GT3s, BMW Motorsport
Junior Dennis Marschall (GER) and Victor Bouveng (SWE) finished in
eleventh place to repeat their result from Saturday’s race. Scheider
and Jensen had finished 14th in that race. Jens Klingmann
(GER) and Christopher Zöchling (AUT) retired early on Saturday in the
MRS GT-Racing BMW M6 GT3. The duo secured 20th place on Sunday.
International GT Open: BMW Team Teo Martín wins at Monza.
It was an outstanding race weekend for the BMW Team Teo Martín at the
penultimate event of the International GT Open season at Monza (ITA).
Fran Rueda (ESP) and Andrés Saravia (GTM) won Saturday’s race in the
BMW M6 GT3 and finished second in Sunday’s race. Ahead of the
Barcelona (ESP) season finale, the duo are just three points behind
the leaders in the drivers’ championship and still have a chance of
claiming the title. Brazilian drivers Márcio Basso and Guilherme Salas
headed the amateur standings for both weekend races in their BMW M6
GT3. The two final races take place on 20th and 21st October at the
“Circuit de Catalunya”.
Blancpain GT Series Asia: BMW Team Studie celebrates one-two result.
BMW Team Studie is well on its way to the team title in the Blancpain
GT Series Asia GT4 class, boasting a lead of over 100 points with two
races to go. The Japanese team, fielding two BMW M4 GT4s, celebrated a
one-two result in Sunday’s race at the penultimate race weekend of the
season at Shanghai (CHN). Takayuki Kinoshita and Sunako Jukuchou (both
JPN) won in the #81 car, ahead of their team-mates Max Chen and Ken
Urata (both JPN). Kinoshita and Jukuchou had claimed second place in
Saturday’s race, while Chen and Urata finished fifth. The two final
races of the season will take place on 13th and
14th October at the “Ningbo International Speedpark” (CHN).
Kinoshita and Jukuchou are just eleven points off the lead in the GT4
drivers’ championship and are still in with a chance of claiming the title.
Alessandro Zanardi: New world record in endurance triathlon.
Four weeks ago, BMW works driver Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) caused a
stir at his DTM guest appearance at Misano (ITA). Now he has enjoyed
further success in a different discipline, just fifty kilometres to
the north. On Saturday, Zanardi took part in the “Ironman Italy
Emilia-Romagna” in Cervia (ITA) – and set a new world record. The BMW
brand ambassador needed a total time of 08:26.06 hours to complete 3.8
kilometres of swimming in the Mediterranean, 180 kilometres of cycling
with his handbike and then the 42.2-kilometre marathon distance in his
race wheelchair. That is the fastest time yet recorded by a triathlete
with physical disabilities. Zanardi improved on his previous personal
best by more than half an hour. He was one of the very top athletes at
the event, finishing in fifth place overall out of around 2,700
participants. Zanardi had recorded his previous best time in an
endurance triathlon in Barcelona, one year ago, when he finished in
08:58.59 hours to crack the nine-hour mark for the first time. “The
new world record and fifth place overall – that was just fantastic,”
said Zanardi. “The secret of success in an endurance triathlon is
learning to divide your energy up. Surrounded by nearly 3,000 other
athletes, you have to do your own thing, concentrate on your own plan
from the start to the finish and stick to every detail. I have also
made some improvements to my equipment. I have a new swimsuit and
needed less than an hour. 58 minutes was much better than I had
expected. I have developed a new seating position for my handbike,
designed purely for speed, and I have also improved my technique in
the race wheelchair. This all added up and led to this success. But
now I am concentrating totally on motor racing again. It is a great
privilege in my life being able to switch back and forth between disciplines.”