BMW Motorsport News – Issue 17/14.

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.

Blancpain Sprint Series: Four BMW Z4 GT3s in the top ten.
The BMW Z4 GT3 was in fine fettle at the “Brands Hatch Circuit” (GB) as it hosted the second race weekend of the Blancpain Sprint Series: all four cars ended the main race in the top ten. Sergio Jimenez (BR) and Caca Bueno (BR) finished third to claim a spot on the podium for BMW Sports Trophy Team Brazil. This followed an excellent third place in the qualifying race. Matheus Dall’Agnol Stumpf (BR) and Valdeno Brito Filho (BR) of the AutOrlando Sport team were eighth, while Stefano Colombo (IT) and David Fumanelli (IT) came home tenth for ROAL Motorsport. Alessandro Zanardi (IT) also produced an outstanding performance at Brands Hatch. He first caught the eye with sixth place in Saturday’s qualifying, and even a difficult qualifying race on Sunday, in which finished last following a spin, could not knock him off of his stride. Starting from 17th on the grid, the BMW Brand Ambassador showed all of his fighting spirit to battle back to fifth and claim his best result so far in the GT series. 

Three questions for... Alessandro Zanardi.

Alex, Brands Hatch must be a special place for you. What are your thoughts about the track and the fans after this return?
Alex Zanardi: “The fans are just fantastic and so warm with me. So enthusiastic. Probably so touched with my history. From my point of view there is nothing magical or mystic in that track, but evidently in the eyes of my fans they tend to see it differently and I can only raise my hat and say thank you guys.”

Why was cooling particularly difficult for you?
Zanardi: “The problem is the way we cool down as human beings is through our limbs, so the limbs are like the cooler of the engine and for me with no legs it is like an engine with no cooler. The bit of my body I have left is trapped into the prosthetic legs, which do not allow any breathing. That is why cooling is so difficult for me.”

What is next on the agenda?
Zanardi: “I now have a few months before I get back on track in my BMW Z4 GT3 as I shall unfortunately miss the next race in Zandvoort in July. I had already committed to a hand bike race then before we came up with this wonderful Blancpain Sprint Series programme thanks to so much help from BMW Motorsport. My next event will be at Slovakia Ring and that is not until the end of August. However, this does mean we have time to work on the cooling and this great result in Brands Hatch has spurred me on to imagine what we can achieve.”

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DTM: Farfus and Tomczyk in the points in Oschersleben.
BMW Motorsport endured an eventful second DTM race of the season in Oschersleben (DE), with two drivers picking up points in the Magdeburger Börde region of Germany. After three safety car periods and numerous incidents, Augusto Farfus (BR) came home fifth and Martin Tomczyk (DE) ninth to leave the 3.696-kilometre circuit with points in the bag. Marco Wittmann remains the best-placed BMW driver in the overall standings. The BMW Team RMG driver is currently third with 25 points.

DTM: BMW Team RLL driver John Edwards pays a visit.
From the USA to the Magdeburger Börde: John Edwards (US), who races in a BMW Z4 GTLM for BMW Team RLL in this season’s UNITED SportsCar Championship (USCC), had a taste of the DTM when he visited his fellow BMW drivers at the race weekend in Oschersleben. Early in his racing career, Edwards spent two years living near the “Motorsport Arena Oschersleben”, during which time he followed the DTM races there closely. The 23-year-old has now experienced the series at close hand for the first time. “The trip to the DTM has been great fun. The paddock, BMW Hospitality and, more than anything, the work that the teams put in are really impressive. It was also a bit like turning the clock back for me. I have a lot of fond memories of my time here in Germany.” Edwards’ next race in the USCC is at Watkins Glen (US) on 29th June.

DTM: Timo Glock in Berlin with the BMW M4 Coupe.
Timo Glock (DE) stopped off in Berlin (DE) on his way to the second DTM race of the year in Oschersleben, and the BMW Team MTEK driver caused quite a stir with the new BMW M4 Coupe. In a competition on a Berlin radio station, DTM fan Mandy asked to be chauffeur driven by Glock. BMW Motorsport made her wish come true: Glock and Mandy met up in Berlin, where they took the new BMW M4 Coupe for a spin on the streets of the capital, from the Victory Column to the Olympic Stadium – to looks of amazement from passers-by. “You could tell that Mandy knows her DTM,“ said Glock. “Driving through Berlin in a car like the BMW M4 Coupe is great. It turned a lot of people’s heads – the BMW M4 Coupé is undoubtedly eye-catching.” Glock and BMW Motorsport had another special surprise in store: they invited Mandy to the DTM race in Oschersleben.

DTM: Smoking tyres at BMW Plant Leipzig.
Before heading to Oschersleben, Bruno Spengler (CA) and Martin Tomczyk (DE) paid an action-packed visit to BMW Plant Leipzig. The two BMW Team Schnitzer drivers thrilled the employees there with spectacular donuts, including some at the wheel of the BMW M235i Racing. The duo then took time out to sign autographs for the workforce in Leipzig. “It is always great fun to pop into the BMW plant here in Leipzig,” said Spengler after his appearance in the modern manufacturing plant, which produces 740 premium BMW vehicles every day. “Without the huge support and commitment of all the BMW employees in production, we could never compete for wins and titles in the DTM. Events like this are our way of saying thank you.”

VLN: Podium and five class victories for BMW Sports Trophy teams.
The fourth round of the VLN Endurance Championship at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (DE) was also the dress rehearsal for the 24-hour race on 21st/22nd June. BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS and BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert used the race as the final test ahead of the main event in five weeks. Uwe Alzen (DE) and Jörg Müller (DE) finished second in the number 25 BMW Z4 GT3 to claim a place on the podium. Fourth place went to Dominik Baumann (AT), Claudia Hürtgen (DE) and Jens Klingmann (DE) in the number 20 car. The third race in the BMW M235i Racing Cup class was won by the Adrenalin Motorsport team. In total, five class wins went to BMW Sports Trophy teams. These included Rolf Derscheid (DE) and Michael Flehmer (DE), who extended their overall lead in the VLN.

Gaming: BMW Group launches racing car for Gran Turismo® 6.
A new virtual race car, the BMW Vision Gran Turismo, takes to the racetrack in the renowned PlayStation®3 game Gran Turismo® 6 from Sony and Polyphony Digital Inc. The race car, created by BMW Group Design, boasts a virtual three-litre six-cylinder inline engine developed by BMW M GmbH, which promises a peak performance of 404 kW/549 hp, fast laps and optimum handling and control. Following in the tradition of the successful BMW touring cars of the 1970s, the BMW design team has created an uncompromising road racer for the modern era. The BMW Vision Gran Turismo was also well received in the DTM paddock in Oschersleben. BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt said: “What our colleagues at BMW Group Design have achieved on a virtual platform is mighty impressive. The concept of our BMW M235i Racing was basically further developed and trimmed for maximum performance. The BMW Vision Gran Turismo is a real feast for any racer’s eyes. In real life, only a comparatively small group of drivers get to enjoy driving a racing car like this themselves. Gran Turismo 6 now allows any BMW fan to take to the track in this car.”