25.06.2024
In our BMW M Motorsport News, we regularly offer you a selection of photos as well as a compact and informative overview of the racing action in various championships worldwide and the successes of the BMW M Motorsport teams.
Björn Lellmann, Head of Customer Racing at BMW M Motorsport:
“We are in the midst of the month of the great 24-hour classics, where we are prominently and successfully represented with our GT cars. But besides that, there are numerous other racing series worldwide in which our cars, teams, and drivers are celebrating successes. In the NLS, even without a participant in the GT3 category, we demonstrated our full range as a manufacturer and achieved class victories with seven cars from various generations. The BMW M4 GT3 and BMW M4 GT4 have also achieved victories and podium places in Italy, the USA, Japan, and Belgium. I congratulate all participants on their outstanding performances! Now we look forward to the 24-hour race and the GT4 European Series at Spa-Francorchamps, where we will present further details about the BMW M4 GT4 EVO.”
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NLS (22nd June): BMW M Motorsport Teams celebrate seven class victories.
Following the season highlight, the 24-hour race, the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) season continued last weekend with the 69th ADAC Westfalenfahrt. At the 4-hour race on the Nordschleife (GER), BMW M Motorsport teams celebrated seven class victories. In the BMW M4 GT4, Samantha Tan (CAN) and Jon Miller (USA) from Team ST Racing triumphed in the SP8T class. The BMW M2 CS Racing and the BMW M240i Racing each competed in their own Cup classes. Victories went to Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport and the Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhatten Wheels. In the VT3 class, Team Keeevin Sports and Racing triumphed in a BMW 335i. The BMW 325i of Desiree Müller, Tim Lukas Müller (both GER), and Michael Fischer (AUT) won the V4 category, the BMW E46 of Ingo Oepen, Henrik Launhardt, and Thorsten Köppert (all GER) the SP4 class, and the BMW M3 E92 GTR of Bernd Kleeschulte, Florian Quante, and Andreas Schmidt (all GER) the H4 category.
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Italian GT Championship (15th-16th June): Podium at the Vallelunga Endurance opener.
The three-hour race at Vallelunga (ITA) in mid-June opened the season in the Italian GT Championship Endurance Cup. For Team BMW Italia Ceccato Racing, there was reason to celebrate again as in the Sprint Cup races the #7 BMW M4 GT3 secured third place on the overall podium. Stefano Comandini (ITA), Francesco Guerra (ITA), and Philippe Denes (USA) took turns at the wheel.
The trio’s race car was a real eye-catcher. As part of a collaboration between Ceccato Racing and the BMW M Team BS+COMPETITION, which competes in automotive gaming for BMW M Motorsport as a works team, the BMW M4 GT3 received a special livery in a unique zebra design. The American Denes, alongside his racing career in the real world, is also an excellent sim racer for BS+COMPETITION. Among other achievements, he won the iRacing 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in 2022 together with Bruno Spengler (CAN) and Kay Kaschube (GER). Numerous drivers from the BS+COMPETITION team supported their teammate on-site at Vallelunga and experienced the exciting race and podium celebration up close. The BS+CECCATO project will continue for the rest of the Endurance season.
With the #8 BMW M4 GT3 from BMW Italia Ceccato Racing, Marco Cassarà, Francesco de Luca (both ITA), and Alfred Nilsson (SWE) competed at Vallelunga in the Pro-Am class, however their car retired early.
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IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (22nd-23rd June): Turner Motorsport on the podium.
The #95 BMW M4 GT4 from Turner Motorsport crossed the finish line in second place at the 2-hour race of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at Watkins Glen (USA). Dillon Machavern and Robert Megennis (both USA) made a strong comeback from 13th on the grid and made significant progress in the fuel strategy poker. Actually, Sean McAlister and Jeff Westphal (both USA) in the CarBAhn Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 were on course for the podium, but they ran low on fuel in the final laps and fell back to fifth place. Robby Foley and Francis Selldorff (both USA) finished seventh in the second Turner Motorsport car.
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British GT Championship (22nd-23rd June): GT4 class win and GT3 lap record.
The British GT Championship visited Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) a week before the 24-hour race. At the only guest appearance of the British racing series on the European mainland, Century Motorsport celebrated a class win with the BMW M4 GT4. Ian Gough and Tom Wrigley (both GBR) crossed the finish line first in the GT4 category in the #29 BMW M4 GT4 after 34 laps and a race shortened due to a red flag. In the #15 BMW M4 GT3 from RAM Racing, BMW M works driver Raffaele Marciello (SUI) alongside John Ferguson (GBR) finished tenth after a tyre failure and a drive-through penalty, but still managed to attract attention. In 2:16.190 minutes, he set a new lap record for GT3 cars on the newly asphalted track in the Ardennes. Next weekend, Marciello will start for BMW M Team WRT at the same location in the 24-hour race in the BMW M4 GT3.
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GTWC Asia / Japan Cup (22nd-23rd June): Podium places for the BMW M4 GT3 and the BMW M4 GT4.
The Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS and the Japan Cup held their races in Fuji (JPN) last weekend. There was reason to celebrate in both the GT3 and GT4 classes. Cun Fan Ruan (CHN) and Maxime Oosten (NED) finished third in the Sil-Am class in race one in the Team KRC BMW M4 GT3. They retired from race two. In the Japan Cup, Yuki Fujii and Masaki Kano (both JPN) in the YZ Racing BMW M4 GT4 finished fourth and second in the GT4 SA category. In the overall standings, the duo is in second place with 70 points each.
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GT4 France: Podium finish at Spa-Francorchamps.
The GT4 France made a stop at the Circuit Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) last weekend. In the second race, the VSF Sports -Amplitude Automobiles team secured second place in the Am class. Drivers Curson Faessel and Florian Teillais (both FRA) showed a strong racing performance in the #41 BMW M4 GT4 and crossed the finish line in second place in their class.
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BTCC (22nd-23rd June): Jake Hill takes overall lead.
Jake Hill (GBR) continues to be in top form in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). After two wins each at Snetterton (GBR) and Thruxton (GBR), he also made it to the top of the podium last weekend in Oulton Park (GBR). In the third and final race on Sunday, he secured first place with a strong overtaking manoeuvre on the last lap and thus took the lead in the BTCC drivers’ standings. In the first two races, Hill had finished fifth and third in his Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport BMW 330e M Sport. Adam Morgan (GBR) from Team BMW had his best result of the weekend with fourth place in the first race, while his teammate Colin Turkington (GBR) did not achieve better than seventh place in the second race as his top result.
