BMW in motorsport
Encyclopedia
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
cars and motorcycles have been successful in a range of motorsport
Motorsport
Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...
activities. Mainly before World War II, BMW motorcycles
BMW Motorrad
BMW Motorrad is the motorcycle brand of the German company BMW, part of its Corporate and Brand Development division. The current General Director of the unit is Hendrik von Kuenheim....
were winning e.g. at the Isle of Man TT
Isle of Man TT
The International Isle of Man TT Race is a motorcycle racing event held on the Isle of Man and was for many years the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world...
. Apart from the factory efforts, many privateer teams enter BMW road cars in Touring car racing
Touring car racing
Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably popular in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia and Britain.-Characteristics of a touring car:...
. BMW also entered cars or provided engines in Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
, Formula Two
Formula Two
Formula Two, abbreviated to F2, is a type of open wheel formula racing. It was replaced by Formula 3000 in 1985, but the FIA announced in 2008 that Formula Two would return for 2009 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship...
and sportscar racing. BMW is currently active in ALMS
Alms
Alms or almsgiving is a religious rite which, in general, involves giving materially to another as an act of religious virtue.It exists in a number of religions. In Philippine Regions, alms are given as charity to benefit the poor. In Buddhism, alms are given by lay people to monks and nuns to...
, the World Touring Car Championship
World Touring Car Championship
For the video game, known as World Touring Car Championship in Japan, see TOCA World Touring CarsThe FIA World Touring Car Championship is an international Touring Car championship sanctioned by the FIA.-History:...
(WTCC) and the Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship is the worldwide Superbike racing Championship. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Championship season consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities...
.
An outstanding role has been played by the 1,500 cc BMW M10
BMW M10
The BMW M10/M12 was a straight-4 piston engine produced from 1961 to 1987. Displacement ranged from 1499 cc to 1990 cc.The engine was designed by noted engineer and race driver Baron Alex von Falkenhausen. He was asked to design a small-displacement engine, but felt that this would be...
engine block. The four-cylinder started with modest 75 hp in 1961, became successful in touring cars, developed over 300 hp in 1970s Formula Two
Formula Two
Formula Two, abbreviated to F2, is a type of open wheel formula racing. It was replaced by Formula 3000 in 1985, but the FIA announced in 2008 that Formula Two would return for 2009 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship...
, and at the ripe age of a quarter century, produced almost twentyfold its original power in the 1986 turbocharged BMW M12/13/1. As the base of the BMW S14
BMW S14
The BMW S14 is a 2.3 L DOHC 16-valve I4 piston engine. It was used in the E30 M3. The S14 is essentially a BMW M10 basic engine block casting with modified oil drain back passages and a M88/S38 DOHC cylinder head . It has four separate throttle bodies...
engine of the original BMW M3
BMW M3
The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house motorsport division, BMW M. M3 models have been derived from the E30, E36, E46 and E90/E92/E93 3-series, and sold with coupé, sedan and convertible body styles...
, it collected many more wins.
pre-1941
Mainly before World War II, BMW motorcyclesBMW Motorrad
BMW Motorrad is the motorcycle brand of the German company BMW, part of its Corporate and Brand Development division. The current General Director of the unit is Hendrik von Kuenheim....
were winning e.g. at the Isle of Man TT
Isle of Man TT
The International Isle of Man TT Race is a motorcycle racing event held on the Isle of Man and was for many years the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world...
in 1939. BMW-powered sidecars won the World championship many times until the 1970s.
In the 1930s, BMW pilots were successful with the BMW 328
BMW 328
The BMW 328 is a sports car made by BMW between 1936 and 1940, with the body design credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II ....
two-litre sports car, winning many races including the prestigious Mille Miglia
Mille Miglia
The Mille Miglia was an open-road endurance race which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 ....
— a class win in 1938 and the outright winner (with a streamlined body on a shortened course) in 1940 with Huschke von Hanstein. It also won the RAC Rally in 1939 and came in fifth overall (first in its class) in the 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans
1939 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 16th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 17 and 18 1939.The following year's 24 Hours of Le Mans was originally planned for June 1940, but due to the invasion of France in May the race was called off...
. In fact, the BMW 328, proved unbeatable in international sportscar races in the two-liter class.
Touring cars
Since the pre-war BMW 328BMW 328
The BMW 328 is a sports car made by BMW between 1936 and 1940, with the body design credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II ....
model, BMW had a reputation for sporty production cars. The expensive V8-powered BMW 503
BMW 503
The BMW 503 is a two door 2+2 seater sports car unveiled by BMW at the 1955 Frankfurt Motor Show. Production got under way during the summer of the next year, and by 1959, when the 503 was withdrawn, 413 had been built, including 139 cabriolets;-Design:...
and BMW 507
BMW 507
The BMW 507 is a roadster produced by BMW from 1956 to 1959. Initially intended to be exported to the United States at a rate of thousands per year, it ended up being too expensive, resulting in a total production figure of 252 cars and heavy losses for BMW....
of the 1950s could not add much to this reputation, unlike the small motorcycle-engine powered BMW 700
BMW 700
The BMW 700 was a small rear-engined car produced by BMW in various models from August 1959 to November 1965. It was the first BMW automobile with a monocoque structure. The 700 was a sales success at a time when BMW was close to financial ruin...
which e.g. was driven by Hans Stuck
Hans Stuck
Hans Stuck was a German motor racing driver...
to German championships in hillclimbing
Hillclimbing
Hillclimbing is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course....
.
Since the 1962 introduction of the BMW New Class
BMW New Class
The BMW New Class was a line of compact sedans and coupes produced by German automaker BMW starting with the 1962 1500 and continuing through the last 2002s in 1977....
in 1961, BMW has become one of the most successful marques in Touring car racing
Touring car racing
Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably popular in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia and Britain.-Characteristics of a touring car:...
. The original 1500 cc 4-cylinder BMW M10
BMW M10
The BMW M10/M12 was a straight-4 piston engine produced from 1961 to 1987. Displacement ranged from 1499 cc to 1990 cc.The engine was designed by noted engineer and race driver Baron Alex von Falkenhausen. He was asked to design a small-displacement engine, but felt that this would be...
engine block was modified to a four-valve design which won championships in Formula 2. Equipped with a turbocharger, the version BMW M12/13 even won the 1983 Formula One championship.
In the 1970s, BMW M
BMW M
BMW M GmbH is a subsidiary of German car manufacturer BMW AG.BMW M, also known as M-Technik or just "M" was initially created to facilitate BMW’s racing program, which was very successful in the 1960s and 1970s...
GmbH was formed to support the racing efforts. This led to the development of the BMW M1
BMW M1
The BMW M1 is a sports car that was produced by German automaker BMW from 1978 to 1981.In the late 1970s, Italian manufacturer Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to build a production racing car in sufficient quantity for homologation. The result was sold to the public, from 1978 to...
and in the 1980s to the BMW M3
BMW M3
The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house motorsport division, BMW M. M3 models have been derived from the E30, E36, E46 and E90/E92/E93 3-series, and sold with coupé, sedan and convertible body styles...
. Having won more road races than any other model in history, the E30 M3 is the world's most successful road race car. Its success was emulated during the 1990s when the 318i and 320i
BMW E36
The BMW E36 is the third generation of the 3 Series compact executive cars produced by BMW. It was introduced in late 1990 for Europe and in late 1991 for US and Canada. It was the successor to the E30 3 Series and was eventually replaced by the E90 3 Series in 2005, though E36 coupes were still...
won several touring car national championships (including the BTCC
British Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...
, French Supertouring Championship
French Supertouring Championship
The Championnat de France de Supertourisme was a touring car racing championship organised by the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile between 1976 and 2005....
, Super Tourenwagen Cup
Super Tourenwagen Cup
The Super Tourenwagen Cup, or German Supertouring Championship, was a touring car racing series held between 1994 and 1999 in Germany.The championship was established when BMW and Audi both left the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft in 1992, after the series had adopted the more expensive Class 1...
and Italian Superturismo) during the Supertouring
Supertouring
Super Touring, Class 2 or Class II was a motor racing Touring Cars category defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile for national touring car racing in 1993. It was based on the "2 litre Touring Car Formula" created for the British Touring Car Championship in 1990...
era.
In 1987
1987 World Touring Car Championship season
The 1987 World Touring Car Championship season was the inaugural World Touring Car Championship season. It commenced on March 22, 1987 and ended on November 15 after eleven races. The championship was open to Touring Cars complying with FIA Group A regulations.-Drivers and teams:Fifteen registered...
Roberto Ravaglia
Roberto Ravaglia
Roberto Ravaglia is a former auto racing driver, who currently runs ROAL Motorsport, who operate the BMW Team Italy-Spain operation in the World Touring Car Championship...
drove a Schnitzer
Schnitzer Motorsport
Schnitzer Motorsport is a motorsport team based in Freilassing near Munich, Germany. From the early days of its establishment, the team has operated an automobile racing squad for BMW, and has remarkable results in touring car and sports car racing scenes....
E30 M3 to victory in the World Touring Car Championship, winning the title by a single point.
2005 World Touring Car Championship season
The 2005 World Touring Car Championship season was the second World Touring Car Championship season, and the first since 1987. It featured a ten event, twenty race series which commenced on April 10, 2005 and ended on November 20...
saw Andy Priaulx
Andy Priaulx
Andrew Graham Priaulx, MBE is a British racing driver from Guernsey. He is a European Touring Car Championship champion, three times World Touring Car Championship champion and the only FIA Touring Car champion to win an International level championship for four consecutive years...
take the drivers title, and BMW take the manufacturers title, this time not with an M3, but the E46 320i. Priaulx's car raced under the banner of BMW Team UK and was run by RBM. Schnitzer Motorsport
Schnitzer Motorsport
Schnitzer Motorsport is a motorsport team based in Freilassing near Munich, Germany. From the early days of its establishment, the team has operated an automobile racing squad for BMW, and has remarkable results in touring car and sports car racing scenes....
ran the BMW Team Germany entries, also E46
BMW E46
The BMW E46 is the fourth generation of the 3 Series compact executive cars produced by BMW, produced from 1998 when it succeeded the BMW E36 until it was replaced by the BMW E90 in 2005....
320i's, driven by Dirk Müller and Jörg Müller
Jörg Müller
Jörg Müller is a Dutch-born German race driver.- Racing career :In 1989 Müller won the titles in German Formula Opel Lotus Challenge and in European Formula Ford 1600....
. Previous WTCC winner Roberto Ravaglia also ran two cars for the BMW Team Italy/Spain, with Alessandro Zanardi and Antonio García as the drivers. BMW also took the top four places in the independent category.
2006 saw the new E90
BMW E90
The saloon model was the first model sold of the 5th generation BMW 3 series. Debuting in the US in 2006, the E90 came in two trims, the 325i/xi and 330i/xi models...
320si, again it saw BMW take the manufacturers trophy, and again BMW Team UK/RBM driver Andy Priaulx won the drivers championship. BMW Team Germany returned with both Dirk and Jörg Müller. BMW Team Italy/Spain retained Alessandro Zanardi, but now had Marcel Costa
Marcel Costa
Marcel Costa is a Spanish auto racing driver.-Career:Costa was the 2002 Spanish Formula Three Champion, yet after a season in the Spanish GT Series, where he was a class champion, Costa spent 2004 and 2005 in the motor racing wilderness, with just a win in the Barcelona 24 Hours to his credit...
driving the second car, later to be subsitituted for Duncan Huisman
Duncan Huisman
Duncan Huisman is a Dutch auto racing driver. He won the Guia Race four times. As well as touring cars he has competed in the FIA GT Championship and the Porsche Supercup...
. Priaulx again won the title in 2007, but BMW were beaten by SEAT in the following two seasons, despite adding Augusto Farfus
Augusto Farfus
Augusto Farfus Jr. is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He presently lives in Monaco.- Early years :Farfus first tasted racing in minibike races and won the local championships in 1991....
to their roster. For 2010 only RBM run factory-supported BMWs, for Priaulx and Farfus.
BMW has announced that it aims to compete in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is a touring car racing series based in Germany, but also with rounds elsewhere in Europe....
from 2012 with a car based on the BMW M3
BMW M3
The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house motorsport division, BMW M. M3 models have been derived from the E30, E36, E46 and E90/E92/E93 3-series, and sold with coupé, sedan and convertible body styles...
.
1950 — 1984
BMW pilots used the sporty pre-war BMW 328BMW 328
The BMW 328 is a sports car made by BMW between 1936 and 1940, with the body design credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II ....
model as the basis for early post-war efforts in the Formula Two
Formula Two
Formula Two, abbreviated to F2, is a type of open wheel formula racing. It was replaced by Formula 3000 in 1985, but the FIA announced in 2008 that Formula Two would return for 2009 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship...
series, a stepping stone to Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
; the 328 occasionally participated in F1 races. BMW ran its own team, but other smaller teams such as Veritas, AFM
AFM
- Organizations :* Africa Fighting Malaria, a health campaign in Africa* Alex von Falkenhausen Motorenbau, a German racing car constructor* American Federation of Motorcyclists, a road racing club in the United States...
, Jicey and even East Germany-based EWM also used cars derived from the 328 or its two-litre six-cylinder engine. However, after the death of the initial F2 series in 1955 and its resurrection the following year, BMW's management decided not to participate in expensive open wheel racing.
BMW M10
The BMW M10/M12 was a straight-4 piston engine produced from 1961 to 1987. Displacement ranged from 1499 cc to 1990 cc.The engine was designed by noted engineer and race driver Baron Alex von Falkenhausen. He was asked to design a small-displacement engine, but felt that this would be...
block with a radial four-valve cylinder head designed by Ludwig Apfelbeck was used for some time. In the 1968 season, the company joined with Lola, using their 100 chassis. BMW sponsored drivers Jo Siffert
Jo Siffert
Joseph Siffert was a Swiss racing driver.Affectionately known as "Seppi" to his family and close friends, Siffert was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, the son of a dairy owner...
and Hubert Hahne
Hubert Hahne
-Career:He participated in five Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, two of those at the wheel of Formula Two cars, and one non-Championship Formula One race.Hahne was successful in touring car racing, e.g. the European Touring Car Championship...
. For 1969, the team switched to Lola 102s, and used a new development of BMW's 1600 cc engine, dubbed the M12. Siffert and Hahne remained; Gerhard Mitter
Gerhard Mitter
Gerhard Karl Mitter was a German Formula One and sportscar driver.Mitter was born in Schönlinde in Czechoslovakia, but his family was expelled from there, to Leonberg near Stuttgart....
and Dieter Quester
Dieter Quester
Dieter Quester is an active touring car racing driver from Austria. Dieter has participated in 53 24-Hour Races. He competed in a single Formula One race in which he finished ninth....
shared a third car. Halfway through the season, BMW debuted their own chassis, the 269, at the Hockenheimring
Hockenheimring
The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg is an automobile racing track situated near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it biennially hosts the Formula One German Grand Prix...
. However, Mitter was killed in the 269 during practise for the 1969 German Grand Prix
1969 German Grand Prix
The 1969 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Nürburgring on 3 August 1969 with Formula Two cars competing by invitation. It was the seventh round of the 1969 World Championship for Drivers. The F2 entrants were not eligible for points in the World Championship.-Report:Gerhard Mitter...
at the Nürburgring
Nürburgring
The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...
where F2 could race along F1 due to the length of that track. As technical failure was suspected, all BMW entries were retired.
For the 1970 F2 season, BMW debuted the 270 chassis, and campaigned with Jo Siffert, Hubert Hahne, Dieter Quester, and Jacky Ickx
Jacky Ickx
Jacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx is a Belgian former racing driver who achieved 25 podium finishes in Formula One and six wins in the 24 hours of Le Mans.- Racing career :...
. However, in 1971, BMW's involvement was pulled back, with the team only supplying engines for Dieter Quester's Eifelland
Eifelland
Eifelland was a German Formula One team, named after its German owner Guenther Hennerici's caravan manufacturing company. Guenther owned a very successful caravan business and in the beginning he saw racing a great possibility to advertise his product the caravan...
. With a change in the F2 engine regulations to 2000 cc production-based engines, BMW went on hiatus for the 1972 season.
When BMW's returned to F2 in 1973, the company again supplied only engines. Although officially backing the March team's effort for drivers Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams. François Cevert was his brother-in-law ....
and Jean-Pierre Jarier
Jean-Pierre Jarier
Jean-Pierre Jacques Jarier is a French Grand Prix racing driver, now retired. He was born at Charenton-le-Pont, near Paris, and is regarded as one of the finest drivers never to win a Grand Prix....
, they also supplied engines for teams such as Beta Racing (with German Hans Joachim Stuck
Hans Joachim Stuck
Hans-Joachim Stuck , nicknamed "Strietzel", is a German racing driver who has competed in Formula One and many other categories. He is the son of the legendary Hans Stuck. As a young boy, his father taught him driving on the Nürburgring. In 1969 he started his first ever motor race at the...
) and Brian Lewis Racing. From 1973 to the end of Formula 2 in 1984, BMW supplied engines to the championship-winning drivers in 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, and 1982.
1980s — 1987
In 1980, BMW announced their development of a turbocharged motor for the Brabham F1 team. The BMW M12 engine first raced in the 1982 season1982 Formula One season
The 1982 Formula One season was the 33rd FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on January 23, 1982, and ended on September 25 after sixteen races. The World Drivers' Championship was won by Williams driver Keke Rosberg. Rosberg was the first driver since Mike Hawthorn in the 1958...
. The M12/13 engine won at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix
1982 Canadian Grand Prix
The 1982 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 13, 1982. Riccardo Paletti was killed at the start of the race, when his car ran into the back of the stationary Ferrari of Didier Pironi who had stalled on the grid...
at the hands of Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan...
; Riccardo Patrese
Riccardo Patrese
Riccardo Gabriele Patrese is an Italian former racing driver, who raced in Formula One from to .He became the first Formula One driver to achieve 200 Grand Prix starts when he appeared at the 1990 British Grand Prix, and the first to achieve 250 starts at the 1993 German Grand Prix...
was the team's other driver. The following season, BMW supplied engines to the ATS
ATS (wheels)
ATS was a German Formula One team, named after German alloy wheel brand Auto Technisches Spezialzubehör. The company is based in Bad Dürkheim near the Hockenheimring, its team was active in Formula One from 1977 to 1984.-Wheel manufacturer:...
team; the factory-backed Brabham took four victories on its way to Piquet's championship win. Two more victories came in 1984, and BMW added Arrows
Arrows
Arrows Grand Prix International was a British Formula One team active from to . For a period of time, it was also known as Footwork.-Origins :...
to its list of teams who received its engines. In 1985, Piquet's Brabham, who was now teamed with Marc Surer
Marc Surer
Marc Surer is a former racing driver from Switzerland. He participated in 88 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 9 September 1979. He scored a total of 17 championship points....
, managed only one win.
In 1986, BMW started to supply engines for the new Benetton
Benetton Formula
Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from to . The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for...
team, who earned the only win for a BMW engine at the hands of Gerhard Berger
Gerhard Berger
Gerhard Berger, is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver, who previously owned 50% of the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One team until he sold his share back to energy drink owner Dietrich Mateschitz in November 2008....
. However, the factory-backed effort at Brabham met with little success with the return of Patrese and Derek Warwick
Derek Warwick
Derek Stanley Arthur Warwick is a British former racing driver from England. He raced for many years in Formula One, but never won a Grand Prix. During the early 1980s he was thought more likely to achieve World Championship success than his contemporary Nigel Mansell, but a series of wrong...
. At the end of the 1986 season, BMW announced it would drop out of Formula 1 at the end of the 1987 season.
BMW's M12/13 engine, however, continued to be used, because Megatron bought the rights to the engines for the Arrows team. The Ligier team was also supplied with the engine for the 1987 season. Following the 1988 season, turbocharged motors were banned, and Arrows ended its use of the former BMW engine.
The BMW M12/13 turbocharged
Turbocharger
A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...
straight-4
Straight-4
The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
engine was famous during its life for being the first Formula 1 engine capable of 1000 hp in racing trim, although it was capable of nearly 1400 hp for qualifying with modification of its boost. This engine had a bore and stroke of 89.2 mm (3.5 in) x 60 mm (2.4 in), giving a displacement of 1,499.79 cc. Maximum crankshaft speed was 11,200 rpm. Peak power b.m.e.p. was in the region of 1,000 lbs/sq.in.
1997 — 2005: Return to Formula One via Le Mans
WilliamsF1
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...
Grand Prix Engineering in order to provide V10 engines in 2000. The initial development of this partnership was BMW's sports car effort. Chassis built by Williams powered by a BMW M70
BMW M70
The BMW M70 is a V12 piston engine and featured heavily in the 7-Series and 8-Series BMWs of the late 80s and early 1990s. Models included:*1988–1994 BMW 750i*1988–1994 BMW 750iL*1991–1993 BMW 850i*1993–1995 BMW 850Ci*1994–1996 BMW 850Csi...
V12 engine
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
s were netered by long-time partner team Schnitzer Motorsport
Schnitzer Motorsport
Schnitzer Motorsport is a motorsport team based in Freilassing near Munich, Germany. From the early days of its establishment, the team has operated an automobile racing squad for BMW, and has remarkable results in touring car and sports car racing scenes....
. The rather unsuccessful 1998 model was improved, and the efforts culminated in BMW's victory at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 67th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 12 and 13, 1999.-Pre-race:1999 saw another increase in manufacturers involvement. Although Porsche did not send a team to contest, Toyota retained their three updated GT-Ones, now moved to the LMGTP class due...
with the BMW V12 LMR. Additional success came in the 2000 ALMS series before the cars were retired from racing.
Following the win, the second stage of BMW's partnership with Williams began, with BMW developing the powerful E41 V10 for Formula 1. The new Williams-BMW debuted in the 2000 season, driven by Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher is a German racing driver, and the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher...
and Jenson Button
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...
. In 2001, Schumacher took 3 wins and newcomer Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán is a Colombian race car driver known internationally for participating and winning in Formula One and CART race competitions. He has enjoyed great success. Currently, he competes in NASCAR, driving the #42 Target Chevrolet Impala for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the Sprint...
took his first win. A lone win for Schumacher followed in 2002, but Williams-BMW returned to success in 2003, with two wins each for Schumacher and Montoya. Montoya was the lone winner in 2004.
In 2005, disputes led to a rapid decline in the partnership of BMW and Williams. Constant disagreements over the cause of technical failures in the car led BMW to discontinue development of the P84/5 V10
V10 engine
A V10 engine is a V engine with 10 cylinders in two banks of five with a distinct exhaust note.- Mechanics :The V10 is essentially the result of mating two even-firing straight-5 engines together. The straight-5 engine shows first and second order rocking motion...
as the season progressed, leading to no victories for the team's new driver line-up of Mark Webber
Mark Webber
Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...
and Nick Heidfeld
Nick Heidfeld
Nick Lars Heidfeld is a German racing driver.Despite scoring regular podium finishes in and , Heidfeld has yet to win a race since entering Formula One in . This means that amongst the current drivers, he has had the most GP starts without standing at the top spot on the podium...
. Consequently, the car finished a distant 5th in the constructors' championship.
2006 — 2009: BMW Sauber F1
.jpg)
Nick Heidfeld
Nick Lars Heidfeld is a German racing driver.Despite scoring regular podium finishes in and , Heidfeld has yet to win a race since entering Formula One in . This means that amongst the current drivers, he has had the most GP starts without standing at the top spot on the podium...
for 2006 alongside contracted Sauber
Sauber
Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula One team. It was founded in the 1970s by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993....
driver Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve, , is a Canadian musician and automobile racing driver. He is the son of the late Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, and is the namesake of his uncle...
. Villeneuve was later replaced by Polish driver Robert Kubica
Robert Kubica
Robert Józef Kubica is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006...
after disagreements between Jacques and the team.
BMW's 2007 season improved on results from the previous year. While the car was still inferior to both the Ferrari and McLaren, it outclassed the rest of the field. BMW scored points in every race, ending the season second in the constructors championship (after McLaren's disqualification) with over 100 points. In 2008 BMW won their first race at the Canadian Grand Prix
2008 Canadian Grand Prix
The 2008 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 8, 2008 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada. It was the 7th race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 70 laps, was won by Robert Kubica for the BMW Sauber team after starting from...
. The team also achieved several podium finishes like Heidfeld's at the first race of the season in Australia
2008 Australian Grand Prix
The 2008 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 16 March 2008 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team after...
and a second place for Kubica in Monte Carlo
2008 Monaco Grand Prix
The 2008 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 25, 2008, at the Circuit de Monaco; contested over 76 laps, it was the sixth race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race was won by the season's eventual Drivers' Champion, Lewis Hamilton, for the McLaren team...
. However, 2009 was a disappointment, and the team was sold back to Sauber for 2010.
Formula BMW
Formula BMW
Formula BMW is a junior racing formula for single seater cars. It is positioned at the bottom of the motorsport career ladder alongside the longer established Formula Ford category...
was introduced as feeder series, with small cars powered by BMW K motorcycle engines. Former drivers were e.g. Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher is a German racing driver, and the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher...
and Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg
Nico Erik Rosberg is a racing driver for the Mercedes GP Formula One team. He races under the German flag in Formula One, although he competed for Finland earlier in his career...
. Formula BMW has since expanded to encompass four championships across three continents. The German series was followed by a south-east Asian championship in 2003, and series in the United Kingdom and the United States were launched the following year. The UK and German championships will be merged into a new pan-European series in 2008.
Le Mans
1939 saw the BMW 328BMW 328
The BMW 328 is a sports car made by BMW between 1936 and 1940, with the body design credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II ....
finish first in its class (fifth overall) in the 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans
1939 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 16th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 17 and 18 1939.The following year's 24 Hours of Le Mans was originally planned for June 1940, but due to the invasion of France in May the race was called off...
completing 236 laps.
After 33 years in 1972, a BMW entered the competition for the first time by Schnitzer Motorsport
Schnitzer Motorsport
Schnitzer Motorsport is a motorsport team based in Freilassing near Munich, Germany. From the early days of its establishment, the team has operated an automobile racing squad for BMW, and has remarkable results in touring car and sports car racing scenes....
with the BMW 2800CS
BMW E9
-BMW 2.5CS:The last version of the E9 to be introduced was the 2.5CS in 1974. This was a response to the 1973 oil crisis, such that the buyer could choose the smaller, more economical engine. The engine, from the 2500 sedan, displaced and produced at 6000 revolutions per minute...
. In the following years, BMW became a common contender in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, represented by private teams racing BMW race cars in the competition from 1972 till 1989, and from 1993 till 2000 and by teams using BMW engines, most successful the McLaren F1 GTR who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995 with a BMW S70 6.1L V12 engine
BMW M70
The BMW M70 is a V12 piston engine and featured heavily in the 7-Series and 8-Series BMWs of the late 80s and early 1990s. Models included:*1988–1994 BMW 750i*1988–1994 BMW 750iL*1991–1993 BMW 850i*1993–1995 BMW 850Ci*1994–1996 BMW 850Csi...
.
Also BMW Motorsport
BMW Motorsport
BMW Motorsport is the division of BMW responsible for motorsport-related activities, including works-run competition programmes in touring car racing, sportscar racing and Formula One.-See also:* BMW M* BMW in motorsport* BMW Sauber* Schnitzer Motorsport...
started with the BMW 3.0 CSL
BMW E9
-BMW 2.5CS:The last version of the E9 to be introduced was the 2.5CS in 1974. This was a response to the 1973 oil crisis, such that the buyer could choose the smaller, more economical engine. The engine, from the 2500 sedan, displaced and produced at 6000 revolutions per minute...
(1973), BMW 3.5 CSL
BMW E9
-BMW 2.5CS:The last version of the E9 to be introduced was the 2.5CS in 1974. This was a response to the 1973 oil crisis, such that the buyer could choose the smaller, more economical engine. The engine, from the 2500 sedan, displaced and produced at 6000 revolutions per minute...
(1976), BMW M1
BMW M1
The BMW M1 is a sports car that was produced by German automaker BMW from 1978 to 1981.In the late 1970s, Italian manufacturer Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to build a production racing car in sufficient quantity for homologation. The result was sold to the public, from 1978 to...
(1980, 1981), McLaren F1 GTR
McLaren F1 GTR
The McLaren F1 GTR was a racing variant of the McLaren F1 sports car first produced in 1995 for grand touring style racing, such as the BPR Global GT Series, FIA GT Championship, JGTC, and British GT Championship. It is most famous for its overall victory at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans where it...
(1996, 1997), BMW V12 LM
BMW V12 LM
The BMW V12 LM was a racing car built for sports car racing in 1998. The car was built using a combination of WilliamsF1 engineering and construction and a BMW powerplant...
(1998), BMW V12 LMR. The latter car, designed by Williams Grand Prix Engineering and entered by Schnitzer Motorsport, won the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 67th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 12 and 13, 1999.-Pre-race:1999 saw another increase in manufacturers involvement. Although Porsche did not send a team to contest, Toyota retained their three updated GT-Ones, now moved to the LMGTP class due...
overall against factory competition from Audi, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and others.
Other events
BMW had various touring and sportscar successes throughout the rest of the 1980s and 1990s following its exit from Formula 1.Since 1987, The Kumho BMW Championship
Kumho BMW Championship
The Kumho BMW Championship is a single make racing series based in the UK. Exclusively for BMWs, the championship is run by the BMW Racing Drivers Club in conjunction with the British Automobile Racing Club . The championship is a registered, BMW-exclusive motorsport series.-Introduction:The...
has also existed, which is a BMW-exclusive motorsport championship. It is operated and run in the UK, with some races occasionally taking part in the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
mainland. 2005 saw the BMW Challenge join as a class within the Kumho BMW Championship
Kumho BMW Championship
The Kumho BMW Championship is a single make racing series based in the UK. Exclusively for BMWs, the championship is run by the BMW Racing Drivers Club in conjunction with the British Automobile Racing Club . The championship is a registered, BMW-exclusive motorsport series.-Introduction:The...
only to leave a year later to become a standalone UK Championship called The BMW Production Championship. In 2008, a split between the committee and the organising club (CTCRC) saw it lose its championship status and a breakaway PBMW Cup was formed.
Automatic Racing has entered a BMW M6
BMW M6
The BMW M6, also known as the BMW M635CSi, is a high-performance version of the 6-Series automobile, designed by the motorsport division of BMW...
into the 2008 Rolex Sports Car Series
Rolex Sports Car Series
The Rolex Sports Car Series is the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It is a North American-based sports car series that was founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed United States Road Racing Championship...
season, driven by an all American team consisting of Jep Thorton, Tom Long, Joe Varde and David Russell.