BMW Motorsport News – Issue 36/14.

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.

USCC: Dane Cameron wins GTD Driver title – Bad luck for BMW Team RLL.
The penultimate race of the season was in the stunning Circuit of the Americas in Austin (US), Texas. The team knew it would have a tough time there as, due to some adjustments with the Balance of Performance, the weight of the cars had been increased by 25 kilograms. The team’s worst fears were confirmed when they qualified sixth (55) and seventh (56) and then in the race finished in the same positions but with the cars switched round. At the season finale in Road Atlanta (US), the BMW Team RLL drivers suffered a dose of bad luck. Car number 55, driven by Auberlen, Priaulx and Hand, was forced to retire after three hours due to an engine problem. Edwards, Müller and Werner were racing in reach of a podium finish for long periods of the race and even ran in second at times, until a broken damper and the necessary repair works put the number 56 BMW Z4 GTLM back in seventh. BMW was also represented in the fiercely contested GTD class in 2014: Turner Motorsport entered the number 94 BMW Z4 GTD, driven by Dane Cameron (US) and Markus Palttala (FI). Following four victories in Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, Road America and Virginia, Cameron headed to Petit Le Mans as championship leader, Turner Motorsport held first place in the team standings. Fourth place alongside his team-mates Palttala and Christoffer Nygaard (DK) ultimately secured Cameron the GTD drivers’ title, Turner Motorsport successfully defended the lead in the team classification.

Three questions for … Dane Cameron.

Dane, what are your thoughts on the title?

Dane Cameron: “It is an amazing feeling to be the first GTD champion. This season was a huge team effort. I can’t thank everyone at Turner Motorsport and BMW Motorsport enough for their efforts. I am especially grateful to Paul Dalla Lana and Northwest for their support.” 

What were the keys to the championship?

Cameron: “This season we had to go on a tear after leaving the Rolex 24 with only one point. We thought any chance for a championship was gone, but we knew the way back was through the top step of the podium so that is what we focused on. Four wins later we were there and in the thick of the championship. Consistency and great strategy sealed the deal.”

How quickly do you start thinking about next season?

Cameron: “I expect we will celebrate with the same intensity we showed season-long so any thought about 2015 will have to wait for at least a few days.”

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CTSCC: Hindman, Fall-Line Motorsports and BMW win GS title.
The season finale in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC) in Road Atlanta (US) will take some beating when it comes to excitement – and celebrations were in order on the Fall-Line Motorsports pit wall at the end of the final race of the year. Trent Hindman (US) and John Edwards (US) finished runner-up to score enough points to win multiple titles in the GS class. In the Drivers’ Championship, Hindman tops the standings with 328 points from twelve races, followed by Edwards (313) in second place. The result in Road Atlanta also proved sufficient to earn Fall-Line Motorsports the Team title with the BMW M3, while BMW won the Manufacturers’ Championship. “I think the last 55 minutes of this race were absolutely the longest of my life,” said Hindman. “It was an incredible race. The championship came down to two minutes to go, and the emotion was up and down, up and down. I don’t think the fans could have asked for a better race.” In the Street Tuner class, Mike LaMarra (US) and Terry Borcheller (US) were the best-placed BMW drivers in fourth place. The two Burton Racing drivers were also the highest-placed BMW drivers in the overall standings, ending the season in fourth place.

ADAC GT Masters: Team Schubert just misses out on the Team title.
One fourth and two sixth places: it was with these results that Team Schubert ended the ADAC GT Masters season at the Hockenheimring (DE). Jens Klingmann (DE) and Max Sandritter (DE) finished fourth in Saturday’s race at the wheel of the number 20 BMW Z4 GT3, while Dominik Baumann (AT) and Claudia Hürtgen (DE) came home sixth in both races. With ten minutes remaining of Sunday’s race, it looked as if they may actually end the season with a podium, until two late safety phases resulted in the number 19 BMW Z4 GT3 dropping from second to sixth. The number 20 car finished 17th on Sunday after a difficult race. The title race in the Team competition went right down to the final laps of Sunday’s race, and Team Schubert was still in with a shout for much of the race. The team from Oschersleben (DE) ultimately finished third overall with 215 points. In the Drivers’ Championship, Baumann, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Sunday, and Hürtgen ended the season in fourth place with 175 points, while Klingmann and Sandritter were ninth.

Japanese Super GT: Two BMW Z4 GT3s on the podium in Thailand.
The penultimate race of the season in the Japanese Super GT Championship, in Thailand, was a very successful one for the BMW Sports Trophy teams. Jörg Müller (DE) and Seiji Ara (JP) of BMW Sports Trophy Team Studie finished runner-up, just 0.862 seconds behind the winning Nissan. The two BMW Z4 GT3s fielded by Goodsmile Racing & TeamUKYO and the LM corsa team followed in third and fourth. Third place for Nobuteru Taniguchi (JP) and Tatsuya Kataoka (JP) saw them extend their lead in the Drivers’ Championship ahead of the season finale in Motegi (JP).

BMW Motorsport: PUMA remains long-term Official Supplier.

To ensure that its drivers and teams also cut a fine figure away from the pit lane, BMW Motorsport has for many years put its faith in PUMA, one of the world’s leading sports brands, which designs, develops, sells and markets shoes, textiles and accessories. As Official Supplier of BMW Motorsport, PUMA is responsible, among other things, for providing the attire for drivers and team members in the DTM and United SportsCar Championship. The two companies have now agreed on a long-term extension to their partnership. “We are really pleased to continue our successful partnership with PUMA,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt. “It’s an exciting time to be working with the brand under their new Forever Faster brand platform. Motorsport has a great brand fit with PUMA and there’s a clear synergy between both companies. As a global sports brand, PUMA has a clear strength in delivering both performance wear for our drivers and teams and lifestyle products inspired by sport for the fans.”