BMW Motorsport News – Issue 08/15.
Whether in the DTM, the United 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.
BMW Motorsport Junior programme: new challenge for Jesse Krohn.
Having gained valuable experience in the BMW M235i Racing, with which he competed at selected races in 2014, Jesse Krohn (FI) is now taking the next step in his career as a GT driver. After winning the BMW Motorsport Junior programme in 2014, he will race for the Marc VDS Racing team in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) this season. Krohn will share the cockpit of the BMW Z4 GTE with BMW works driver Andy Priaulx (GB) and Henry Hassid (FR). He will also have the opportunity to add to his experience at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (DE), where he will contest the entire season of the VLN Endurance Championship in a BMW Z4 GT3. At the start of February, Krohn was given the opportunity to prove his talent at the wheel of the BMW Z4 GTE for the first time in his fledgling career. The 24-year-old completed a comprehensive test at the BMW premises in Miramas (FR).
Three questions for... Jesse Krohn.
Jesse, how was your first test in the BMW Z4 GTE?
Jesse Krohn: “That was a really good experience. It took me a few laps to get used to the lack of ABS, which, unlike in the BMW Z4 GT3, is not used in the GTE version. After that, however, I felt right at home in the car. It suits my driving style far better than the BMW M235i Racing. I like to drive a clean line, which is obviously a lot easier with the aerodynamically more sophisticated GT car than with the production-based car, which slides around a lot.”
How are you getting on with the Marc VDS Racing team?
Krohn: “It was a great first get-together. The guys are very professional, and I am proud to be a part of the team for the coming season. Whenever we needed to change anything on the car, they did it straight away. I am sure I will learn an awful lot from them.”
When it comes to experience, you will surely benefit from working alongside your team-mate Andy Priaulx...
Krohn: “Andy is a great team-mate. We have got on very well since the moment we met. I am certain I will learn an incredible amount from him. Hopefully I can match him for speed, so that we can enjoy a successful season together in the ELMS.”
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DTM: 30 years in three minutes – YouTube video “Time Travel” with DTM champion Marco Wittmann online.
Back to the future: in a new YouTube video on the BMW Motorsport channel, reigning DTM champion Marco Wittmann (DE) takes fans on a breath-taking journey through the successful motorsport history of BMW. At the wheel of the legendary BMW 635 CSi from 1984 (Volker Strycek, DE), the 1987 BMW M3 (Eric van de Poele, BE), the BMW M3 from 2012 (Bruno Spengler, CA) and his own victorious BMW M4 DTM from last season, Wittmann brings the manufacturer’s greatest triumphs in the popular touring car series back to life. All four cars won the DTM title in their very first season. “It is a fantastic feeling to drive a few laps in the historic cars,” said Wittmann. “You can really feel how much history there is in those cars.” Wittmann believes much has changed in 30 years of motorsport, particularly when it comes to the handling and technology used in the racing cars. “The BMW 635 CSi has little downforce but a lot of mechanical grip. When accelerating out of corners, you often end up with the rear of the car sliding out,” said the BMW Team RMG driver. “You have to work hard at the wheel of the 1987 BMW M3. In contrast to my DTM car, there are no displays or buttons on the steering wheel. But that is precisely what makes this racing car so enthralling.” In the YouTube clip “Time Travel” (“Zeitreise” in German), Wittmann is also to be found in the historic overalls worn by the DTM drivers in the 1980s. The three-minute video was filmed at the 2014 BMW Motorsport Media Track Days at the “Circuito Monteblanco” (ES).
The video is available now on YouTube at: http://youtu.be/ejTyhnX_zCs.
GT: designing of the BMW M6 GT3 – from production model to race car.
How does a BMW M car become a GT3 racing car from a designer’s perspective? In a new YouTube video, Krzysztof Szews, Head of Design at BMW M GmbH, talks about converting the BMW M6 Coupé into the BMW M6 GT3. He describes the backgrounds, against which a designer sets to work on a car like this.
The video is available now on YouTube at: http://youtu.be/MtsKIhsADrs.