Björn Lellmann, Head of Customer Racing at BMW M Motorsport:
“It was another fantastic weekend! In the USA, not only did Paul Miller Racing secure another podium with the BMW M4 GT3 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, but before that Turner Motorsport celebrated a superb one-two result with the BMW M4 GT4 in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. BMW Italia Ceccato Racing looks back on a strong weekend in the Italian GT Championship in Monza with P1 and P3 on Saturday. There we also enjoyed thrilling racing in the BMW M2 CS Racing Cup Italy. And in Zandvoort, Walkenhorst Motorsport finished on the podium with the BMW M4 GT4. Congratulations to all the drivers and teams!”
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Top topics in this newsletter:
– One-two result for Turner Motorsport in the IMPC.
– Bruno Spengler and Jens Klingmann win with BMW Italia Ceccato Racing in Italy.
– Podium for Walkenhorst Motorsport and the BMW M4 GT4 in the GT4 Germany.
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IMPC: Turner Motorsport Celebrates One-Two Result at Watkins Glen.
Watkins Glen (USA) is a special place for Turner Motorsport. The team celebrated a superb one-two result in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (IMPC) at the iconic racetrack on Saturday. Vincent Barletta and Robby Foley (both USA) won in the #96 BMW M4 GT4, ahead of their team-mates Robert Megennis and Cameron Lawrence (both USA) in the #95 car. After Sebring (USA), this was the second one-two result of the season for Turner Motorsport, and the third time in a row that the team has won the race at Watkins Glen.
Bad weather delayed the start of the race by 45 minutes, and the track was still wet at the outset, but that didn’t stop Barletta from handing over the #96 to Foley at the front of the field. Foley kept the car in this position on a drying track and with three yellow flag periods to win with a lead of 0.680 seconds over team-mates Megennis and Lawrence in the #95 car.
“It was a crazy race,” said Foley. “Vin did an amazing job and got us through the first half of the race well, when it was still very wet. We were expecting the weather to be like this and opted for a kind of rain set-up, and the car was really good. It’s a great day for the team. It’s fantastic to get another one-two result. And now we want to take this momentum with us.”
Starting driver Barletta said: “It was a little bit difficult, but it wasn’t long before the track improved. I tried to find my pace, to not lose any time. The yellow flag periods suited us, which isn’t always the case. We were able to pit early and then Robby did the rest.”
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Italian GT Championship: First Win of the Season for Bruno Spengler and Jens Klingmann.
The Italian GT Championship headed to iconic Monza (ITA) at the weekend for its second sprint event of the season. Once again, the two BMW M works drivers Bruno Spengler (CAN) and Jens Klingmann (GER) represented the BMW Italia Ceccato Racing team run by BMW M motorsport legend Roberto Ravaglia (ITA). They won the Saturday race in the team’s #7 BMW M4 GT3, which, after their podium finish at the opener, saw them celebrate their first win of the season. They crossed the finish line in a podium position again in race two on Sunday but were one of the many driver pairings awarded a time penalty retrospectively. That saw them classified in sixth place. Spengler and Klingmann are now at the top of the championship table.
Their team-mates Francesco de Luca and Carlo Tamburini (both ITA) completed Saturday’s success. They finished in third place on the overall podium in the #8 BMW M4 GT3, which saw them secure the win in the Pro-Am class. They finished sixth in their class in the race on Sunday.
“It was a great weekend for us. The team did a fantastic job,” said Spengler. “We made another huge leap with the car from Friday to Saturday. The car was very competitive and consistent during the race. I was the starting driver on Saturday, I was fourth on the grid and was in first place after the first lap. I was able to build up a small lead and then Jens delivered a perfect second half of the race. The win was superb for the whole team. On top of that was the Pro-Am win and the third place overall for our team-mates Francesco and Carlo. It was an amazing result for the whole team. The win meant that we were awarded a success penalty of 15 seconds during a pit stop in the race on Sunday but we still crossed the finish line in third place. Unfortunately, there was a little bit of contact at the start and race control decided to award us a three-second time penalty. Despite that the weekend was very positive. It’s great for the whole team who worked so hard to get the result. Now I am looking forward to the next races. We’re at the top of the table, but it’s very close.”
“It was a very positive weekend for us,” added Klingmann. “The first win of the season on Saturday saw us pick up a lot of valuable points. Overall, it was a great result for the whole team. Bruno paved the way for success at the start. He did the hard work, then my job was to manage the win. It’s always something special to win at Monza, the atmosphere there is unique. The 15-second success penalty after the win made it much more difficult to pick up full points on Sunday. Despite that we finished in a podium position again. We lost a few places retrospectively, but the points we did get are very important for the championship. Now we will take the positive impetus with us into the next race. I’m looking forward to it already!”
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ADAC GT4 Germany: Walkenhorst Motorsport on the Podium at Zandvoort.
The dune circuit at Zandvoort hosted the second round of ADAC GT4 Germany 2023 at the weekend. And there was a podium finish for the BMW M4 GT4. Walkenhorst Motorsport secured second place in race two with car #34 and drivers Mex Jansen (NED) and Nico Hantke (GER). They finished the first race in fifth place.
The Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport team missed out on the podium by just a few tenths of a second in race two. After a thrilling 33 laps, Tim Reiter and Leon Wassertheurer (both GER) in the #5 BMW M4 GT4 finished fourth. The duo crossed the finish line in sixth place in the first race.
Marat Khayrov (KGZ) and Gabriele Piana (ITA) in the #2 BMW M4 GT4 of Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport finished seventh in both races. There were also top ten positions for FK Performance Motorsport as Tom Wood and Mohan Ritson (both GBR) crossed the finish line in ninth and eighth place in car #15.
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BMW M2 CS Racing Cup Italy: Thrilling Race Action at Monza.
The third event of the 2023 BMW M2 CS Racing Cup Italy season at Monza (ITA) at the weekend offered captivating, thrilling race action. The win was hard fought in both races and the decisions went down to the wire.
In the first race it was Jody Vullo (ITA) who ultimately prevailed. He won in his #62 BMW M2 CS Racing, with a lead of not even half a second over Luigi Ferrara (ITA / #1). Third place on the podium went to Steven Giacon (ITA / #6). In race two it was Marco Zanasi (ITA) in the BMW M2 CS Racing with the #69 car who took a narrow win. In first place, he had a margin of less than four-tenths of a second over Ferrara, who finished second again. Giacon finished third once more. Ferrara continues to lead the championship standings ahead of Vullo and Zanasi.