BMW Motorsport News - Issue 02/2020.

Whether in the DTM, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, or countless other championships: Week after week BMW teams and drivers around the world do battle for points, victories and titles. Away from the track too, members of the large BMW Motorsport family around the world are also creating headlines. “BMW Motorsport News” allows us to regularly summarise all the action for you in a compact and informative manner. This way, you are always up to speed.

Formula E: Productive rookie test with Lucas Auer and Kyle Kirkwood.

One day after Maximilian Günther’s (GER) second place at the Marrakesh E-Prix (MAR), the BMW i Andretti Motorsport Team was in action once again. As part of the official rookie test for the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, BMW DTM driver Lucas Auer (AUT) and Andretti Autosport driver Kyle Kirkwood (USA) were given the opportunity to gain their first experiences at the wheel of the BMW iFE.20. Auer completed 86 laps in the #27 car and, with a personal best time of 1:17.327 minutes, finished in eighth place. Kirkwood completed 78 laps in the #28 BMW iFE.20 and finished fifth with a time of 1:17.272 minutes. “The test day was cool. I felt right at home in the BMW iFE.20,” said Auer. “Driving with a fully electric power unit feels totally different to driving in the DTM, for example. But with a car that is that well-tuned and with the right approach it’s no problem getting used to it. Working with the BMW i Andretti Motorsport Team went really well and we were able to work through our test programme well. It was a lot of fun.” Kirkwood, who will contest the North American Indy Lights series for Andretti Autosport in 2020, said: “I am very pleased with our performance and think that it was a really good test for the team. I used part of the morning to get used to the BMW iFE.20. There are a few things you have to learn in an electric car. Firstly, it’s strange hearing the airstream rather than the engine, but when you have found your rhythm, you can enjoy a real racing car that primarily impresses with the fact that you have the full torque available immediately. That feels fantastic.”

BMW SIM 120 Cup: Rogers and deJong receive ticket for finale in Munich.

In the second BMW SIM 120 Cup race, the VRS Coanda Simsport team celebrated victory. After 62 laps on the ‘Sebring International Raceway’, closing driver Mitchell deJong (USA) was the first to cross the finish line at the wheel of the virtual BMW M8 GTE. His team-mate Josh Rogers (AUS), who started from pole position, completed the first stint of the race. Maximilian Wenig and Maximilian Benecke (both GER), who won the season opener on the ‘Daytona International Speedway’, claimed second place for the Redline team, followed by Patrik Holzmann (GER) and Sebastian Job (GBR) of Red Bull Esports. The two BMW works drivers Philipp Eng (AUT) and Bruno Spengler (CAN) made a guest start for the Williams eSports team and finished in 21st and 22nd place with their team-mates Moritz Löhner and André Böttcher (both GER).

Rogers and deJong each received a cash prize of 1,200 US dollars. They will now also join Wenig and Benecke as competitors at the BMW SIM Live Event in Munich (GER) in December. DeJong was at the first edition of the BMW SIM Motorsport season finale last year – where he won. The next round of the BMW SIM 120 Cup will be held on 10th May, when the best sim racers in the world will compete in their BMW M8 GTEs at the Nürburgring.