BMW M Motorsport celebrates 50 years at Daytona

For BMW M Motorsport and BMW North America, this weekend’s 24 Hours of Daytona is an opportunity to celebrate 50 years of the Motorsport division. The new BMW M4 GT3 will make its debut at the Florida Endurance Classic.

Originally named BMW Motorsport GmbH, the brand was conceived by automotive legend Bob Lutz when he was vice president of global sales and marketing at BMW. He began representing the automaker on the racetracks in 1972 and since then the marque now known as BMW M GmbH has continued to race around the world and manufactured some of the most sought after sports cars on the road. .

50 years for BMW M Motorsport

Once again, BMW M is also the title sponsor of the BMW M Endurance Challenge, the 4-hour race that kicks off the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season. Four BMW M4 GT4s from the Turner Motorsport, Stephen Cameron Racing and Random Vandals Racing teams will race on Friday.

The peloton will be led by the BMW M3 and BMW M4 Safety Cars. As representatives of BMW M GmbH, CEO Franciscus van Meel and Timo Resch, Vice President Customer, Brand and Sales at BMW M GmbH, will be present.

BMW will be offering a selection of classic vehicles for on-track demonstration throughout the weekend. Just before the start of the race, there was a parade of vintage and current BMW M cars, including a 1980 BMW M1.

Three racing cars that made history by winning IMSA races will be on display at the « Rolex 24 Heritage Exhibition ». in the « Daytona Fan Zone »: the BMW 3.0 CSL from 1975, the BMW Z4 GTLM from 2015 and the BMW M8 GTE that triumphed at Daytona in 2019.

© BMW-Daytona 1975

« The 24 Hours of Daytona is a very special race for BMW M Motorsport in many ways and for me personally, » said BMW M Motorsport Director Mike Krack (Mike Krack will be Aston Martin F1’s new Team Principal in 2022 ).

« For the first time this season, the 50th anniversary of BMW M will be duly celebrated, thanks to the efforts of BMW of North America on the circuit. From a sporting point of view, we are extremely delighted with our debut in IMSA with the BMW M4 GT3. We have already seen at the Roar that setting up and classifying a completely new GT car can be a challenge that takes some time to master. »

« However, the drivers and the teams are constantly improving and will continue to improve throughout the race weekend. I am confident that we will see a good performance in my last race as head of BMW M Motorsport. I I’m really looking forward to it. »