BMW Motorsport News – Issue 30/15.
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 creating headlines. The “BMW Motorsport News” allows us to regularly summarise all the action for you in a compact and informative way so you are always up to speed.
ADAC GT Masters: Fourth place for Baumann/Klingmann at the
Nürburgring.
BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert narrowly
missed out on a place on the podium at the Nürburgring (DE), as the
second half of the ADAC GT Masters got underway. Sunday’s race took
place on a wet track, with Dominik Baumann (AT) and Jens Klingmann
(DE) coming home fourth in the number 80 BMW Z4 GT3. The duo, who won
two races in the first half of the season, missed out on the podium by
just 1.6 seconds. A time penalty on Saturday saw Baumann and Klingmann
relegated out of the points positions and eventually classified
twelfth in race one. They now lie third in the overall standings with
101 points to their name. Uwe Alzen (DE) and Claudia Hürtgen (DE), in
the second BMW Z4 GT3 fielded by BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert, were
on course for a podium finish in race one. A minor collision with a
rival car, and the resulting spin, however, resulted in the number 19
car dropping back to sixth place. Sunday’s race came to a premature
end at the second corner for Alzen and Hürtgen, who were forced to
retire after a crash that was no fault of their own. The third BMW Z4
GT3 in the field – that of the Senkyr Motorsport team – finished 15th
and 17th. Jakub Knoll (CZ) was third in the Gentleman class on Saturday.
DTM: Bruno Spengler visits the ADAC GT Masters.
One month before the DTM heads to the Nürburgring (DE) for races 15 and 16 of the season, BMW DTM driver Bruno Spengler (CA) visited to the Eifel mountains to watch the two ADAC GT Masters races at close quarters. “I was really pleased to come to the Nürburgring during the DTM break, and to check out the action in the ADAC GT Masters and ADAC Formula 4,” said Spengler. “In my opinion, Formula 4 is a great junior series, and I took the opportunity to support BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert in the pits. It is a strong team, and the BMW Z4 GT3 is a fantastic car. I have now driven in two 24-hour races, and would obviously love to compete in the odd race in GT cars in the future.”
GT4 European Series: BMW Teams top – Braams back in the cockpit.
The GT4 European Series race weekend at the Nürburgring (DE) witnessed an emotional moment, when BMW Sports Trophy participant Liesette Braams (NL) returned to the cockpit of her BMW M3 GT4 for the first time since completing her cancer therapy. She was only involved in testing, rather than the actual races, but the return to the racetrack was a big moment for her and the Las Moras Racing team and it inspired sporting success too. Her team-mate Jörg Viebahn (DE) finished runner-up to take his place on the podium in race one. He was followed over the line by in third place by Simon Knap (NL) and Rob Severs (NL) of Racing Team Holland by Ekris Motorsport in their BMW M3 GT4. In race two, Knap and Severs were the best-placed BMW team in fourth.