BMW Motorsport News – Issue 29/13.

Whether in the DTM, the American Le Mans Series, or countless other championships: week after week BMW teams and drivers around the world battle for points, victories and titles. Away from the track, 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.

GRAND-AM: second successive Starworks victory – Turner Motorsport also triumphant.
Road America (US) gave the American motorsport fans a sneak preview of next season: in addition to the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), the GRAND-AM championship made an appearance at the traditional race track in the state of Wisconsin. In the coming year, these two series are merging to form United SportsCar Racing. Brandon Hartley (NZ) and Scott Mayer (US) claimed the second successive GRAND-AM victory for Starworks Motorsport in their number 8 BMW Riley. The defending champions, Scott Pruett (US) and Memo Rojas (MX) from Chip Ganassi Racing, finished fourth. The number 42 BMW Riley, which started from pole position, and the second Starworks car with the overall leaders Ryan Dalziel (US) and Alex Popow (VE) suffered technical problems. However, Dalziel and Popow are still leading the drivers' championship with 246 points. In the GT class, Turner Motorsport celebrated its third victory of the season: BMW ALMS driver Bill Auberlen (US) and Paul Dalla Lana (CA) were the first to see the chequered flag after 68 laps in their BMW M3. Their team-mates Michael Marsal (US) and BMW works driver Maxime Martin (BE) gave the team a strong result by finishing third. The ALMS race, in which the two BMW Team RLL BMW Z4 GTEs had taken control of the GT class from seventh and ninth on the grid, had not finished at the time of writing.

Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge: Victory in the ST class.
The Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge also delighted fans with a gripping race in Road America. In the ST class, the BMW teams celebrated an impressive one-two-three: Tyler Cooke (US) and Gregory Liefooghe (US) took the victory in the BMW 328i belonging to BimmerWorld Racing. Their team-mates Connor Bloum (US) and Greg Strelzoff (US) took third place. The BMW 328i of RACE EPIC/Murillo Racing, driven by Jesse Combs (US) and Jeff Mosing (US), slotted in between to finish second. In the GS category, the BMW M3 of Fall-Line Motorsports was the highest placed BMW: Mark Boden (US) and David Donohue (US) finished fifth. Overall, three BMWs finished in the top ten.

British GT: Podium finish for Ecurie Ecosse at Brands Hatch.
Marco Attard (GB) and Oliver Bryant (GB) claimed the third podium spot in the two-hour British GT Championship race at Brands Hatch (GB). The two Ecurie Ecosse drivers were only beaten in their BMW Z4 GT3 by the Aston Martin carrying number 007, and the number 9 McLaren. Steve Tandy (GB) and Dan Brown (GB) from 888 Optimum Racing started well from pole position in their BMW Z4 GT3, but had to make do with fourth after an exciting final spurt.

ADAC GT Masters: DB Motorsport secures podium finish in Spielberg.
Highs and lows for the BMW teams at the fifth race weekend of the ADAC GT Masters in Spielberg (AT). The Dutch DB Motorsport team was on the podium in the second race on Sunday when the BMW Z4 GT3 of Simon Knap (NL) and Jeroen den Boer (NL) crossed the line in third. The duo had already secured points on Saturday when they came eighth. Eighth in the second race was the best Team Schubert could achieve at the Red Bull Ring with its two BMW Z4 GT3s. Jörg Müller (DE) and Max Sandritter (DE) scored four points on Sunday. Claudia Hürtgen (DE) and Dominik Baumann (AT), who before the race weekend were top of the drivers' championship, got caught up in collisions in both races and came away with no points. Therefore they are no longer at the top of the table. Diego Alessi (IT) and Daniel Keilwitz (DE) drove their Corvette to victory in both races.

DTM: Glock to take on the Nürburgring twice.
Next weekend Timo Glock (DE) is in action for BMW team MTEK in the DTM race at the Nürburgring (DE). However, this is not the only appearance the 31-year-old will be making in the Eifel this season. Three weeks later, on the weekend of the 7th/8th September, he will return to “The Green Hell” with his racing bicycle to take part in the 24-hour cycling marathon “Rad am Ring” on the legendary Nordschleife (north loop) track. “I am not much of a runner” said Glock. “I prefer to sit on a bicycle. That is how I keep fit. I am fully aware that each lap has an altitude of 500 metres and there are some long uphill slopes. It is likely to be extremely difficult, particularly at night.”

FIA WTCC: Wiechers Sport and the BMW 320 TC victorious in Argentina.
The BMW Sports Trophy Team of Wiechers Sport celebrated in the FIA World Touring Car Championship last weekend: Before his home race, guest driver José María López (AR) had never driven in an FIA WTCC race, but this did not stop him from securing pole position in the BMW 320 TC for race two. The local hero drove a flawless race to transform this into his first victory. López is the first WTCC driver since Duncan Huisman (NL) 2005 to win a race on his debut weekend. He is also the first non-European to claim the top podium spot in the touring car world championship since BMW DTM driver Augusto Farfus (BR) in Macau (CN) in 2009. It was the second victory this season for the BMW 320 TC, after Tom Coronel's (NL) triumph on the Slovakia Ring (SK).