BMW Motorsport News – Issue 20/14.

BMW DTM teams test after the race in Budapest.

BMW Motorsport and the other two manufacturers in the DTM spent the days following the third race of the season at the Hungaroring (HU) working on their cars at an official ITR Test. Augusto Farfus (BR), Joey Hand (US), Martin Tomczyk (DE), Timo Glock (DE) and Maxime Martin (BE) were in action in the BMW M4 DTM. The engineers’ main focus was on perfecting the existing package for the various different types of circuits. The way the car interacts with the tyres in both qualifying and the race played a major role in their work. With the weather good for most of the time, the BMW drivers completed an exceptionally smooth test, covering almost 4,000 kilometres. This was the final joint test for all three DTM manufacturers until the end of August.

ADAC GT Masters: Team Schubert heads into the summer break on the back of good results.

Team Schubert scored valuable points on the fourth race weekend of the ADAC GT Masters in Spielberg (AT), and is well-placed in both the Drivers' and Teams' competitions at the halfway point of the season. After a difficult race on Saturday, when they took to the track carrying an extra 30 kilograms and subsequently failed to finish in the points for the first time this season, Dominik Baumann (AT) and Claudia Hürtgen (DE) raced from eighth on the grid to finish fourth on Sunday. This result ensured they remained third in the Drivers’ Championship with 94 points. Jens Klingmann (DE) and Max Sandritter (DE) produced consistently strong displays in both races at the Red Bull Ring. The duo came home fifth on Saturday and Sunday to pick up valuable points. Team Schubert goes into the summer break second in the Teams' competition.

BTCC: Double win for Turkington at Oulton Park.
The eBay Motors team had a successful fourth round of the 2014 British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) at Oulton Park (GB). On Sunday, team-mates Colin Turkington (GB) and Robert Collard (GB) dominated two of the three races. Championship leader Turkington celebrated a double victory in his number 5 BMW 125i M Sport. He won races one and two, with Collard finishing second right behind him on both occasions. In the third race, Turkington was fighting for another podium, but he had to settle for fourth in the end, crossing the finishing line 2.2 seconds behind winner Aron Smith (IE/VW). Collard finished the last race of the day in 11th. The third eBay Motors driver, Nick Foster (GB), was eighth in race one, but had to retire in the second heat. In the third race he was 15th.

Andy Priaulx beats hill climb record in BMW i3.

BMW works driver Andy Priaulx (GB) went from the race track to the hills when he took his BMW i3 up the Val des Terres hill climb on the Channel Island of Guernsey (GB) where he lives, and broke the electric vehicle record in the process. Priaulx, a former hill climb champion, was at the wheel of the car his wife Jo uses on a daily basis to open the charity event. “The car was amazing up the hill and as soon as I set off I had a feeling it could break the record. It handled incredibly well and reminded me of the days when I used to compete on this hill. In fact it was on my last visit to this hill climb that I won the 1995 British Championship run off,” said Priaulx. The next event for Priaulx in the United SportsCar Championship in the United States will be in Watkins Glen (US) on the 29th June when he will be driving the BMW Team RLL entered BMW Z4 GTLM. He is currently the joint leader in the driver championship along with his team-mate Bill Auberlen (US).

Dirk Werner: pre-race event in Cologne acts as mouth-watering taster to Nürburgring 24 Hours.

Dirk Werner (DE) travelled to Cologne (DE) last week to take part in an event promoting the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring (DE). A little over two weeks before he heads out onto the Nordschleife in a BMW Z4 GT3 fielded by BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert for the first time, Werner met up with the organisers of the 24-hour race, a number of fellow drivers and journalists at “Tanzbrunnen”, where they looked ahead to the highlight of the endurance season on 21st/22nd June. A photo shoot also allowed Werner to take in the spectacular view of the cathedral and the Rhine. “The later date of this year’s 24-hour race meant we had more time to prepare for the big day,” said Werner. “When you come to events like this one in Cologne, you notice that the race is creeping up on us and things are gradually getting serious. I am looking forward more and more to contesting the marathon on the ‘Green Hell’ together with BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert. We have a great team, a strong and reliable car, and the atmosphere at the Nordschleife will be awesome – as always. I can hardly wait to finally get started.”