GT races 2016

[BMW Power]

BMW M3 wins the 24H Silverstone.
A sensational performance secured overall victory for Team ABBA with Rollcentre Racing in the 24-hour race at Silverstone.



The endurance test also marked the first race of the new Touring Car Endurance Series (TCES). Richard Roberts, Charles Lamb, Martin Short and Richard Neary completed a total of 512 laps in their number 246 BMW M3. The quartet moved into the lead in the 19th hour of the race and finished three laps ahead of their nearest challenger. Four BMW race cars finished in the top ten of a strong field of over 40 vehicles. The RECY Racing Team claimed fifth place with the BMW 120d and won the D1 class. JJ Motorsport finished the race with the BMW M235i Racing in sixth place, also securing victory in the Cup1 class. Scangrip Racing (BMW 335i) was one place behind in seventh and the BMW M3 from JR Motorsport reached ninth position.

[BMW Power]

Exciting season opener in the “Green Hell”.
The first race of the VLN endurance championship season took place at the Nürburgring, and for BMW Motorsport this event marked the competitive debut of the BMW M6 GT3 at the Nordschleife.



Due to restricted opportunities for testing, the ROWE Racing, Schubert Motorsport and Walkenhorst Motorsport teams used the 62nd ADAC Westfalenfahrt as a training session under race conditions. It was vital to give the new vehicle a thorough once-over on the most difficult race circuit in the world. The highest-ranked BMW M6 GT3, in seventh place, was the Walkenhorst Motorsport number 35 car. The BMW M235i Racing Cup also enjoyed a thrilling start to the season. BMW DTM driver Tom Blomqvist made a guest appearance to get used to the Nordschleife in the BMW M235i Racing, and finished in third. He will compete in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring for Walkenhorst Motorsport in a BMW M6 GT3. Victory in the cup class was claimed by Michael Schrey and the former BMW Motorsport junior driver Alexander Mies from Team Bonk Motorsport. They profited from a retrospective time penalty for the “Eifelblitz“, which Thomas Jäger and Rudi Adams had driven to the chequered flag in first place. Team Schirmer’s Stefan van Campenhoudt claimed second place in the class. BMW teams were able to celebrate a total of seven class victories.

[BMW Power]

Third place for BMW Team Studie at season-opener.
The first race weekend of the 2016 Japanese Super GT Championship at the Okayama International Circuit saw the Japanese team finish on the podium in the GT300 class.



This was also the first podium finish for the new BMW M6 GT3 in Asia. Starting from third on the grid, BMW works driver Jörg Müller and his team-mate Seiji Ara remained on course for a spot on the podium throughout the entire race, and ultimately crossed the finish line in third place. The second BMW M6 GT3, run by Autobacs Racing Team Aguri and driven by Japanese duo Shinichi Takagi and Takashi Kobayashi, came home eleventh. Round two of the Japanese Super GT Championship is in Fuji on 3rd May.

[BMW Power]

Successful start to season for Rowe Racing.
The Rowe Racing team enjoyed a well-nigh perfect start to the new season in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup in Misano at the weekend.



Philipp Eng and Alexander Sims had to start Saturday’s qualifying race from 30th on the grid, but produced an impressive fightback in difficult conditions to finish second. This represented the first podium for the BMW M6 GT3 in Europe. Eng and Sims returned to the podium after the main race on Sunday afternoon: this time they came home third. Nick Catsburg and Stef Dusseldorp finished tenth on Saturday and 29th on Sunday in the second Rowe Racing BMW M6 GT3. As well as the two Rowe Racing cars, another BMW M6 GT3 was in action for the Belgian Boutsen Ginion Racing team in the Pro-Am class. Amateur driver Matias Henkola received support from BMW works driver Maxime Martin, who had travelled straight to Misano from the DTM test in Hockenheim. The two drivers produced an outstanding performance in the qualifying race, finishing second in the Pro-Am class. The duo then finished third in their class in the main race. Martin was in positive spirits at the end of the weekend: “Unfortunately we were spun at the start, but third place in the Pro-Am class is quite okay. It was the first time for the team and for my co-driver Matias. All in all it was a positive weekend.” This year’s Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup consists of five events. The next races take place in Brands Hatch on 7th and 8th May.

[BMW Power]

Successful season-opener for Krohn and Tomczyk.
BMW Motorsport Junior Jesse Krohn and BMW DTM driver Martin Tomczyk scored their first points at the ADAC GT Masters season-opener in Oschersleben.



The 60-minute race on Saturday saw them finish fifth in the BMW M6 GT3 run by Schubert Motorsport. That result earned them ten points in the standings.
Krohn had qualified ninth in the morning and handed the car over to Tomczyk in P11 after a faultless drive in the first part of the race. Thanks to an excellent pit stop by the Schubert crew Tomczyk returned to the track in P6. He managed to hold this position and finished fifth due to a drive-trough penalty given to one of the drivers ahead of him. Victory in the first race of the weekend went to Sebastian Asch and Luca Ludwig (Mercedes).
Race 2 starts at 1.15 p.m. on Sunday. Then Tomczyk will do qualifying and the opening stint of the race.

[BMW Power]

Krohn and Tomczyk with two points’ finishes.
BMW Motorsport Junior Jesse Krohn and BMW DTM driver Martin Tomczyk finished in the points in both races, on the first race weekend of the ADAC GT Masters at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.



After fifth place on Saturday, the Schubert Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 finished eighth on Sunday. Krohn and guest driver Tomczyk now have 14 points in the drivers' championship.
Tomczyk started the race Sunday after qualifying in 18th. In difficult conditions on the drying circuit, he was in third place shortly before the end of the session. However, he was unable to improve on that after being held up on his final lap and slipped back to 18th. The race was marked by a number of accidents and safety car periods, and Tomczyk brought all his experience to bear, putting in a good performance until the driver changeover. He handed control to Krohn, who was able to rejoin proceedings in 11th, thanks to some great teamwork in the pits that echoed Saturday's performance. In the final minutes of the race, the BMW Motorsport Junior pulled off great overtaking manoeuvres to claim eighth place.
The second race weekend of the ADAC GT Masters season takes place from 29th April to 1st May at the Sachsenring. This will be the first opportunity for the BMW Motorsport Juniors Krohn and Louis Delétraz to share the cockpit of the BMW M6 GT3.

[BMW Power]

First podium for the BMW M6 GT3 on the Nordschleife.
On only its second outing on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, the BMW M6 GT3 celebrated its first ever podium finish in the “Green Hell”.



Maxime Martin, Philipp Eng and Alexander Sims took third place at the 24h qualifying race with the number 23 BMW M6 GT3 of ROWE Racing. On 28th and 29th May, the new BMW M6 GT3 will debut at the legendary 24-hour race. The qualifying race mainly served as an intensive test in the preparation for the endurance classic in the Eifel mountains.
The weekend in the Eifel region was characterised by typically unpredictable weather conditions. Temperatures were low, with a mixture of sunshine, rain and even hail. The changeable nature of the weather affected the early phases of the six-hour race, before the sun gradually gained the upper hand.
Martin drove the fastest time in the second qualifying session on Sunday morning, securing the first pole position on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife for the new BMW M6 GT3. The Belgian also started the race, taking a commanding early lead. After 20 minutes, heavy rain and hail set in over a section of the circuit and the team decided to make an unscheduled pit stop to change tyres. The #23 BMW M6 GT3 dropped out of the top 20, but Martin, Sims and Eng quickly worked their way back to the front. An exciting finish saw the final driver, Sims, take the third podium spot.
Jörg Müller, Marco Wittmann and Jens Klingmann drove the sister car, with start number 22. They suffered some bad luck: Müller was hit by another car right after the start, damaging the front of the vehicle. After it took one hour and 20 minutes to repair the car, the trio were able to rejoin the race. Müller, Wittmann and Klingmann finished in 50th position. All three were competing as “guest drivers” for ROWE Racing and in the 24-hour race they will be in the BMW M6 GT3s from Schubert Motorsport.
The second-best BMW M6 GT3 at the 24h qualifying race was start number 100 from Walkenhorst Motorsport powered by Dunlop: Victor Bouveng, Christian Krognes and Michele di Martino finished in eighth position. They also recorded the fastest lap with a time of 8:18.226 minutes. The sister car with start number 101, driven by Matias Henkola, Kazunori Yamauchi, George Richardson and Max Sandritter, was forced to retire.
BMW DTM driver Tom Blomqvist once again competed in the BMW M235i Racing from Walkenhorst Motorsport. He used the qualifying race to familiarise himself further with the Nordschleife before taking on the 24-hour race in the BMW M6 GT3 from Walkenhorst Motorsport. After a tumultuous six hours, Blomqvist and his team-mates Alex Lambertz and Marc Ehret finished in 51st position. Victory in the BMW M235i Racing Cup Klasse went to Norbert Fischer, Christian Konnerth and Gabriele Piana from Pixum Team Adrenalin Motorsport.

[BMW Power]

Race debut for Delétraz at the Sachsenring.
The second race weekend of the ADAC GT Masters season at the Sachsenring (29th April – 1st May) sees the two BMW Motorsport Juniors Jesse Krohn and Louis Delétraz make their first joint appearance in the BMW M6 GT3.



Delétraz will make his race debut in the Schubert Motorsport car. The man from Switzerland who turned 19 just a few days ago was unable to compete in the first race weekend in Oschersleben due to a scheduling conflict with his parallel activities in Formula racing. However, Delétraz has already completed some tests in the BMW M6 GT3, making him well-prepared for the two races next weekend. He will compete in a total of four GT Masters events in 2016. Krohn will contest the entire season, which got underway with fifth and eighth for him and BMW DTM driver Martin Tomczyk in Oschersleben. Before Krohn and Delétraz head to the Sachsenring, they will attend the Welcome Event for the 2016 BMW Motorsport Junior Programme in Munich on Monday and Tuesday, where the new class of Juniors will be presented.
Three questions for... Louis Delétraz.
Louis, your second year as a BMW Motorsport Junior officially gets underway this week. Just how excited are you?
Louis Delétraz: "Very excited. The Welcome Event at the start of the coming week is a fantastic start to the new season of the programme. It will be fun to get to know the new Juniors and to no longer be the rookie in the programme (he laughs). I am also really looking forward to the following trip to the Sachsenring. I'm about to contest my first ever GT race and no doubt still have a lot to learn. However, I'm certain it will be an incredible experience. I can hardly wait to get started."
You will switch between the BMW M6 GT3 and a Formula car quite often this season. Have you already got used to this adjustment?
Delétraz: "I don't find it a problem. The adjustment is mainly in my head, and I learned to deal with that very well in the BMW Motorsport Junior Programme last year."
You got off to an outstanding start of your Formula racing season with your first win in the first race. What is your goal for your debut in the BMW M6 GT3?
Delétraz: "Yes, I really did have a dream debut in Formula V8 3.5. We'll have to wait and see whether things go as well at the Sachsenring. We'll see how the BMW M6 GT3 works on this very special track, and will hopefully finish in the points again in the race. If it turns out that we can do even better, naturally we will give it our all to make the most of the opportunity. But the competition in the ADAC GT Masters is of a very high calibre."

[BMW Power]

Four BMW M6 GT3s race in Monza.

Four BMW M6 GT3s were on the starting grid at the opener of the Blancpain Endurance Cup in Monza.



ROWE Racing fielded two cars in the race and, in addition to their regular drivers, opted for support from the experienced BMW works drivers Dirk Werner and Lucas Luhr in the three-hour race. However, both cars were forced to end the race early. The best-placed BMW M6 GT3 was the car of Boutsen Ginion Racing in 15th place in the Pro-Am Cup. The BMW M6 GT3 of BMW Team Italia headed by team boss Roberto Ravaglia retired early. The win went to McLaren.

[BMW Power]

BMW Team Teo Martín on the podium.
The International GT Open season started with a podium position for BMW Team Teo Martín and the new BMW M6 GT3.



Gustavo Yacamán and Fernando Monje finished in a strong second place in the first race in Estoril. The sister car driven by defending champion Miguel Ramos and Roldan Rodriguez crossed the finish line in seventh. Yacamán and Monje finished the second race on Sunday in sixth. The second BMW M6 GT3 retired before the end of the race.