Strong BMW contingent at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.

Nürburgring, 25th June 2011. When the BMW Motorsport team’s two BMW M3 GT cars line up at the Nürburgring 24 Hours (DE) this weekend, they will not be the only ones competing for the top positions. Private BMW drivers and teams from around the world are also putting their faith in the reliability and performance of racing cars from Munich as they face the challenge of the “Green Hell”.

In total, more than 60 BMW cars will start at the Nürburgring – that is almost a third of the field and more than any other manufacturer. The variety of cars is wide and demonstrates very clearly just how well BMW cars are suited to motorsport.

Joining the no. 1 and no. 7 BMW M3 GT cars are nine teams running BMW Customer Racing cars, which have been developed specifically for use in international motorsport. These include the BMW Z4 GT3 and the BMW M3 GT4. The modified BMW Z4 GT3, in particular, allows BMW Motorsport to offer teams a high-performance car that can join the BMW M3 GT in doing battle at the front of the field.

BMW racing cars are also as good as a guarantee of success for teams and drivers in other classes. Tried and tested BMW Motorsport components and parts are used in over 50 cars. In five previous races in the 2011 VLN Endurance Championship in the “Green Hell”, BMW drivers have so far claimed over 40 class victories.

A third of the BMW drivers registered for the 24-hour race have also signed up for the traditional BMW Sports Trophy, and will be fighting for valuable points towards the BMW privateer competition. This season, BMW Motorsport will honour the most successful privateers for the 50th time, and will hand out a total prize purse of 250,000 Euros at the end of the year. For the entrants, the weekend in the Eifel Mountains is an opportunity to score heavily, as the nature of the 24-hour race means more points are on offer than at a sprint race.