BMW Motorsport News – Issue 32/14.

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: strong fightback from Alessandro Zanardi in Portimão.
BMW works driver Alessandro Zanardi (IT) produced an impressive fightback at the fifth round of the Blancpain Sprint Series in Portimão (PT). He ended the main race in ninth place, making him the best-placed BMW driver. He was unfortunate in Saturday’s qualifying race, crossing the finish line in 14th after suffering damage to his BMW Z4 GT3 in the first corner. It was from this position that he started the main race on Sunday. Zanardi gradually worked his way forward and was actually fifth for a period after his pit stop. In the second half of the race, the high temperatures started to cause him difficulties, and he also had problems braking with his artificial leg on the uneven surface of the track. BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert ended both the qualifying race and the main race in 13th with Dominik Baumann (AT) and Thomas Jäger (AT). An unfortunate spin while battling for position on the final lap cost the team a far better result on Saturday. On Sunday, a collision at the start caused a puncture very early in the main race. BMW Sports Trophy Team Brazil qualified ninth and tenth on Saturday for the main race. Caca Bueno (BR) and Sergio Jimenez (BR) were on course for a place on the podium midway through the race, but had problems setting off after the pit stop. They eventually came home 14th. Their team-mates Matheus Stumpf (BR) and Nelson Piquet Jr. (BR) finished 16th. Zanardi’s team-mates at ROAL Motorsport, Stefano Colombo (IT) and David Fumanelli (IT) won the Silver Cup class and finished 15th overall.

24h Barcelona: successful outings for BMW Juniors and Walkenhorst Motorsport.
The BMW Motorsport Juniors can look back on a successful 24-hour race in Barcelona (ES). Jake Hughes (GB) and Jesse Krohn (FI) produced a strong race alongside Emin Akata (DE) and Michael Schrey (DE) in their BMW M235i Racing, fielded by the Walkenhorst Motorsport team, finishing runner-up in the A5 class and 11th overall. Without a two-lap penalty, because one driver had spent more than the maximum two hours at the wheel in one stint, they could have won their class against stronger cars and finished in the top ten overall. “That was an incredible experience,” said Hughes at the end of the first 24-hour race of his fledgling career. “I thought the 24 hours would be unbelievably long, but they flew by. I had to get used to everything at first, particularly driving in the dark, but that did not take long at all. I am very happy with the result on my debut. Thank you to the team for a great effort.” Walkenhorst Motorsport also enjoyed a fine race with the BMW Z4 GT3 in the most powerful class – A6 – and finished fifth overall. The third BMW Motorsport Junior, Alexander Mies (DE), was 19th overall in the Bonk Motorsport team’s BMW M235i Racing – another very good result alongside four amateur drivers. The next event for the BMW Motorsport Juniors comes next week, when they will complete tests in the Formula BMW FB02 and the BMW M235i Racing in Valencia (ES).

BTCC: Turkington wins twice in Rockingham.
Colin Turkington (GB) extended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship on the eighth race weekend of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) in Rockingham (GB). Turkington won the first two races of the weekend in his BMW 125i M Sport and finished fourth in race three. His team-mate Robert Collard (GB) failed to finish on the podium in any of the three races. 

French GT: victory and second place for Classic & Modern Racing in the Coupe de France.
Pierre Hirschi (CH) and Thomas Nicolle (FR), at the wheel of a BMW Z4 GT3, earned two podiums in the Coupe de France class at the fifth race weekend of seven in the French GT Tour, which was held in Magny-Cours (FR). The duo won its class in Saturday’s opening race, before finishing second on Sunday. Nick Catsburg (NL) and Tony Samon (FR) did not have a good weekend in the Championat de France class. After a DNF in race one, they were unable to take part in the second race.