IMSA 2016
 

Αγωνιστικό Ημερολόγιο 2016

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New generation raring to go: race debuts for the BMW M6 GTLM and BMW M6 GT3 at the 24h Daytona.

25.01.2016

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08.01.2015 to 10.01.2015, IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, Roar Before the 24, Daytona International Speedway, Daytona, ...

Exactly 40 years after the first victory of BMW at the 24 Hours of Daytona back in 1976, two new BMW GT cars will make their race debuts at this year’s iconic event. BMW Team RLL will field the BMW M6 GTLM in the GTLM class, while Turner Motorsport sends two BMW M6 GT3s into action in the GTD category. The two new cars replace the BMW Z4 GTLM and the BMW Z4 GT3 respectively, both of which claimed numerous victories in North America.

BMW Team RLL enters its eighth season with BMW Motorsport, and it promises to be a historic year: not only will the BMW M6 GTLM make its debut, but BMW is also celebrating its 100th anniversary. To mark this occasion, one of the two BMW M6 GTLMs will line up in the new IWSC season with the number 100. Like the number 25 car, it will feature a special livery, which will be unveiled at a press conference in Daytona on 27th January.

In order to ensure that the new car is able to compete at the head of a high-class GTLM field, featuring the likes of Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford and Porsche, BMW Team RLL has opted for continuity in its driver line-up. The regular crews for the two BMW M6 GTLMs remain unchanged from last year. Bill Auberlen (US) and Dirk Werner (DE) share the cockpit of the number 25 car. They will be supported in Daytona by BMW DTM drivers Augusto Farfus (BR) and Bruno Spengler (CA). As in 2015, John Edwards (US) and Lucas Luhr (DE) are the regular drivers at the wheel of the number 100 car. They will receive back-up in Daytona from Graham Rahal (US) and the only new face in the squad, Kuno Wittmer (CA).

Turner Motorsport will field two new BMW M6 GT3s in the GTD class. BMW works driver Jens Klingmann (DE) and Bret Curtis (US) will contest the entire season in the number 96 BMW M6 GT3. The duo will be supported in Daytona by Ashley Freiberg (US) and BMW DTM driver Marco Wittmann (DE). Like last year, the number 97 car will be shared by Michael Marsal (US) and Markus Palttala (FI). They will be joined at the Daytona International Speedway by BMW DTM driver Maxime Martin (BE) and BMW Motorsport Junior Jesse Krohn (FI).

The BMW teams and drivers are not only looking forward to the race itself, but also to experiencing the extensive modifications made to the Daytona International Speedway, as part of the “Daytona Rising” project, under race conditions. The Daytona 24 Hours take the green flag at 14:40 local time on Saturday, 30th January.

Bobby Rahal (Team Principal, BMW Team RLL):
“We are all excited about kicking the season off. Of course the most difficult race of the season is the first race, which is always a challenge for any team and manufacturer. But, as we've shown over the course of the last several years, we have had some pretty trouble-free runs. It's a tough race. Racing for 24 hours is difficult. It's just comes down to consistency, reliability and staying out of trouble. Even though it’s a new car, we go into this race feeling pretty confident. I think the BMW M6 GTLM is a more sophisticated car than we've had in the past but we have a lot of confidence in BMW, our drivers and our team and I think that our expectations of having a very good race are reasonable.”

Bill Auberlen (Number 25 BMW M6 GTLM):
“A new baby must learn to walk before it can run. However, the BMW M6 GTLM has certainly found its legs quickly, as we demonstrated at the Roar test. I am very proud to be part of the team bringing another BMW racing car to the track. This is the fifth generation I’ve had the honour of racing in the last two decades.”

Dirk Werner (Number 25 BMW M6 GTLM):
“This year will be my ninth Rolex 24 At Daytona and I am looking forward to it as much as my first race there. This year will certainly be special. BMW is celebrating its 100th anniversary and we will race the new BMW M6 GTLM for the first time. We certainly have some big challenges ahead of us, but with the support of BMW Team RLL and the BMW Motorsport team I think we have a good chance of getting a very good result.”

Augusto Farfus (Number 25 BMW M6 GTLM):
“It’s an honour to be back with BMW Team RLL and be part of the first race with the BMW M6 GTLM. The team did a very good job at the Roar test and the car felt very strong. Of course, in a 24-hour race anything can happen, but I think we will make a good first impression.”

Bruno Spengler (Number 25 BMW M6 GTLM):
“This will be the third 24-hour race of my career and my second consecutive Rolex 24 with BMW Team RLL. The BMW M6 GTLM is new, but I believe it to be quite well born. We had a strong Roar test and I am very motivated for the race.”

John Edwards (Number 100 BMW M6 GTLM):
“We’re finally switching from testing and development into race mode. It’s been great to see the improvements made during the development process with our new BMW M6 GTLM, and I’m confident that we’ll have good pace in 2016. We found a great car balance during the Roar test and I think we all feel ready to race. There are a lot of unanswered questions in the GTLM class this year, but I know that if we can just survive the first 22 hours of the race, BMW will be fighting for a great result on Sunday afternoon.”

Lucas Luhr (Number 100 BMW M6 GTLM):
“After many months of testing and developing our BMW M6 GTLM it is time to go racing. It is a big challenge to have the Rolex 24 as our first race, but I think we are well prepared. It is going to be a very tough fight this year in the GTLM class, but I’m looking forward to another year with BMW team RLL. I love racing in the US.”

Graham Rahal (Number 100 BMW M6 GTLM):
“I am thrilled to be joining BMW for a third year in a row, and now in the new BMW M6 GTLM. I think they have once again assembled a great team that gives us a good chance of having a successful race.”

Kuno Wittmer (Number 100 BMW M6 GTLM):
“I am really looking forward to my first race for BMW. Everyone on the team has made me feel at home. We have done a lot of extensive testing with the BMW M6 GTLM. The Rolex 24 will, of course, be its first real test. We are obviously a competitive team that wants to win, but patience is always the key in Daytona.”

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BMW M6 GTLM and BMW M6 GT3 master the challenge of Daytona.
Both the new BMW M6 GTLM and the BMW M6 GT3 proved their promising potentials in the very first round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

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At the classic 24 Hours of Daytona, the number 25 BMW M6 GTLM crossed the line in fifth in the GTLM category. Bill Auberlen, Dirk Werner, Augusto Farfus and Bruno Spengler shared the car over the course of their 721 racing laps.
In the GTD class, the number 97 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3, driven by Michael Marsal, Markus Palttala, Maxime Martin and Jesse Krohn, finished the debut race of BMW Motorsport’s new GT3 challenger in sixth. The number 96 sister car had dropped back early in the race due to technical problems, ultimately finishing 17th in the GTD category.
The sunrise at 07:13hrs over the Daytona International Speedway showed only one BMW M6 GTLM still in the Daytona 24 Hours. About four hours earlier, on lap 360, the number 100 BMW M6 GTLM, with Lucas Luhr behind the wheel, had a brake problem in turn one. Luhr was unhurt, but the damage from the impact forced the team to retire the car from the race. Luhr had shared driving duties with John Edwards, Graham Rahal and Kuno Wittmer.
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is set to continue on 19th March 2016 with another classic race, the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Back to news overview

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EHAN STILL ON CLOUD 9 AFTER CORVETTE RACING 1-2 ROLEX 24 FINISH
RACE PROGRAM LEADER LOVED LETTING HIS DRIVERS BATTLE

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Doug Fehan has led the Chevrolet’s Corvette Racing program since its inception in 1999, and you’d think he’s seen everything. After all, in 2015, a Corvette scored a GT Le Mans (GTLM) class win in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, and the GTE Pro class win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

So he was probably prepared for the Corvette C7.R one-two finish in the 2016 Rolex 24 at Daytona, right?

Wrong. “It was an epic battle,” Fehan said. “Truly, it doesn’t get any better than that. It’s what everyone on this team is racing for.”

“Epic” is not an overstatement. In a race where most every GTLM car took its turn at the head of the pack, the two bright-yellow Corvette C7.Rs, the No. 4 of Oliver Gavin and the No. 3 of Antonio Garcia, both veteran Corvette drivers, battled for the win right down to the checkered flag.

In the end, Gavin edged by Garcia with a 0.034-second margin of victory, the closest class finish in the history of the Rolex 24.

It would have been easier, and perhaps more sensible given the fact that there is not only a race but an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to win, to issue “team orders” – tell the two drivers to assume a careful one-two posture on the final laps to prevent them from taking each other out. And there have been times, Fehan says, when that has happened.

But not last Sunday. Fehan let the drivers know that there were no team orders, to battle it out on the track but to please, please, be careful. It was a decision Fehan made only after consulting with his bosses, and to their credit, he said, they wanted to see a full-fledged, race-to-the-finish ending themselves.

“We’ve had situations when it was smart to control the outcome,” Fehan explained. “But in this particular instance, for as hard as everyone worked, it was simply the right thing to do. This is a sporting event, a competition, a race, that’s why every individual on the team is there, to try and come away victorious. It was not a difficult decision for me, and I was very fortunate that my upper management, to whom I went, had enough confidence and faith in us to let us race for it.

“And it turned out OK.”

After the race, Gavin said, “All I could think about was my boss, Doug Fehan, and what he would say if we did touch!”

Fehan said that the parity in the GT Le Mans class has never been better judging from the race and from the lap times among the manufacturers, all of which logged fast laps in the one minute, 44-second bracket. He said he doesn’t expect to see major “Balance of Performance” alterations between now and the next race, the Twelve Hours of Sebring in March. BoP, as it is called, is when the IMSA rulesmakers add or subtract performance from cars to ensure a level playing field.

And as for the troubled debut of the Ford GT team?

“They’ll be fine,” Fehan said. “They had the pace. You can test all you want, but things happen under race conditions that you can’t anticipate. It happened to them, and it has happened to us.”

Source:
IMSA Wire
- See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/fehan-s....GbClcfL5.dpuf

Rolex 24 at Daytona

Daytona International Speedway / 3.56 miles

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

January 27 - 31, 2016 / Daytona Beach, Florida

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BMW Team RLL tests the BMW M6 GTLM in Sebring.
BMW Team RLL spent three test days at the Sebring International Raceway preparing the BMW M6 GTLM for the second race of the IWSC, the iconic 12 Hours of Sebring.

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BMW drivers Bill Auberlen, John Edwards, Lucas Luhr, Dirk Werner and Kuno Wittmer shared the driving duties at the 5.955-kilometre circuit. Turner Motorsport was also in action, testing the BMW M6 GT3, with which the team competes in the GTD class of the IWSC. The 12 Hours of Sebring will take place on 18th/19th March.
Three questions for ... Bill Auberlen.
Bill, what areas of the new car have you worked on during testing?
Bill Auberlen: “We worked on several areas. We fine-tuned the overall package in order to further improve the BMW M6 GTLM and to make it as reliable as possible. In addition, the test served us drivers to further get acquainted with the size of the car and the central seat position. You try to understand how many millimetres are left before you hit the curb or leave the track. As a driver, you are always fine-tuning on that.”
What do you specifically like about Sebring?
Auberlen: “Sebring is my most favourite circuit next to Long Beach. For me, the 12-hour race is the best endurance event in the world and it is the most historical sports car race in the United States. The best of the best from the world come here to compete. Our class is so competitive, so if you are within the top three you are doing great.”
What do you expect from the 12-hour race?
Auberlen: “We have won this race quite a few times and have often been on the podium. If we take what we learned from Daytona and improve on it, then we can aim for a top result in Sebring.”

BMW Team RLL: Optimistic ahead of Sebring.
A strong two-day test at Sebring International Raceway at the end of February has BMW Team RLL feeling very positive about success at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

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BMW Team RLL started to write a new chapter in BMW racing history at the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona with two new BMW M6 GTLM racing cars. Both cars ran up front and led the class, but teething problems resulted in a fifth place finish by the number 25 car. Unfortunately, a mechanical failure put the number 100 machine into the wall just past the 14 hour mark, resulting in a DNF.
This year is a historic one for The Ultimate Driving Machine® as Bavarian Motor Works celebrates its 100th anniversary. To mark the occasion both of the M6 machines will race with unique liveries and numbers significant to the marque. The number 100 M6, with John Edwards, Lucas Luhr and Kuno Wittmer driving at Sebring, looks forward to BMW’s next century with an artistic theme that reveals a night-glow surprise.
The number 25 M6, driven at Sebring by Bill Auberlen, Bruno Spengler and Dirk Werner races in honour of BMW Motorsport’s first season racing in the US in 1975. The car displays images of four significant racing BMWs; the 3.0 CSL, M1, M3 and V12 LMR. BMW has a special history with the 12 Hours of Sebring with two overall wins at the classic event; 1975 3.0 CSL and 1999 V12 LMR. BMW also has scored four GT class wins with the BMW M3; 1997, 1998, 2011 and 2012.
The 64th 12 Hours of Sebring takes the green flag at 10:40 a.m. Saturday, 19th March.

Maiden pole for the BMW M6 GTLM in Sebring.
Bill Auberlen secured GTLM pole position at the wheel of the number 25 BMW M6 GTLM, setting a best lap time of 1:58.402 minutes.

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John Edwards finished just 0.190 seconds behind his team-mate and will start the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) from P2 in the number 100 car.
In only its second appearance in the IWSC, the BMW M6 GTLM claimed its first pole position. For BMW Team RLL it was the first pole since Laguna Seca 2015. Auberlen’s previous pole position dates back to last season’s Long Beach race. Also at that time Edwards was in P2. Auberlen will share driving duties in the number 25 car with Dirk Werner and BMW DTM driver Bruno Spengler on Saturday. Edwards joins forces with Lucas Luhr and Kuno Wittmer.
The Turner Motorsport team also experienced a successful qualifying in Sebring. For most of the session, BMW works driver Jens Klingmann sat on top of the GTD field at the wheel of the number 96 BMW M6 GT3. Only in the dying moments of the session he was relegated to third, with a lap time of 2:02.660 minutes. However, this is an excellent starting position for Klingmann and his team-mates Ashley Freiberg and Bret Curtis for Saturday’s race.
The number 97 sister car, driven by Markus Palttala, finished ninth in GTD. The Finn will share the wheel with BMW Motorsport Junior Jesse Krohn and Michael Marsal for the 12-hour classic.
The 64th running of the Sebring 12 Hours will go green on Saturday at 10:40 local time.

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Podiums for the BMWM6 GTLM and the BMW M6 GT3.
BMW Team RLL secured the maiden podium result for the newly developed BMW M6 GTLM at the legendary 12-hour race in Sebring.

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Bill Auberlen, Dirk Werner and Bruno Spengler finished second in the GTLM class at round two of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC), sharing driving duties in the number 25 BMW M6 GTLM.
When last-stint driver Werner crossed the line after 235 laps of the Sebring International Raceway, the gap to the winning Corvette was 2.882 seconds. John Edwards, Lucas Luhr and Kuno Wittmer in the number 100 BMW Team RLL car also had their sights firmly set on a podium finish, until the car was spun by another competitor, dropping it back to sixth in the final phase of the race.
Following the car’s first pole position on Friday scored by Auberlen, this result is the next milestone in the young racing career of the BMW M6 GTLM. It was again Auberlen who clocked the fastest GTLM lap time of 1:59.182 minutes during the race. Spengler, usually racing with BMW Team MTEK in the DTM, was able to celebrate on the podium after his very first visit to Sebring.
The Turner Motorsport team, fielding two new BMW M6 GT3 cars in the GTD category, also had every reason to be satisfied with the outcome of the race. Ashley Freiberg, Bret Curtis and BMW works driver Jens Klingmann finished second with car number 96. It was also the very first podium for the new BMW M6 GT3 car. Their team-mates Markus Palttala, BMW Motorsport Junior Jesse Krohn and Michael Marsal came seventh with the number 97 BMW M6 GT3.
Once more the enthusiastic crowd in Sebring experienced an action-packed race with countless twists and turns. After one and a half hours it started raining heavily, causing several offs and accidents. For safety reasons, the race director red-flagged the endurance classic after about three hours. Only when the rain eased off and the circuit had started drying out, did the field go out again after the race had been suspended for more than two-hours.
However, conditions remained changeable, so the fans witnessed many more incidents over the course of the race. The outcome was determined in a furious sprint that started after the 13th full-course yellow in the final 20 minutes.
The third round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be held in Long Beach on 16th April 2016.

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"There is no reason for disappointment at BMW Team RLL."
The 2016 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship (IWSC) entered its second round last weekend with the 12 Hours of Sebring.

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The BMW teams enjoyed success at the classic in the US state of Florida. On Friday, Bill Auberlen of BMW Team RLL claimed the first pole position for the new BMW M6 GTLM. This was followed on Saturday by the first podium for the GT sports car, which is making its debut in the IWSC in 2016. At the end of an eventful race, which was suspended due to heavy rain, Auberlen, Dirk Werner and Bruno Spengler came home second in the GTLM class at the wheel of the number 25 BMW M6 GTLM. Their team-mates John Edwards, Lucas Luhr and Kuno Wittmer finished sixth in the number 100 car. There was also a podium in the GTD class: Ashley Freiberg, Bret Curtis and Jens Klingmann finished runner-up in the #96 BMW M6 GT3 of Turner Motorsport. This was the first podium for the new BMW M6 GT3 on the international stage.
Three questions for ... Bill Auberlen.
Bill, you scored the pole position, did the fastest race lap and finished the race in second place. How would you sum up the weekend?
Bill Auberlen: “We can be happy, but on the other hand, even more would have been possible. We made some mistakes and came up some three seconds short of the win. But there is no reason for disappointment at BMW Team RLL. We scored valuable points and proved the BMW M6 GTLM is ready to compete. It won’t be long until we’re on the top sped of the podium.”
Next up in the IWSC is the Long Beach Grand Prix – your home race. What are your expectations?
Auberlen: “I have won that race on two out of the last three years. And I am confident that we can fight for the first BMW M6 GTLM victory at my home circuit.”
You have been part of the BMW family since a long time. How many years have you raced for BMW?
Auberlen: “Twenty one years. It has been an amazing time for me and, as we proved here in Sebring, neither BMW nor myself are slowing down. This relationship continues to get better and better and I am extremely proud to race with the company into its next 100 years.”