06.08.2024
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 all still shocked by the terrible accident last Friday in the Nürburgring paddock. On behalf of BMW M Motorsport, I wish all those affected a speedy recovery! We were on site in the Eifel area to conduct the first Nordschleife test with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO. That went well and provided us with valuable insights for the race deployment for the 2025 season. On Saturday, the BMW M Motorsport teams achieved numerous class victories at the same place in the NLS. There were also strong results in the IMSA series and GT4 Australia. I congratulate everybody, even though it is difficult to focus on sport on such a weekend.”
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BMW M4 GT3 EVO Test (2nd August): Successful premiere on the Nordschleife.
The Nürburgring-Nordschleife (GER) is not only the ultimate endurance test for all BMW M production vehicles but also for all BMW M Motorsport race cars. For this reason, the BMW M4 GT3 EVO, which will replace the current top model in GT racing from the 2025 season, made its debut last Friday in the “Green Hell.” BMW M works drivers Jens Klingmann (GER) and Augusto Farfus (BRA) completed numerous laps and collected valuable data. Klingmann drew a very positive conclusion: “The Nordschleife, due to its unique characteristics, poses particular challenges to a race car. We are all the more pleased that we can already provide very positive feedback after our first test with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO. The car’s base was extremely good from the first lap, especially in terms of drivability. As a driver, you immediately have full confidence in the BMW M4 GT3 EVO. These are optimal conditions to now move on to fine-tuning and thereby further improve performance. I can hardly wait for the first race appearances in 2025 with the new car.”
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NLS (3rd August): Fourth season run on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.
After a several-week break, the 2024 season of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) continued last weekend. The fourth racing event of the year was overshadowed by a tragic incident on Friday evening, in which, according to current police reports, 29 people were injured, four of them seriously. The cause of the accident, according to the Koblenz police headquarters pending further investigation results, was the explosion of a compressed air bottle behind a pit box. The entire BMW M Motorsport family’s thoughts are with the affected teams and relatives, wishing all the injured a speedy recovery.
In the fourth NLS run of the season, the ROWE 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen on Saturday, BMW M Motorsport teams secured a total of eight class victories. The race had to be interrupted for some time after heavy rain in the Hatzenbach area caused an accident involving several vehicles.
In the fiercely contested SP10 class, the FK Performance Motorsport team claimed victory on its return to the Nordschleife. Leyton Fourie (RSA) and Joseph Warhurst (GBR) alternated in the #187 BMW M4 GT4. Third place on the SP10 podium also went to a BMW M4 GT4, the #191 from Walkenhorst Motorsport, driven by Tobias Wahl and Florian Weber (GER). The trio of Jimmy Broadbent, Steve Brown (both GBR), and Manuel Metzger (SUI) won the SP8T class with the #150 BMW M4 GT4.
In the also highly competitive VT2-R+4WD class, SRS Team Sorg Rennsport prevailed, with Piet-Jan Ooms (NED), Kurt Strube (GER), Kasparas Vingilis (LTU), and Francesco Bugane (ITA) at the wheel of the #504 BMW 330i. Victory in the V4 class went to Romano Schultz and Florian Kramer (both GER) in the #731 BMW 325i. In the VT3 class, the Keeevin Sports and Racing team with drivers Jörg Schönfelder, Valentin Lachenmayer, Zoran Radulovic (all GER), and Guido Wirtz (SUI) in the #460 BMW 335i took first place. The H4 class once again went to the Hofor Racing team, with Michael Kroll, Alexander Prinz (both SUI), and Jürgen Lars Zander (GER) at the wheel of the #604 BMW M3 E46. The BMW M2 CS Racing and the BMW M240i Racing each competed in their own Cup classes. The victories were claimed by Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport and the Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhatten Wheels.
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GT4 Australia (2nd-4th August): BMW M Motorsport teams celebrate victories in Queensland.
BMW M Motorsport teams in GT4 Australia continued their winning streak with the BMW M4 GT4 at the third racing event of the season. At the Queensland Raceway (AUS), they celebrated further class victories on the first weekend of August.
In the Pro-Am class, Ryder Quinn and Steve Jakic (both AUS) in the #3 BMW M4 GT4 from Thunder Buddies Racing won the Saturday race. In the second run on Sunday, the duo finished fourth in the class. In the Am class, the Randall Racing team collected more trophies. John Bowe and Jacob Lawrence (both AUS) celebrated class victory in both races with the #32 BMW M4 GT4. Their teammates Jamie Augustine and Peter Lawrence (both AUS) in car #33 achieved a second and a third place on the class podium.
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Japanese Super GT Series (2nd-4th August): Bruno Spengler back in action in Japan.
BMW M works driver Bruno Spengler (CAN) was back in action in the Japanese Super GT Series last weekend. At the fourth round of the season, the 350-kilometre race in Fuji (JPN), he once again started in the Team Studie #7 BMW M4 GT3. He alternated at the wheel with Niklas Krütten (GER) and Seiji Ara (JPN). The trio started the race from the tenth position and finished, after 70 race laps, in seventh place.
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IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (2nd-4th August): Three BMW M4 GT4s at Road America in the top ten.
As part of the IMSA Road America event, the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge also made a stop at the racetrack near Elkhart Lake (USA) last weekend. In the two-hour race, a total of three BMW M4 GT4s finished within the top ten.
Sixth place went to Sean McAlister and Jeff Westphal (both USA) in the #39 BMW M4 GT4 from CarBahn Motorsports. Right behind them, Robby Foley and Francis Selldorff (both USA) from Turner Motorsport was seventh to take the checkered flag. Their teammates Dillon Machavern and Robert Megennis (both USA) finished ninth after two hours of racing.
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ESET Cup Series (2nd-4th August): Three class victories at the Most racing weekend.
BMW M Motorsport teams in the ESET Cup Series further expanded their success record at the racing weekend at Most (CZE). In the endurance race, Gregor Zsigo (SVK) and Dennis Waszek (CZE) in the #24 BMW M6 GT3 from Trevor Racing finished second overall and secured the win in the GT3 class. Additionally, Antal Zsigo (SVK) finished third in the GT3 class in the second of the two sprint races with the BMW M6 GT3. Meanwhile, in the GT4 category, Rudolf Beňo (SVK) in the #444 BMW M4 GT4 from Aries Racing led the way. He won his class in both sprint races.
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BTCC (27th-28th July): Colin Turkington reaches the milestone of 70 wins.
That Colin Turkington (GBR) is rightly known as the “King of Croft” in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) was proved once again by the BMW driver on the last weekend of July. The British touring car series returned to Croft (GBR), and Turkington not only celebrated his 15th win on this track but also reached the impressive milestone of a total of 70 BTCC wins. In the first of the three races, the four-time champion in the Team BMW #20 BMW 330e M Sport drove from pole position, including the fastest race lap, to an unchallenged start-to-finish victory. The other two races were more challenging for Turkington, where he finished ninth and fourteenth.
Jake Hill (GBR / Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport) achieved positions six, 16, and five and is in second place in the drivers’ standings after the Croft race weekend. Adam Morgan (GBR) from Team BMW finished the three races in 13th, 17th, and ninth places.
