The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge held a four-hour race this weekend, ‘Road America 240’ on the track of the same name in the US state of Wisconsin. The Stephen Cameron Racing team devised the perfect strategy to pull off a recovery race that put the #43 BMW M4 GT4 on the podium. Sean Quinlan and Greg Liefooghe (both USA) moved up from 16th on the grid into second place, only missing out on victory by a few tenths of a second.
There were four yellow flag periods during the first half of the race, and Stephen Cameron Racing steadily moved their way up the field with well-timed pit stops. In the final phase, Liefooghe planned to go for the lead but another yellow with 35 minutes to go favoured the leading Mercedes in the battle for the win. The #43 BMW M4 GT4 ultimately crossed the finish line in second place, trailing by just 0.896 seconds.
Dillon Machavern and Bill Auberlen (both USA) finished in seventh place in the #95 BMW M4 GT4 of Turner Motorsport. Their team-mates Robby Foley and Vincent Barletta (both USA) finished twelfth in the #96 car.
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ADAC GT Masters: Fourth event of the season at the Nürburgring.
After a break of several weeks, it was time for the fourth round of the ADAC GT Masters season at the Nürburgring (GER) this weekend. In the race on Saturday, the two BMW M Motorsport works drivers Jesse Krohn (FIN) and Nick Catsburg (NED) were unlucky in the #20 BMW M4 GT3 of Schubert Motorsport. They were in the top ten when tyre damage forced them to retire. In the race on Sunday, Krohn and Catsburg moved up the field well after starting in 20th place on the grid; they crossed the finish line in ninth place.
In the #10 BMW M4 GT3 of Schubert Motorsport, Ben Green (GBR) and Niklas Krütten (GER) finished the first race in tenth place. In the second qualifying session on Sunday, Green set the second-fastest time, and was only 0.075 seconds off pole position. However, a penalty pushed him and Krütten down into seventh on the grid. They finished the race in P11 after 42 laps.
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Japanese Super GT Championship: Augusto Farfus back in Japan.
BMW M works driver Augusto Farfus (BRA) was in action in the Japanese Super GT Championship with BMW M Team Studie once again at the weekend. In Fuji (JPN) he shared the cockpit of the #7 BMW M4 GT3 with Seiji Ara (JPN). In Saturday’s qualifying session the duo finished in eighth place in the strong field. However, a technical issue forced them to retire from the race on Sunday with only a few laps remaining.
The previous weekend, Ara and BMW M Team Studie contested the Super Taikyu Series at Autopolis (JPN). Ara shared stints in the #555 BMW M4 GT3 of PLUS with BMW Team Studie with Tomohide Yamaguchi and Yuya Sakamoto (both JPN). The trio finished the five-hour race in fourth place in the ST-X class.
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GT4 European Series: Podium finishes for the BMW M4 GT4 at Spa-Francorchamps.
The GT4 European Series was at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on the last weekend of July, and BMW M Motorsport teams finished on the podium in their various classes. In the Silver category, Berkay Besler (TUR) and Will Burns (GBR) in the #12 BMW M4 GT4 of Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport finished third on the podium in the first race. The duo finished in ninth place in race two. Michael Schrey (GER) and Gabriele Piana (ITA) finished the races in the #2 BMW M4 GT4 of Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport in fifth and fourth place in the Silver class. In the Pro-Am category, Yağız Gedik and Jason Tahincioglu (both TUR) crossed the finish line in P13 and P7 in the #11 car of Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport.
Massimiliano Tresoldi (ITA) and Paolo Meloni (SMR) of W&D Racing Team bagged a podium in the AM class. They finished second in their category with the #50 BMW M4 GT4 in the first race. They finished race two in P5.
The GT4 Scandinavia field also contested the GT4 European Series races at Spa-Francorchamps. Victor Bouveng and Joakim Walde (both SWE) in the #298 BMW M4 GT4 of M-Bilar Racing finished in third on the Pro-Am podium of GT4 Scandinavia in race two.
Photos © GT4 European Series | SRO / TWENTY-ONE CREATION – Jules Benichou
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BTCC: Wins for Jake Hill and George Gamble; Colin Turkington takes championship lead.
The sixth round of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) at Knockhill in Scotland at the end of July was a huge success for the BMW drivers. They took two wins, six podiums overall, and the top spot in the driver’s championship. Jake Hill (GBR) of ROKiT MB Motorsport celebrated victory with his #24 BMW 330e M Sport in the first of the three races. He followed this up with two second places on the podium. Victory in race three went to George Gamble (GBR) of Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport. Gamble finished in P5 and P7 in the first two races.
Colin Turkington (GBR) of Team BMW finished in third place on the podium twice, and was fourth in the final race. That saw Turkington take the lead in the BTCC driver’s standings, with 227 points. Hill moved up into fourth place overall (213 points), adding his name to the list of possible title winners. With 486 points, BMW leads the manufacturers’ standings by 60 points. The series returns to action at Snetterton (GBR) this weekend.
