Whether in the DTM, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, or countless other championships: Week after week BMW teams and drivers around the world do battle for points, victories and titles.
Away from the track too, members of the large BMW Motorsport family around the world are also creating headlines. The “BMW Motorsport News” allows us to regularly summarise all the action for you in a compact and informative manner. This way, you are always up to speed.
DTM: Timo Glock drives on the Lausitzring track in the 1988 BMW M3 E30.
With this weekend’s race at the Lausitzring, the DTM reaches a special milestone: Sunday’s race will be the 500th in the history of the touring car series. BMW DTM driver Timo Glock (GER) brought this history back to life again at the Lausitzring. He not only has his usual DTM schedule in the current JiVS BMW M4 DTM, but also got behind the wheel of a BMW M3 E30 in the “Tourenwagen Classics”. The BMW M3 is the most successful touring car of all times. During qualifying on Saturday afternoon, Glock completed laps in the 275 bhp BMW M3 E30 that Christian Menzel (GER) and Marc Hessel (GER) are racing in the “Tourenwagen Classics” at the weekend. The car is a Zakspeed DTM factory car from 1988 and is still in its original state.
Three questions for … Timo Glock.
Timo, how was your experience at the wheel of the BMW M3 E 30?
Timo Glock: “It was just mega! It was really a lot of fun. This is pure driving. You really have to work hard, and when you have driven such a car for half an hour you really know what you have done. You don’t have power steering, you need to use the clutch, you have to change gears with a lever, changing gears must work perfectly and you have to drive with double-declutching, which I last did felt decades ago. But it all worked very well – the car is really a dream and was prepared perfectly.”
What are the differences between the BMW M3 E30 and your current BMW M4 DTM?
Timo Glock: “It’s a difference like day and night. The one thing is that you don’t have power steering. But the main issue is changing gears with a lever. You enter the corner with one hand, and changing gears must be quick, as you can win or lose a lot of time with it. If you think back: DTM celebrates its 500th race this weekend, and in the old times, the guys raced these cars on and over the limit, wheel-to-wheel over the Nordschleife. You can only take your hat off to what the guys did back then. It is an art to drive such a car fast.”
Which car is more fun?
Timo Glock: “You can’t compare them. The cars are very different and each one is a lot of fun in its own way. It’s great to drive the BMW M3 E30, because everything is mechanical. You don’t have aerodynamic downforce, and as a driver you can, for example, be influenced quite a lot on how the car enters corners. Our current BMW M4 DTM, of course, is significantly faster. It has a lot more horsepower and you have the aerodynamic downforce that enables us to drive through these high corners speeds how we do today. They are both fantastic cars.”
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IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge: BMW M4 GT4 on the podium in Virginia.
The Virginia International Raceway (USA) hosted the eighth round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season at the weekend. In the race, the BimmerWorldRacing team celebrated a podium finish. After almost two hours of racing, Ari Balogh and Mike Skeen (both USA) took the chequered flag in their #80 BMW M4 GT4 in third position. Henry Schmitt and Gregory Liefooghe (both USA) finished fifth to also secure a top-ten result. They had shared duties at the wheel of the #88 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4. The next race will be held at Laguna Seca (USA) on 14th September.
