Björn Lellmann, Head of Customer Racing at BMW M Motorsport:
“My personal impressions from the intense race weekend of the DTM and the ADAC GT4 Germany, with strong comebacks and a GT4 one-two finish, are still fresh. But no matter where I am on-site, I always keep an eye on the performances of the BMW M Motorsport customer teams worldwide. I’m absolutely thrilled that we celebrated numerous additional victories and podiums with the BMW M4 GT3 and BMW M4 GT4 in Europe and North America. We are now entering the crunch time of the season, and titles will soon be decided. Every single success is all the more valuable. Congratulations to all teams and drivers! Keep it up – the entire BMW M Motorsport family is rooting for you in these decisive weeks.”
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IMSA series (22nd-24th August): BMW M Motorsport teams narrowly miss the podium.At the GT race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Virginia International Raceway (USA), Paul Miller Racing and Turner Motorsport delivered strong performances but were not rewarded with a podium finish. In the GTD PRO class, Madison Snow and Neil Verhagen (both USA) finished sixth. The duo had started the race from second position and even led at times in the #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Paul Miller Racing. However, they were unlucky with the timing of a yellow flag about an hour before the end, which caused them to fall back. The yellow flag was triggered by the sister car with number 48. Dan Harper (GBR) and Max Hesse (GER), who had started from third place, were also in a promising position but retired due to a technical issue.
In the GTD class, Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher (both USA) drove a strong race in the #96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Turner Motorsport, finishing fourth in their class. The IMSA season concludes with two endurance highlights, where the BMW M Hybrid V8 will also be in action: the 6 Hours of Indianapolis (USA) in September and the Petit Le Mans in Road Atlanta (USA) in October.
IMPC (22nd-24th August): Turner Motorsport finishes fourth.As in the IMSA Series, BMW M Motorsport teams narrowly missed the podium in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at Virginia International Raceway (USA). Dillon Machavern and Francis Selldorff (both USA) finished the 2-hour race in the #95 BMW M4 GT4 EVO of Turner Motorsport in fourth place. Their teammates Robby Foley and Vincent Barletta (both USA) finished seventh, directly followed by Sean McAlister and Jeff Westphal (both USA) from CarBahn with Peregrine Racing.
VP Racing SportsCar Challenge (22nd-24th August): BMW M4 GT3 dominates.The third racing series at Virginia International Raceway (USA) was the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. In the three races – two regular and one rescheduled – all victories in the GTDX class and all three class wins in the Bronze Cup went to the BMW M4 GT3. Jake Walker (USA) celebrated a hat trick in the #6 car of Turner Motorsport, dominating the GT competition. In the Bronze category, two of the three wins went to Samantha Tan (CAN) in the #38 BMW M4 GT3 of ST Racing. The third victory was claimed by Vincent Barletta (USA) in the #95 BMW M4 GT3 of Turner Motorsport. Tan finished second in this race.
British GT (22nd-24th August): Podium and class victory for Century Motorsport.The title race in the British GT Championship is heating up, and Century Motorsport is right in the mix in the GT4 class. Thanks to a class victory in the penultimate race of the season at Brands Hatch (GBR), Ravi Ramyead and Charlie Robertson (both GBR) in their #71 BMW M4 GT4 EVO head into the GT4 season finale as overall leaders. The Pro-Am class win at Brands Hatch also meant second place overall on the podium. Their teammates Branden Templeton and Chris Salkeld (both GBR) finished sixth in the #14 BMW M4 GT4 EVO, securing third place in the Silver class. They are currently second in the Silver driver standings.
GT Cup Series (22nd-24th August): Two wins and a podium for Rudolf Beňo.Rudolf Beňo (SVK) was the man of the weekend at the GT Cup Series event at the Slovakia Ring (SVK). On home soil, Beňo won one of the two sprint races and the endurance race in the GT3 class, driving the #444 BMW M4 GT3 of Aries Racing. He finished second in the first sprint race. In the endurance race, he shared the car with Richard Gonda (SVK). Third place on the GT3 podium went to the #500 BMW M4 GT3 of Racing Trevor. The title decisions will be made at the season finale in Brno (CZE).
GT World Challenge America (15th-17th August): Wins and podium finishes at Road America.The fifth event of the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS at Road America (USA) featured all kinds of weather, and the BMW M4 GT3 EVO proved successful in all conditions. The Random Vandals Racing team collected a win and several podium finishes. In Saturday’s race, shortened to 15 laps due to heavy rain, championship leaders Kenton Koch and Connor De Phillippi (both USA) secured another class win in the Pro category by finishing second overall. Their teammates Bill Auberlen and Varun Choksey (both USA) joined them on the podium as second in the Pro class and third overall. In Sunday’s race, Koch/De Phillippi in the #99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO again finished second overall, which also meant second in their class. Auberlen/Choksey narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth in both classifications. In the Pro-Am class, Justin Rothberg and Robby Foley (both USA) in the #29 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Turner Motorsport secured second place in the podium in the second race. They had also reached the podium in their class in the first race but were later penalised.
GT America (15th-17th August): Another podium for Justin Rothberg.In the GT America races at Road America (USA), championship leader Justin Rothberg (USA) secured another podium finish. Driving the #29 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Turner Motorsport, Rothberg finished third in the second race. In Saturday’s first race, heavy rain created extremely challenging conditions, and Rothberg retired while battling for the podium. The race was abandoned and not restarted, with Rothberg classified fifth.
GT4 America (15th-17th August): One race, three BMW M4 GT4 EVOs on the podium.The heavy rain on Saturday also had a massive impact on the GT4 America races at Road America (USA). While the GT World Challenge America and GT America managed to hold their Saturday races partially, the GT4 America had to cancel its first race due to a thunderstorm with lightning. It will be rescheduled at the next race weekend. However, Sunday’s race went ahead, and in the turbulent event, three BMW M4 GT4 EVOs secured podium finishes. Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm (both USA) finished second overall in the #97 BMW M4 GT4 EVO of Random Vandals Racing, which also meant second in the Silver class, solidifying their championship lead. In the #82 car of BimmerWorld Racing, James Walker Jr. and Tyler McQuarrie (both USA) claimed third place in the Pro-Am class. The Am category victory went to the #17 BMW M4 GT4 EVO of Rigid Speed Company, driven by Joseph and Lucas Catania (both USA).
NLS (16th August): Seven class wins for BMW M Motorsport teams on the Nordschleife.In mid-August, the BMW M Motorsport teams returned to the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) for the sixth race of the season, the KW 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen. They secured seven class wins and additional podium finishes. The BMW M4 GT4 EVO was successful in three categories. The quartet of Carrie Schreiner, Janina Schall, Patricija Stalidzane (all GER), and Beitske Visser (NED) claimed victory in the AT3 class with the #146 car of GITI Tire Motorsport by WS Racing. The SP8T class win went to the #187 BMW M4 GT4 EVO of FK Performance Motorsport, driven by Ranko Mijatovic (SUI), Nick Wüstenhagen, and Tobias Wahl (both GER). In this highly competitive class, BMW M4 GT4 EVOs achieved a fivefold victory. The podium was completed by the #150 car of Team Bilstein by Black Falcon and the #155 car of Plusline Motorsport in second and third positions. In the SP10 category, the AV Racing by Black Falcon team secured third place on the podium with the #163 BMW M4 GT4 EVO. Additionally, BMW M Motorsport teams celebrated victories in the BMW 325i, BMW M240i, SP4, V3, and VT3 classes.
BTCC (15th-17th August): Two wins for Jake Hill at Knockhill.“King of the Hill” – this title is awarded by the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) to the most successful driver at the races in Knockhill, Scotland. This year, fittingly, it goes to Jake Hill (GBR). The reigning champion won two of the three races with his #1 BMW 330i M Sport of LKQ Euro Car Parts with WSR and added a fifth-place finish. In the first race, the team even celebrated a one-two finish: Charles Rainford (GBR) took second place in the #99 BMW 330i M Sport, behind his victorious teammate Hill.