Björn Lellmann, Head of Customer Racing at BMW M Motorsport:
“In recent weeks, one season highlight followed another. Between the
three major 24-hour races and numerous other motorsport classics
around the world, there was hardly time to catch our breath. We had
many reasons to celebrate and to share great successes with our
customer teams. My congratulations to everyone involved! Most
recently, BMW Italia Ceccato Racing had plenty of reasons to celebrate
with a double podium at Mugello. There were also successes in North
America and Asia. Once again, it’s impressive to see how well our cars
are performing globally. We aim to continue this trend in the second
half of the year.”
—
Italian GT Championship (11th to 13th July): BMW Italia
Ceccato Racing wins at Mugello.
BMW Italia Ceccato Racing triumphed again during the second
sprint weekend of the Italian GT Championship. At Mugello (ITA), BMW M
works drivers Jens Klingmann (GER) and Jesse Krohn (FIN) claimed
victory on Saturday in the #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO. Behind them, teammates
William Alatalo (FIN) and Leonardo Caglioni (ITA) completed the 1-2
finish for the team led by Roberto Ravaglia (ITA) in the #2 BMW M4 GT3
EVO. For Alatalo and Caglioni, second place overall also meant victory
in the Pro-Am category. After their second win of the season,
Klingmann and Krohn had to serve a pit-stop penalty in Sunday’s race
as per regulations. Despite the 15-second handicap, they secured
another podium by finishing third. Alatalo and Caglioni once again
reached the class podium as second in Pro-Am. In the sprint standings,
Klingmann and Krohn are within striking distance of the leaders,
trailing by just two points after two of four race weekends. “We can
be very proud of the first half of the season,” Klingmann said after
the Mugello weekend. “With the win on Saturday and third place on
Sunday, we came close to a maximum points haul and are very
optimistic. Our mission to defend the title is clearly defined, so we
need to maintain this level of performance, as the field is extremely
competitive this year. But so far, we’re proud and satisfied, having
made no mistakes. We’re looking forward to the second half of the
season with great anticipation.” The next sprint races of the Italian
GT Championship will take place at the end of September at Imola (ITA).
—
IMSA CTMP (11th to 13th July): Pole debut for Verhagen.
BMW M works driver Neil Verhagen (USA) celebrated the first pole
position of his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship career at
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CAN).
“It’s phenomenal. I gave it
everything I had, and it just all came together. It was one of those
laps where everything felt perfect. I can’t thank Paul Miller Racing
and BMW M Motorsport enough for giving me a car that made this
possible. I’m overjoyed with my first pole,” said the 24-year-old
after Saturday’s qualifying. In the GTD-PRO category race, Verhagen
and his compatriot Madison Snow finished sixth in the #1 BMW M4 GT3
EVO of Paul Miller Racing. Their teammates, BMW M works drivers Dan
Harper (GBR) and Max Hesse (GER), brought the #48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO home
in ninth place. In the GTD class, Turner Motorsport finished eighth.
—
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (11th to 13th July): BMW M
Motorsport shines at Mosport.
BMW M Motorsport dominated the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Jeff Westphal and Sean McAlister (both
USA) won the race for CarBahn with Peregrine Racing in the #39 BMW M4
GT4 EVO. They were followed by fellow BMW drivers Austin Krainz (USA)
and Steven McAleer (GBR) in the #27 BMW M4 GT4 EVO from Auto Technic
Racing, who took second place. Turner Motorsport and BMW M works
driver Robby Foley (USA) narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing
fourth – just half a second behind third place – in the two-hour race.
—
IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge (11th to 13th July):
Victory for Jake Walker.
The IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge also took place at
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Jake Walker (USA) won the GTDX class in
the #6 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Turner Motorsport. Samantha Tan (CAN)
finished fourth in the #38 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of ST Racing, which also
secured her victory in the Bronze category.
—
ADAC GT Masters (11th to 13th July): FK Performance Motorsport
narrowly misses podium.
At the ADAC GT Masters race weekend at the Nürburgring (GER),
BMW M Motorsport teams just missed out on the podium. In the second
race, Leyton Fourie (RSA) and Tim Zimmermann (GER) finished fourth in
the #11 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of FK Performance Motorsport. Their teammates
Eduardo Coseteng (PHI) and Julian Hanses (GER) took sixth place. In
the first race, the FK Performance Motorsport crews finished in
seventh and twelfth positions. The Schubert Motorsport duo Sandro and
Juliano Holzem (both GER) finished sixth and eleventh.
—
British GT (11th to 13th July): Century Motorsport celebrates
double podium in Snetterton.
BMW M Motorsport also had reason to celebrate at the British GT
Championship in Snetterton (GBR). On Sunday, Century Motorsport was
unbeatable in the GT4 category: Ravi Ramyead and Charlie Robertson
(both GBR) won in the #71 BMW M4 GT4 EVO, while teammates Branden
Templeton and Chris Salkeld (both GBR) secured third place in the #14
car, completing the double podium for Century Motorsport.
—
GT World Challenge Asia (11th to 13th July): BMW M Motorsport
duo defends championship lead.
At the GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS race weekend in
Fuji (JPN), Maxime Oosten (NED) and Ruan Cun Fan (CHN) finished third
and seventh in the Sil-Am class in the #89 BMW M4 GT3 EVO from Team
KRC, thereby maintaining their lead in the driver standings for their
class. The PLUS with BMW M Team Studie finished ninth and twelfth in
the Pro-Am category with their #5 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
—
NLS (5th July): Six class wins for BMW M Motorsport teams.
At the first four-hour race of the Nürburgring Endurance Series
(NLS) on the Nordschleife (GER) following the season highlight 24h
Nürburgring, it was the turn of the smaller classes to shine. In the
absence of GT3 vehicles, BMW M Motorsport customer teams secured six
class victories. Plusline Motorsport triumphed in the SP8T category
with the BMW M4 GT4 EVO. Additional victories came in the BMW 325i,
BMW M2 CS, BMW M240i, SP4, and VT3 classes.