BMW Motorsport have released details of their motorsport plans for 2011, with campaigns with the M3 GT2 on both sides of the Atlantic the mainstay of the marques plans on track.
“Our chosen vehicle for endurance campaigns is the BMW M3 GT2, which not only celebrated victories in the 2010 American Le Mans Series, but also proved successful in Europe and Asia,” explains BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. “The car will once again be campaigned in 24-hour classic events in Europe, and in the ALMS in North America. We are convinced we will be able build on the successes of this past year in order to continue the BMW M3's unique motor racing success story.”
The manufacturer's works motorsport wing, Schnitzer Motorsport, will run the company's team in Europe with the primary aim of running in all three of Europe's famed 24 hour races – Le Mans, Nurburgring and Spa-Francorchamps – though BMW are reserving their final entry until there is confirmation of the regulations and so the classification of the car. A planned entry into the newly expanded Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) is being reserved for similar reasons.
Schnitzer will also race in the VLN series in a number of races around the Nurburgring Nordschleife in preparation of that 24 hour race.
The US program will be run, again, by Rahal-Letterman Racing as they seek to defend the teams' and manufacturers' titles they won in this years' American Le Mans Series (ALMS). They will do so with a slightly altered driver squad – Dirk Werner seemingly replacing Tommy Milner to join the three some of Dirk Muller, Bill Auberlan and Joey Hand for the full ALMS season.
The drivers for the European season remain unchanged with Andy Priaulx, Augusto Farfus, Dirk Adorf, Pedro Lamy, Uwe Alzen and Jorg Muller doing the driving, along with Werner and Dirk Muller – the pair driving both in Europe and the US.
BMW will also be represented by the new MINI in the World Rally Championship, the Formula BMW Talent Cup and a customer racing program in the World Touring Car Championship.
