BMW M Motorsport News, 13th July 2021

Nürburgring Endurance Series: BMW Junior Team and Walkenhorst Motorsport win at the Nordschleife double header.

In a packed racing programme at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (GER) races five and six of the Nürburgring Endurance Series 2021 (NLS) were held as a double header on Saturday and Sunday and the overall win went to the BMW M6 GT3 on both days.

In the fourth NLS race two weeks ago, BMW Juniors Dan Harper (GBR), Neil Verhagen (USA) and Max Hesse (GER) celebrated their first overall win in the series, making them the youngest team to date to win an NLS race. They followed on from this seamlessly on Saturday in NLS5, and took their second win in a row in the #44 BMW M6 GT3. Starting from fifth on the grid, Hesse quickly worked his way up through the field and took the lead during his stint, which his colleagues Verhagen and Harper brought home successfully.

“It’s further evidence of just how quickly our BMW Juniors learn,” said mentor Jochen Neerpasch. “It wasn’t an easy race, and the race definitely wasn’t gifted to them, and they handled every situation well. Hats off to them, they made it to the front.” Hesse said: “I got off to a good start and it wasn’t long before we were in P2. From then on we had great pace with fantastic duels, and we were already leading by twelve seconds when we pitted for the first time. We’re still learning, but it’s always great to win.” Harper added: “The first win in NLS4 was really special, but the second win feels just as good. All three of us had a smooth race with fantastic stints. Huge thanks to BMW M Motorsport and BMW Team RMG, and everyone supporting us. All the hard work is starting to pay off with results now.” “It feels amazing to be on the top step of the podium once again,” said Verhagen. “It was a fantastic team performance, and we couldn’t have done it without this hard teamwork.” However, unfortunately the trio was unable to take part in the sixth race of the season on Sunday after an accident in the morning’s qualifying session. Harper, driving, was unharmed, but it wasn’t possible to repair the car in time for the start of the race.

It was another BMW M6 GT3 that dominated proceedings on Sunday with car #34 of Walkenhorst Motorsport with Christian Krognes (NOR), David Pittard and Ben Tuck (both GBR) at the wheel. In the morning’s qualifying session, Krognes set a new qualifying record with a time of 7:51.807 minutes. Starting from pole position, he and his two team-mates went on to bring home Walkenhorst Motorsport’s first NLS win of the season in the afternoon’s four-hour race.

In addition to the two overall wins, Saturday and Sunday saw a total of ten class wins for the BMW M Motorsport teams. Four of them were secured by Adrenalin Motorsport Team Alzner Automotive. In the strong field of the VT2 class, the team won both races with the #481 BMW 330i, driven by Christopher Rink, Philipp Stahlschmidt and Daniel Zils (all GER). In the V4 class, it was the team’s #1 BMW 325i that was victorious on both days. Rink shared the car with Danny Brink and Philipp Leisen (both GER). (The class results of Sunday’s race had not been officially confirmed by the editorial deadline).

The class wins in the BMW M240i category went to Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport on both days. The winning #700 BMW M240i was driven by Michael Fischer and Markus Fischer (both AUT). In addition, Hofor Racing won the H4 class on Saturday with the #610 BMW M3 GTR and the SP6 class on Sunday with the #211 BMW M3 CSL. Martin Kroll, Michael Kroll and Alexander Prinz (all SUI) were in action in both cars, with Chantal Prinz (SUI) joining them in the H4 class.

In the CUP5 class, the BMW M2 CS Racing Cup NLS, the FK Performance Motorsport won on both days with the #875 BMW M2 CS Racing. There were also five podium finishes for the BMW M4 GT4. In the SP10 class, Walkenhorst Motorsport finished in second place with the #181 BMW M4 GT4 on both days. AVIA Sorg Rennsport also finished on the podium with the #180 BMW M4 GT4 in P3 on Saturday. In the SP4T+SP8T class, the Yeeti Racing team finished in second place with the #159 BMW M4 GT4 on both days.

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Watkins Glen: Acclaimed Turner Motorsport victory in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.

The IMSA series was at Watkins Glen (USA) for the second time in a row on the first weekend in July – and Turner Motorsport celebrated an acclaimed victory in the two-hour IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race. In conditions that were treacherous at times, IMSA record winners Bill Auberlen and Dillon Machavern (both USA) were unbeatable in the #95 BMW M4 GT4. This was already the case in qualifying, when Machavern put car #95 in pole position.

In the actual race, starting driver Machavern kept the Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 at the front and was in the lead when he handed the car over to his team-mate Auberlen. The 52-year-old seasoned driver wowed viewers once again with a magnificent performance. First, he rapidly broke away from the pack, but wasn’t put off his stride when yellow flags brought the field back together and it then started to rain during the final laps. With all his skills he fought off attacks from behind and got the maximum out of the slicks on the wet track.

After two hours, Auberlen crossed the finish line as the winner with the #95 BMW M4 GT4. After three podium finishes, it was the first win of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season for Auberlen/Machavern. This success saw the duo take the lead in the GS drivers’ standings. Their team-mates Vincent Barletta and Robby Foley (both USA) finished the race in a strong fifth place in the #96 BMW M4 GT4, which saw them move up into third place in the drivers’ standings.

However, Turner Motorsport was unlucky in the following IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Watkins Glen. They had a technical issue at the start, and the ensuing repair pushed the #96 BMW M6 GT3, with Auberlen and Foley, right down the field. After two hours and 40 minutes they crossed the finish line in twelfth place in the GTD class. Auberlen and Foley still lead the GTD drivers’ standings of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

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ADAC GT Masters: Podium for Schubert Motorsport at Zandvoort.

The ADAC GT Masters headed to Zandvoort in the Netherlands at the weekend, where the Schubert Motorsport team clinched another podium finish. Nick Yelloly (GBR) and Jesse Krohn (FIN) in the #10 BMW M6 GT3 finished third on Saturday in the first of the two races. The duo retired from the race on Sunday.

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Italian GT Championship: Second endurance race of the season at Mugello.

The ‘Circuito Mugello’ (ITA) hosted the second endurance race of the Italian GT Championship 2021 on the first weekend in July. In the #7 BMW M6 GT3 of BMW Team Italia, the two regular drivers Stefano Comandini (ITA) and Marius Zug (GER) were assisted by BMW works driver Bruno Spengler (CAN) once again. Starting from seventh on the grid, the trio had a good start position for the three-hour race but unfortunately starting driver Comandini was hit by a competitor in the opening stages. While the #7 BMW M6 GT3 was able to continue racing with a large deficit, the BMW Team Italia trio was forced to make do with 15th place overall in the end. However, their team-mates Nicola Neri, Giuseppe Fascicolo (both ITA) and Alfred Nilsson (SWE) secured victory in the GT4 AM class with the #215 BMW M4 GT4.

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ADAC GT4 Germany: Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport on the podium at Zandvoort.

Along with the ADAC GT Masters, the ADAC GT4 Germany headed to Zandvoort in the Netherlands last weekend. On the dune circuit near Amsterdam, Gabriele Piana (ITA) and Michael Schrey (GER) finished on the podium. On Sunday, the duo finished the second race in P2 with the #2 BMW M4 GT4 of Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport. The two drivers finished in seventh place in race one on Saturday. After three events of the season so far, Piana/Schrey still have a clear lead in the drivers’ standings.

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British GT Championship: Century Motorsport celebrates one-two result at Donington.

It was the perfect racing Sunday for the Century Motorsport team in the British GT Championship. At Donington Park (GBR), the team celebrated a one-two result in the GT4 class with their two BMW M4 GT4s. The iconic track in the heart of England hosted the third round of the 2021 season last weekend.

Gus Burton and Will Burns (both GBR) started the two-hour race from ninth on the grid in the #57 BMW M4 GT4. The duo were unperturbed by the turbulent race with several safety car periods, and secured the win with a clear lead. Their team-mates Andrew Gordon-Colebrook and Chris Salkled (both GBR) rounded off the fantastic result for Century Motorsport in the #9 BMW M4 GT4. They finished in second place in the GT4 class, which also saw them clinch the win in the Pro-Am classification.

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BMW M2 CS Racing Cup NLS: FK Performance Motorsport with two wins at the Nordschleife.

As part of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS), races five and six of the season in the BMW M2 CS Racing Cup NLS were held at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (GER) this weekend and one team was unbeatable. The FK Performance Motorsport team took the win with the #875 BMW M2 CS Racing on both days. The car had Marc Ehret, Moritz Oberheim and Nico Otto (all GER) at the wheel.

Second place on the podium went to Thomas Leyherr and Lars Peucker (both GER) in car #899 of LifeCarRacing / KRAC im ADAC e.V. on Saturday. On Sunday it was Francesco Merlini (ITA), Yannick Fübrich (GER) and David Griessner (AUT) in the #870 BMW M2 CS Racing of Adrenalin Motorsport Team Alzner Automotive who finished in second place. Third place on Saturday went to Tobias Vazquez (GER) in car #883. On Sunday it was Florian Weber, Davide Dehren (both GER) and William Tregurtha (GBR) in the #888 BMW M2 CS Racing of Walkenhorst Motorsport who finished third.

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BMW M2 CS Racing Cup Benelux: Third event of the season at Spa-Francorchamps.

The BMW M2 CS Racing Cup Benelux headed to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium at the weekend, where three races were held once again: two 30-minute races, and a 55-minute race with a mandatory pit stop.

In the first race, Colin Caresani (NED) won from pole position, ahead of Stienes Longin (BEL) and Tom Van Rompuy (BEL). Victory in race two went to Fred Caprasse (BEL). Caresani finished second this time around, ahead of Steven Brams (BEL). In the third and final race it was Caprasse who won again. Van Rompuy and his team-mate Erik Qvick (BEL) finished in second place, while the third spot on the podium went to Longin and his team-mate Peter Guelinckx (BEL).

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BMW M2 CS Racing Cup Italy: Zanasi and Marcucci win at Mugello.

The BMW M2 CS Racing Cup Italy held its third event of the season at Mugello (ITA) on the first weekend in July. In the first of the two races, Marco Zanasi (ITA) celebrated his first win of the season from pole position. P2 and P3 on the podium went to Gigi Ferrara and Gustavo Sandrucci (both ITA). In the turbulent second race, Lorenzo Marcucci (ITA) took his second win of the year. Sandrucci finished on the podium again, this time in second place, and Filippo Maria Zanin (ITA) crossed the finish line in P3.

After three events, Sandrucci leads the overall standings of the BMW M2 CS Racing Cup Italy. Zanin is in second place overall. The fourth round of the season will be held at Imola (ITA) after the summer break, on the first weekend in September.