Jeff Seabrook

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GT World Challenge Europe: BMW M Team WRT wins the Sunday race at Valencia.

Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts (both BEL) celebrated their first season victory in the Sprint Cup during Sunday's race of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS (GTWC) at Valencia (ESP). After 36 laps on the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, they crossed the finish line first in a race marked by safety car periods.

Valencia. Dries...

Valencia. Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts (both BEL) celebrated their first season victory in the Sprint Cup during Sunday's race of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS (GTWC) at Valencia (ESP). After 36 laps on the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, they crossed the finish line first in a race marked by safety car periods. The duo had started from 13th place in the fourth round of the Sprint Cup. Skillful driving and an excellent race strategy from the BMW M Team WRT were the decisive factors for their victory. In the Saturday race, Vanthoor and Weerts were already the highest-placed BMW drivers. Starting from 15th place, they narrowly missed the podium, finishing in fifth position.

It was a weekend of ups and downs at Valencia. Like the entire BMW M Team WRT, Valentino Rossi (ITA) and Maxime Martin (BEL) in the #46 BMW M4 GT3 faced issues in Saturday's qualifying. However, in the race, they displayed great determination. After a spirited comeback, they gained 14 positions and secured a spot in the top ten, finishing in eighth place. In Sunday's qualifying, Martin showcased his skills in the rain. The Belgian driver coped well with the challenging conditions on the slippery but drying track and secured third position. Unfortunately, he was forced onto the grass at the start, resulting in an overheating engine of the #46 BMW M4 GT3 due to blocked coolers, which led to an early retirement.

Niklas Krütten (GER) and Calan Williams (AUS) had a disappointing weekend with a retirement of the #30 BMW M4 GT3 on Saturday and an 18th-place finish on Sunday. Thomas Neubauer and Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer (both FRA) finished 16th and 29th, respectively, in their #31 BMW M4 GT3 in both Valencia races.

Reactions after the races:

Monday September 18, 2023
BMW Racing News

BMW M Team RLL looking to return to the IMSA GTP podium at Indianapolis.

The penultimate round of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA series) leads BMW M Team RLL to an iconic race track: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (USA), also known as ‘The Brickyard’ hosts this coming weekend’s event (15th to 17th September). BMW M Team RLL aims to return to the IMSA GTP podium with the new BMW M Hybrid V8...

Munich. The penultimate round of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA series) leads BMW M Team RLL to an iconic race track: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (USA), also known as ‘The Brickyard’ hosts this coming weekend’s event (15th to 17th September). BMW M Team RLL aims to return to the IMSA GTP podium with the new BMW M Hybrid V8 at Indianapolis. The #25 BMW M Hybrid V8, victorious this season at Watkins Glen (USA) and on the podium at Sebring, Long Beach (both USA) and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CAN), will again be driven by Connor De Phillippi (USA) and Nick Yelloly (GBR). Augusto Farfus (BRA) and Philipp Eng (AUT) share duties in the #24 car.

Recently the team participated in a two-day test at the Speedway with drivers De Phillippi, Colton Herta (USA), and Jesse Krohn (FIN). The second day of the test ended with the #25 and #24 BMW M Hybrid V8s at the top of the timing sheets. Eng, Farfus, and Yelloly completed ‘Driver In Loop’ tests for Indianapolis to continue the development of the team’s race performance.

BMW Team RLL team members do have history at ‘The Brickyard’. Team Principal Bobby Rahal (USA) won the 1986 Indy 500. De Phillippi and Farfus won the 8 Hour Intercontinental GT Challenge race at Indy in 2020, driving a Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 along with Nick Catsburg (NED). Yelloly finished second in the team’s sister BMW, co-driving with David Pittard (GBR) and Marco Wittmann (GER).

In the GT Daytona class, three BMW M4 GT3s will compete. With five victories in this season so far, Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow (both USA) continue to lead the GTD class points with the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3. Turner Motorsport brings two BMW M4 GT3s for Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher (both USA) and for Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull (both USA).

The two-hour-and-forty-minute race at Indianapolis gets underway on Sunday, 17th September at 12:10 local time (19:10 CEST).

Quotes ahead of the Road America race.

Wednesday September 13, 2023
BMW Racing News

BMW M Motorsport News, 12th September 2023

Björn Lellmann, Head of Customer Racing at BMW M Motorsport:

“The BMW M4 GT3 sparkled in the hands of our customer teams this past weekend. With victory in the British GT Championship and the double win in the NLS, our teams Century Motorsport and Walkenhorst Motorsport have positioned themselves well for the end-of-season race. The BMW M4 GT4 also brought home more successes in the NLS, ADAC GT4 Germany, and the GT4 European Series. Not forgetting the many other entrants in the NLS, who brought home an incredible 15 class wins overall. Congratulations to all the teams and drivers, I look forward to the many thrilling battles for titles in the coming weeks.”

Top topics in this newsletter:

NLS: Perfect weekend for Walkenhorst Motorsport.
British GT Championship: Dan Harper and Darren Leung triumph at Brands Hatch.
ADAC GT4 Germany: BMW M Motorsport teams with trio of podiums.
BMW M2 Cup: Leyton Fourie takes an important step in the battle for the title.

NLS: Perfect weekend for Walkenhorst Motorsport.

There were two six-hour races on two days at the highlight of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) season last weekend. The big winner of the “12h Nürburgring” (GER) was the Walkenhorst Motorsport team. Christian Krognes (NOR) and Jakub Giermaziak (POL) in the #34 BMW M4 GT3 won both races in impressive style. In the first race on Saturday, the duo fought their way up the field from the final starting position in their group to P1. Krognes and Giermaziak started Sunday’s race from sixth on the grid, but it wasn’t long before they took the lead and enjoyed a commanding win, finishing almost three minutes ahead of their team-mates Niklas Krütten (GER) and Dylan Pereira (LUX) in the #35 BMW M4 GT3. The crew of car number 34 are at the top of the team standings in both the highest class, SP9 Pro, and in the NLS Speed Trophy, with two races to go before the end of the season. In Walkenhorst Motorsport’s Pro-Am car, BMW M works driver Charles Weerts (BEL) made his GT3 debut at the Nordschleife. However, the #36 BMW M4 GT3 retired from both races.

The BMW M Motorsport teams celebrated a total of 15 class wins in the two races with separate classifications at the weekend. In addition to Walkenhorst Motorsport’s successes in the SP9 Pro category, it was the two SP10 successes for the #187 BMW M4 GT4 of FK Performance Motorsport that stood out in particular. With their two wins in the VT2-R+4WD class, Philipp Leisen, Oskar Sandberg, and Daniel Zils (all GER) of Adrenalin Motorsport Team Motec in the #1 BMW 330i defended their lead in the NLS overall standings. The BMW M Motorsport teams and drivers claimed further wins in the classes BMW M240i, BMW M2 CS, V4, SP4, SP6 and H4. Samantha Tan (CAN) was one of the drivers at the wheel of Schnitzelalm Racing’s BMW M240i Racing, to get her permit. She and her crew won the race on Saturday and finished third on Sunday.

Wednesday September 13, 2023
BMW Racing News

DTM: Sheldon van der Linde and René Rast secure top-ten finishes in a challenging weekend.

The sixth DTM race weekend of the season at the Sachsenring (GER) demanded determination from the BMW M Motorsport teams and drivers. The track layout didn’t play to the strengths of the BMW M4 GT3, and the car's classification also didn't help in reaching the podium. Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) achieved the best result for BMW M Motorsport...

The sixth DTM race weekend of the season at the Sachsenring (GER) demanded determination from the BMW M Motorsport teams and drivers. The track layout didn’t play to the strengths of the BMW M4 GT3, and the car's classification also didn't help in reaching the podium. Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) achieved the best result for BMW M Motorsport with a sixth-place finish on Saturday.

Sachsenring. The sixth DTM race weekend of the season at the Sachsenring (GER) demanded determination from the BMW M Motorsport teams and drivers. The track layout didn’t play to the strengths of the BMW M4 GT3, and the car's classification also didn't help in reaching the podium. Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) achieved the best result for BMW M Motorsport with a sixth-place finish on Saturday. His Schubert Motorsport teammate, René Rast (GER), secured eighth place in both races. Marco Wittmann (GER) made his race debut at the Sachsenring, finishing twelfth and earning points on Sunday.

The main issue was the BMW M4 GT3's lack of one-lap speed in qualifying. Starting from midfield or even backfield positions, the fight for podium places became challenging, even though the BMW M Motorsport drivers made strong comebacks in the races. Rast moved from 18th place on Saturday and 15th place on Sunday to finish eighth in both races. Wittmann improved from 22nd to twelfth on Sunday and from 24th to 18th on Saturday. Van der Linde secured his sixth place from eleventh on the starting grid on Saturday. However, he retired on Sunday after a collision on the first lap. Sandro Holzem (GER) in the #56 BMW M4 GT3 from Team Project 1 finished 20th and 16th.

In the driver standings, defending champion van der Linde is currently fourth with 113 points, with four races left in the season. In the team standings, Schubert Motorsport is also in fourth place with 192 points.

Reactions to the DTM weekend at the Sachsenring:

Monday September 11, 2023
BMW Racing News

THE NEUE NEW: BMW accompanies the departure into a new era with an emotionally engaging multi-channel campaign.

Our definition of “the new” takes an unusual course for the BMW Vision Neue Klasse, as the international campaign places the brand promise “Freude forever.” at the heart of its communications.

Munich. The world premiere of the BMW Vision Neue Klasse marks a new beginning for the BMW brand, one characterised by a completely fresh way of...

Our definition of “the new” takes an unusual course for the BMW Vision Neue Klasse, as the international campaign places the brand promise “Freude forever.” at the heart of its communications.

Munich. The world premiere of the BMW Vision Neue Klasse marks a new beginning for the BMW brand, one characterised by a completely fresh way of thinking and approach. THE NEUE NEW is the title of the multi-channel campaign accompanying the Bavarian premium carmaker’s ongoing process of transformation. The campaign’s storytelling captures the central areas of action contained within this transformation and brings an unusual angle to the idea of “the new”.

The campaign THE NEUE NEW – developed and implemented by the agency THE GAME created specially for the BMW Group and the BMW brand – explains in an authentic and accessible way what underpins the “NEU” of the forthcoming NEUE KLASSE. The use of the German word for “new” references the name of this new-generation model series and has an effective and memorable impact in non-German-speaking markets around the world as well as at home. At the same time, the campaign shines the spotlight on the brand promise “Freude forever.” and opens a window to BMW as a future-facing brand focused on meeting peoples’ needs.

“THE NEUE NEW represents our journey into a completely new era of mobility, in which we are putting people front and centre. And its visual implementation is likewise very authentic, accessible and human,” says Jens Thiemer, Senior Vice President Customer and BMW Brand. “The campaign provides an initial example of how we are also employing innovative communication approaches to drive forward the transformation process BMW is currently navigating.”

THE NEUE NEW tells the story of the transformation alongside the key future-focused fields the BMW Group has set itself: the ideal of a circular economy as a progressive mindset geared towards preserving resources; digitalisation focused on identifying and meeting peoples’ needs; and a commitment to electrification with the aim of making the driving pleasure for which the brand is renowned something future generations can also experience.

As a central hub in which these three elements converge, the BMW Vision Neue Klasse embodies a fresh departure fuelled by optimism for the future. Recalling the “mk1” Neue Klasse, which revolutionised the brand’s product range in the 1960s, the storytelling approach is deliberately playing on the German “Neue” in non-German-speaking markets as well as at home and, in so doing, redefining the idea of “the new” itself.

The BMW Vision Neue Klasse shows us here and now how Sheer Driving Pleasure will be interpreted in the years ahead. At its heart is the design language of “intelligent reduction to the essentials”. Meanwhile, the latest generation of BMW iDrive delivers a digital, immersive user experience in which the driver takes centre stage. Every aspect of the development process took sustainability and efficiency as the guiding themes.