The second generation BMW M3 debuted in 1992. It offers a convincing combination of sports car and daily driver. This film gives you exclusive insights of former BMW heads about the car and its development process. Moreover it also shows a special edition, the BMW M3 GT. Stay tuned for the second part of our five part series about the most successful model of BMW M.
BMW Team RLL will participate in the Nov. 17-18 IMSA test at Daytona International Speedway marking the first public test of BMW’s latest endurance racing challenger, the BMW M6 GTLM. As announced during last season’s Petit Le Mans weekend, BMW Team RLL is expected to campaign two M6 GTLM race cars in the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The M6 GTLM recently completed its first US test at Sebring International Raceway in late October along with a M6 GT3 machine that will provide the foundation for BMW’s worldwide customer racing program. 2015 season drivers Bill Auberlen, Dirk Werner and John Edwards participated at Sebring along with 2014 GTLM driver champion Kuno Wittmer, who has signed with BMW of North America to compete in the three endurance classics of the IMSA Championship – namely the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Petit Le Mans. Wittmer will also participate in the development of the new race car. At the Daytona test the drivers will be Auberlen, Edwards, Lucas Luhr and BMW DTM driver Bruno Spengler. Spengler raced the 2015 Rolex 24 At Daytona with BMW Team RLL.
The three-day Sebring test was a successful one and was also notable as it provided the opportunity for 2015 BMW Motorsport Junior driver Trent Hindman to test last year’s Z4 GTLM. The 20-year old proved to be a quick study and was rapidly up to speed in the No. 24 car after being briefed by BMW Team RLL driver John Edwards. Edwards co-drove with Hindman to the youngster’s 2014 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Grand Sport class drivers championship. Named as a BMW Motorsport Junior driver in 2015, Hindman raced twice in Europe with his Junior teammates. In October, one weekend after co-driving to the win at the season ending CTSC race at Road Atlanta in a BMW M3, Hindman co-drove to the victory in a BMW M235i Racing with his Junior teammates at the 12 Hour race in Brno, Czech Republic. Although not driving, Hindman will join BMW Team RLL to observe the Daytona test.
2016 will mark BMW Team RLL’s eighth season of successfully racing for BMW in North America. The M6 GTLM will be the third BMW model campaigned by the team. In the past seven seasons, racing first with the BMW M3 and then the Z4, the team has amassed 57 podiums, including 13 wins. The team finished second in last year’s GTLM class Manufacturer, Team and Drivers championships.
The 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship begins with the 54th annual Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 30-31, 2016. Follow BMW Team RLL on Twitter at @BMWUSARacing for updates.
While the BMW M6 GT3 will contest race events and series with FIA GT3 regulations as of next season, BMW Motorsport is also working on a new challenger for the elite class of North American GT racing: the BMW M6 GTLM. The plan is to return for an eighth season with BMW Team RLL and field the newly developed racing car in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2016.
“Using the basis of our new BMW M6 GT3 to develop a car for the WeatherTech Championship was a logical step,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt. “The BMW M6 GTLM has all the essential ingredients to thrill fans in the USA and Canada. We are keen to continue our works commitment on the other side of the Atlantic at the highest level since the WeatherTech Championship is a fantastic stage with a high quality field and legendary venues. We feel right at home there.”
Ludwig Willisch, Chairman and CEO of BMW of North America, LLC, added: “Success in motor racing helped us prove The Ultimate Driving Machine claim in North America forty years ago and continues to be an important part of the BMW marketing strategy to this day. As the largest market for BMW M in the world, we are eager to delight our fans with the BMW M6 GTLM in the 2016 WeatherTech Championship.”
Bobby Rahal, Team Principal BMW Team RLL said, “A new car, a very competitive field and the hundredth anniversary of BMW means 2016 will be an exciting year. I am thrilled that RLL will continue to represent BMW’s motorsport program in North America for an eighth season. The M6 GTLM will be the third model we have raced since 2009 (M3 (2009-2012); Z4 (2013-2015) and we look forward to the challenge.”
BMW Motorsport engineers derived the BMW M6 GTLM from the BMW M6 GT3, and the BMW M6 GTLM took part in the official “Balance of Performance” tests performed by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) for GTLM homologation alongside GT3 testing by the FIA and ACO in Ladoux, France. Subject to final approvals by IMSA, based in North America, the BMW M6 GTLM is expected to race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2016. Like the GT3 version, the car is powered by a lightly modified version of the V8 production engine with M TwinPower Turbo Technology from the BMW M6 Coupé.
In the previous three seasons, BMW Team RLL contested the American Le Mans Series and the United SportsCar Championship with the BMW Z4 GTLM and celebrated five victories and an additional 15 podiums to date. Further milestones in the recent GT history of BMW in North America include winning the title in the American Le Mans Series in 2001 with the BMW M3 GTR (Drivers’, Team and Manufacturer titles), as well as with the BMW M3 GT in 2010 (Team and Manufacturer titles) and 2011 (Drivers’, Team and Manufacturer titles).
The 2016 season of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship opens with the 24 Hours of Daytona on 30th/31st January. This is followed by a further ten events for the GTLM teams, which will take them to some of the most iconic racetracks in North America. As is tradition, the “Petit Le Mans” in Road Atlanta will provide the spectacular stage for the season finale on 1st October.
