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:
“Even in the summer, our BMW M Motorsport teams do not take a break. During the DTM at the Norisring, we were able to celebrate a 1-2-3 for the BMW M4 GT4 in ADAC GT4 Germany. There was also reason to rejoice in numerous other racing series. In front of the impressive backdrop of the Truck Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, the FK Performance Motorsport team once again underlined their title ambitions in the ADAC GT Masters. In the IMSA series, there were some strong results, even though the leap to the very top unfortunately did not happen this time. Congratulations to Century Motorsport for a strong British GT weekend at Snetterton – and also to all other teams and drivers who have achieved success as ambassadors for the BMW brand in recent weeks.”
ADAC GT Masters (13th-14th July): Another podium for FK Performance Motorsport.
Leon Köhler (GER) and Maxime Oosten (NED) are still at the forefront of the title race after a strong ADAC GT Masters race weekend during the Truck Grand Prix at the Nürburgring (GER). The FK Performance Motorsport duo secured third place on the podium in the #54 BMW M4 GT3 in the second race on Sunday. The day before, they also collected many important points by finishing fourth. Köhler and Oosten impressed with strong comebacks in each race – on Saturday from seventh to fourth, and on Sunday even from tenth to third. In the drivers' standings, the duo is in second place with 109 points each, just nine points behind the leaders. In the second BMW M4 GT3 from FK Performance Motorsport, Eduardo Coseteng (PHI) and Grégory de Sybourg (SUI) finished eleventh and sixteenth.
IMSA Series (13th-14th July): Action-packed race weekend in Canada.
All IMSA series were present last weekend at the Continental Tire Motorsport Park in Canada. In the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the GTP prototypes took a break this time, but in the GTD PRO and GTD classes, a BMW M4 GT3 was in action. Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher (both USA) narrowly missed the GTD podium in the #96 BMW M4 GT3 of Turner Motorsport, finishing fourth. After 112 laps on the traditional track, the duo was less than three seconds behind third place. Paul Miller Racing finished eighth in the GTD PRO category with the #1 BMW M4 GT3 and drivers Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers (both USA).
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge also made a stop in Canada. Three BMW M4 GT4s entered the two-hour race, two of which had the podium in sight but ultimately had to settle for fourth and fifth places. The fourth 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 crossed the finish line. Their teammates Dillon Machavern and Robert Megennis (both USA) finished twelfth.
In the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, there was a podium finish to celebrate. In the second race, Patrick Wilmot (USA) in the #88 BMW M4 GT4 from Split Decision Motorsports finished third in the GSX class. In the first race, Wilmot was fifth.
British GT Championship (13th-14th July): Class victory for the BMW M4 GT4.
At the British GT Championship race weekend at Snetterton (GBR), the Century Motorsport team had reason to celebrate. In the first of the two races, Ravi Ramyead and Charlie Robertson (both GBR) in the #71 BMW M4 GT4 secured class victory. In the second race, the duo retired. Their teammates Carl Cavers and Jason Plato (both GBR) were pleased with third place in the SA category in their #22 BMW M4 GT3 after the second race.
BMW M works driver Max Hesse (GER) experienced a sportingly strong but ultimately bizarre weekend. He made his debut alongside John Ferguson (GBR) at the wheel of the #15 BMW M4 GT3 from RAM Racing in the British GT Championship, as Raffaele Marciello (SUI) was simultaneously competing in Brazil in the FIA World Endurance Championship. After finishing sixth in the first race, Hesse and Ferguson put on a great show and finished third on the podium in the second race. However, an incident between team representatives and members of Race Control after the second race led to the disqualification of the RAM Racing team from the Snetterton event.
Italian GT Championship (13th-14th July): Unfortunate weekend at Mugello.
BMW Italia Ceccato Racing Team had a disappointing weekend during the second race of the Italian GT Championship Endurance Cup at Mugello (ITA). Stefano Comandini, Francesco Guerra (both ITA), and Philippe Denes (USA), who had finished third on the podium at the season opener at Vallelunga (ITA), retired early in the race after an accident with their #7 BMW M4 GT3. Their teammates Marco Cassarà, Francesco de Luca (both ITA), and Alfred Nilsson (SWE) finished tenth in the overall standings.
GTWC Asia / Japan Cup (6th-7th July): Podium places for the BMW M4 GT3 and the BMW M4 GT4.
On the first weekend of July, the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS made their stop at Suzuka (JPN). In the second race, Team KRC secured second place in the Sil-Am class and a strong fifth place overall. Drivers Maxime Oosten (NED) and Cunfan Ruan (CHN) showed a strong driver and team performance in the #89 BMW M4 GT3. In the Japan Cup, Masaki Kano and Yuki Fujii (both JPN) from Team YZ Racing secured second place in the GT4-SA class in both races.
ESET Cup Series (29th-30th June): Class victories at the Lausitzring.
At the end of June, the ESET Cup Series visited Germany. At the Lausitzring (GER), Antal Zsigo (SVK) celebrated the GT3 class victory in both sprint races with his #500 BMW M4 GT3 from Trevor Racing. In the endurance race, he finished second in the GT3 category. First place this time went to Gregor Zsigo (SVK) and Dennis Waszek (CZE) in the BMW M6 GT3 of the Trevor Racing Team.
