BMW Motorsport News - Issue 26/2019.

Whether in the DTM, the FIA World Endurance Championship, 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. The “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: BMW i Andretti Motorsport tests in Spain.

Preparations for the second season in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship are in full swing at BMW i Andretti Motorsport. The next testing session is scheduled for the coming week, at “Circuit Calafat” in Spain. At the wheel will be BMW works driver Alexander Sims (GBR) and Maximilian Günther (GER). Last season, 22-year-old Günther drove for Geox Dragon in Formula E. He started his single-seater racing career in the 2011 Formula BMW Talent Cup – the BMW talent promotion programme at that time. Over the coming weeks and months, various drivers will be involved in BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s preparations, and will complete tests in the simulator and on the track. 

GT4 France: BMW M4 GT4 reaches the podium. 

At the fourth race weekend of the season in the GT4 France, Ricardo van der Ende (NED) and Christopher Campbell (FRA) claimed second place to reach the podium in Saturday's race at Spa-Francorchamps (BEL). After 21 laps in the #17 BMW M4 GT4, the duo from Team L'Espace Bienvenue was just 0.785 seconds away from first place. In Friday's race, Laurent Hurgon and Julien Piguet (both FRA) put in a strong performance, finishing fourth in the BMW Team France #3 BMW M4 GT4 and just missing out on the podium. They secured third place in the Pro-Am category. Both races were part of the supporting programme for the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

VLN: Comeback for legendary “Eifelblitz”. 

A legend returns: The legendary 2009 version of the BMW M3 GTR S will be returning to the Nordschleife (GER) this coming weekend, at the fifth race of the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring. At the wheel: Johannes Scheid (GER). The former champion and Scheid Motorsport team principal will be appearing behind the wheel of the legendary car to complete a demo lap on the Nordschleife at the ROWE 6 Hours ADAC Ruhr-Pokal race. The “Eifelblitz” will compete for the FEV Racing team, which has owned the car with cult status since 2012. Together with Scheid Motorsport, the team celebrated two overall wins in the VLN, four class wins and a fifth place at the Nürburgring 24-hour race between 2003 and 2009. “It is a lovely gesture from FEV to allow me to drive a demo lap in the car to mark my 50 years of involvement in motorsport,” said Scheid. “I was involved in constructing this car from scratch, every single part. The steering and the entire front axle were adjusted to the conditions on the Nordschleife, and we also had to modify the transmission and the exhaust. But after all this time, I will have to check again to see where the buttons and everything are. Of course, I won't be driving at race speed.”