BMW Motorsport News – Issue 37/14.

BMW M235i Racing Cup: Adrenalin Motorsport victorious in drivers’ and team standings.

Fourth place on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (DE) in the penultimate race of the VLN Endurance Championship was enough for the Adrenalin Motorsport team and its drivers Daniel Zils (DE), Uwe Ebertz (DE) and Norbert Fischer (DE) to secure the title in the drivers’ and team standings before the end of the first ever season of the BMW M235i Racing Cup class. With 200 points, taking into account the two discarded results that will be calculated in the drivers’ standings at the end of the season, the trio are now out of reach. In the team championship, with 222 points Adrenalin Motorsport has a 34-point advantage over Scheid-Partl Motorsport. With a maximum of 26 points for a victory at the season finale, this title has also already been decided. The class victory at the ROWE DMV 250 Miles Race went to Emin Akata (DE) and Michael Schrey (DE) from the Walkenhorst Motorsport team. Second and third places went to Scheid-Partl Motorsport and Sorg Rennsport.

Three questions for … Matthias Unger (team principal Adrenalin Motorsport).

Mr Unger, you started the season with the aim of winning in the first ever year of the BMW M 235i Racing Cup class. Now you’ve done it…

Matthias Unger: “That’s right. We’ve completed our mission. We showed some strong racing and had the right amount of luck needed for such a success. We would have loved to have clinched the title with a win, but you could tell that our drivers were playing it safe in the race and didn’t want to retire. They might have been a bit too cautious, but that doesn’t matter today.”

What role did the drivers play in winning the title in general?

Unger: “A crucial one. They all did a fantastic job. Their strengths are that they all have a similar speed and a lot of experience on the Nordschleife. They are real experts on this track. That’s particularly useful for making it through the 24 hour race without any major incidents.”

Forgetting the championship victories, what did you think of the debut season of the BMW M235i Racing Cup class?

Unger: “This cup is a very interesting platform for us. There were some very positive developments over the course of the season. This weekend 16 BMW M235i Racings started in the class, that’s a great number. Hopefully this trend will continue and even more cars will take part in 2015. It would be great for us. Even if it would make it extremely difficult to defend the title, which is our goal of course.”

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BTCC: Colin Turkington wins drivers’ title.
The title in the 2014 British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) has been decided: At the season finale in Brands Hatch (GB), Colin Turkington (GB) from the eBay Motors team was crowned champion. The BMW driver started the final weekend leading the overall standings and was the champion after the first of three races on Sunday. In this turbulent first race that was affected by a mass collision at the start and multiple safety car periods, Turkington finished in third place on the podium in his BMW 125i M Sport. Despite his rival Jason Plato (GB) winning the race in his MG5, these points were enough for Turkington to clinch the early title win. “I am over the moon,” said Turkington after his second BTCC triumph after 2009. “I suppose the main feeling is relief. We were ready to do battle until race three, so I really wasn’t expecting to clinch the title so early in the day.” In the second race of the day, Turkington retired, and in the final race he finished 20th in wet conditions. His team-mate Robert Collard (GB) was sixth and fourth in the first two races, but retired in race three. Nick Foster (GB) was twice tenth and once eighth in the third BMW 125i M Sport entered by eBay Motors.

Blancpain Sprint Series: Zanardi successful in the Hawaiian Triathlon.
BMW works driver Alessandro Zanardi showed real endurance: On Saturday the 47-year-old Italian successfully completed his first endurance triathlon on Big Island in Hawaii (US). Of the more than 2,000 participants who took to the 226.255-kilometre track, Zanardi was one of the few physically handicapped athletes. He mastered the cycling on his hand bike and the running in a racing wheelchair. Zanardi finished with an impressive overall time of 9:47:14 hours. This saw him finish in 272nd place, out of 2,187 athletes who made it to the end. Next weekend Zanardi will once again be at the wheel of his BMW Z4 GT3 in the Blancpain Sprint Series. The penultimate race of the season will take place in Zolder (Belgium).

FIA WTCC: Engstler wins the title in the Drivers’ Trophy before the end of the season.
Franz Engstler (DE) clinched championship victory in the Drivers’ Trophy of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in Shanghai (CN) before the end of the season. At the tenth of a total of 12 races in the 2014 season he celebrated another two victories in the TC2 class in his BMW 320 TC. Now he leads the standings and cannot be caught. “I’m really happy. The whole season was sensational. Thanks to BMW and the entire team, everyone did such a fantastic job. Now it’s time to celebrate,” said Engstler. Filipe de Souza (MO) in the second BMW 320 TC finished third in the class in both races.

BMW Motorsport juniors: Krohn in the VLN, Hughes in the BMW M4 DTM.
The BMW Motorsport juniors Jesse Krohn (FI) and Jake Hughes (GB) were in action for BMW Motorsport this weekend. While Hughes took part in a straight-line test in the BMW M4 DTM, making it his first time at the wheel of this car, Krohn competed in the VLN in the BMW M235i Racing – and with famous support from the world of GT racing. Alongside Krohn, Michela Cerruti (IT) and John Edwards (US) were in action. For Edwards, the BMW Team RLL driver, it was probably his final race of the year now that the United SportsCar Championship (USCC) and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC) seasons have come to an end. It was also the end of the season in the BMW Motorsport Junior Programme for Hughes and Krohn. “What a year,” said Krohn. “I have learned so much and am grateful for the opportunity that BMW Motorsport has given me. I don’t want to miss out on a single day of this programme and hope to be able to work with BMW in the future.” The decision on which of the BMW Motorsport juniors will be supported next season will be made at a later date.

VLN: Derscheid and Flehmer home in on overall victory.
After the penultimate race in the VLN Endurance Championship at the Nürburgring (DE), BMW drivers Rolf Derscheid (DE) and Michael Flehmer (DE) are pretty much the overall winners. After the victory in their BMW 325i in the V4 class, none of their rivals can overtake them on points. Only being disqualified at the season finale can stand in the way of championship victory now. In the overall standings of the ROWE DMV 250 Miles Race, the BMW Z4 GT3 of Walkenhorst Motorsport finished in seventh place, making it the best-placed BMW. Mercedes took the victory.

DTM: Wittmann star guest in Dingolfing.
At the company party at the BMW plant in Dingolfing (DE), DTM champion Marco Wittmann (DE) paid a visit to the employees on Saturday. The 24-year-old signed autographs and delighted with a few demo laps and donuts in the Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM – with smoking tyres.