BMW Motorsport Party 2007 - Grand finale in Munich.

Munich, 1st December 2007. Around 600 international guests were joined
by the BMW drivers and BMW Motorsport management to see out the 2007
season in style with a party and presentation of trophies at BMW's home
base on Saturday. "This event is primarily our way of saying thank
you to the drivers, teams, sponsors and journalists who have been with
us at the race tracks throughout the year," explains BMW
Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. "This time we have gathered
outside our own front door to make use of BMW Welt, our new car
delivery centre." That is where the assembled crowd, which
included the 2007 BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers Nick Heidfeld and Robert
Kubica, World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx and his WTCC colleagues
Jörg Müller, Alessandro Zanardi, Félix Porteiro and
Fredrik Ekblom, moved to late in the evening. Prior to that, the
traditional Sports Trophy presentation for BMW privateer drivers from
around the world took place at the Dinner held in the Olympic Ice Sport
Centre. During the presentation ceremony, Theissen also expressed his
thanks to Hans-Joachim Stuck, who has for many years been a successful
BMW driver and brand ambassador and is now taking up a new challenge.
Christmas magic and ice carving. In the afternoon, the drivers and
motorsport management manned the stalls of a specially built Christmas
market at BMW Welt. Even Mario Theissen and Willy Rampf, Technical
Director of the BMW Sauber F1 Team, could be seen diligently serving up
grilled sausages and mulled wine. The squad members had to demonstrate
their skills not only as hosts at the Christmas market, but as wielders
of the hacksaw as well during a stint of ice carving. Divided into
three teams, their challenge was to transform three blocks of ice into
a helmet, a car wheel and the BMW "propeller" logo. A rather
less than brilliant result was ultimately honed into the desired
sculptures by the professionals. The audience had a fun time and a
chance to pick up some autographs. Press contact: Jörg Kottmeier,
tel. +49 (0) 89 - 382 23401, joerg.kottmeier@bmw.de. Picture material
of the afternoon event is available for downloading at
https://newsroom.bmwgroup.com/global/en Click on Motorsport english, Photo, 2007,
Miscellaneous (pop-ups should be allowed). BMW Sports Trophy 2007.
Almost double the participants - BTCC driver takes first place.
Munich, 1st December 2007. Interest has swelled yet again: in 2007 a
total of 98 privateer drivers - almost twice as many as in the previous
year - signed up for the traditional BMW Sports Trophy. Simultaneously,
the field competing for the pot of prize money worth a quarter of a
million euros took on a more international flavour: the first 25
drivers to be honoured, and who received prize money, hail from 11
different countries. In 2007, most of the points in the intricate
rating system of the Sports Trophy were claimed by British driver Colin
Turkington. BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen welcomes the
contest's rising popularity: "It reflects the competitiveness of
the extended BMW product range for private touring car involvement. I
have tremendous respect for the teams and drivers who make their mark
worldwide in the most diverse categories without any works support.
With their BMW 320is, 320i, 120d and Z4 M Coupé models they are
important ambassadors of our brand." 25-year-old Turkington from
Northern Ireland drove his BMW 320si for Team RAC and took the
Independents' Trophy in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). He
also competed successfully in the World Touring Car Championship (FIA
WTCC) races at Brands Hatch and in the final in Macau. During the BMW
Motorsport Party, Turkington was delighted to receive a cheque to the
value of 30,000 euros. Second place (25,000 euros) went to an old
familiar face: Swedish driver Fredrik Ekblom won the Swedish Touring
Car Championship (STCC) for the third time in 2007 after his triumphs
in 1998 and 2003. The 37-year-old was also driving a BMW 320si and
contested six WTCC races for BMW Team UK - RBM in Anderstorp, Monza and
Macau alongside team-mate and three-times World Champion Andy Priaulx.
The factory-backed WTCC races, however, do not count towards the Sports
Trophy. Third place went to another Swede, 29-year-old Richard
Göransson. He won the Sports Trophy in 2004, and this time round
took home 21,000 euros for finishing in third slot. Göransson
concluded the 2007 Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) in third
place, having already clinched the championship in his home country in
2004 and 2005. The season just past also saw him contesting races in
the BMW Z4 M Coupé next to Claudia Hürtgen and Johannes
Stuck in the Long-Distance Championship on the
Nürburgring-Nordschleife. With reinforcement from Hans-Joachim
Stuck, the crew also managed to secure a class win in the 24-hour race.
Special trophies were presented in Munich to national touring car
champion Fariq Bin Hairuman, winner of the Asian Championship (ATCC) in
a BMW 320i, and the duo Patrick Belien/Dimitri Cayvers, who jointly won
the Belgian Championship in a BMW 120d. Press contact: Jörg
Kottmeier, tel. +49 (0) 89 - 382 23401, joerg.kottmeier@bmw.de. For
the BMW Sports Trophy 2007 placings please see the attached document.