Official News: Dawn breaks in the Eifel Mountains. Team BMW Motorsport completed some trouble-free night stints and successfully improved its positions in the Nürburgring 24 Hours (DE).
The no. 1 BMW M3 GT considerably reduced the gap to the front-runners thanks to consistently quick lap times overnight. Since lap 88, Pedro Lamy (PT) is back behind the wheel of the GT race car, currently running in fourth. Before the Portuguese driver, Augusto Farfus (BR), Uwe Alzen (DE) and Jörg Müller (DE) were on duty at the 25.378-kilometre Nürburgring-Nordschleife.
The BMW M3 GT carrying number 7 continued ploughing through the field during the night. Dirk Müller (DE), Dirk Werner (DE) and Dirk Adorf (DE) gained positions on a lap-by-lap basis, making it back into the top-25 shortly after 05:00hrs.
At the start of the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (DE), the weather had a crucial influence on the course of the first laps in the “Green Hell”. Team BMW Motorsport still managed to develop a good rhythm, but then dropped back due to a technical problem on the no. 7 BMW M3 GT and a collision for car number 1.
The 1M is a great car. One of the best M cars ever. But is it worth over $90k? That’s what a BMW dealer in Glendale California thinks. Yes that is a $40,000 mark-up. We haven’t seen one of those since the Z8 ten years ago.
Official News: Mission accomplished: This is arguably a fitting description of Team BMW Motorsport’s second qualifying session for the Nürburgring 24 Hours (DE). Both BMW M3 GT cars managed to improve their lap times compared to the times set in Thursday’s first qualifying, and now find themselves in promising positions for the endurance classic in the Eifel Mountains. Dirk Müller (DE) posted the fourth-fastest time at the wheel of the no. 7 BMW M3 GT in 8:27.430 minutes. Augusto Farfus (BR) clocked a lap time of 8:27.915 minutes at the 25.378-kilometre track, finishing fifth.
Eight minutes of practice at the ‘Ring from yesterday
Updated: As much as we love M Fest and the M3 CRT and the new M5, there is a race to be run this weekend. And if you’re not in Germany, following the 24 Hours of the ‘Ring isn’t the easiest thing to do. So we’ve created a quick guide that should help you find coverage throughout the weekend.
First and foremost head over to Audi’s site where they’re streaming video of the race throughout all 24 hours.
You can also watch a stream of the race at adac.24h-rennen.de (when it’s working) along with official timing and scoring.
The first qualifying session at the Nürburgring 24 Hours (DE) did not go according to plan for Team BMW Motorsport. The no. 7 BMW M3 GT was lying eighth overall by the end of the four-hour evening session. Dirk Werner (DE) clocked the fastest time of 8:32.302 minutes on the car’s sixth lap. Prior to this, Dirk Adorf (DE) had completed four laps of the 25.378-kilometre circuit. However, qualifying came to a premature end for the German trio when Dirk Müller (DE) crashed in the “Karussell” two hours into the session.
Carbon Racing Technology. Remember those words. They define the new M3 CRT in every way. From the use of lightweight carbon fiber to drop around 150 lbs to the bespoke racing seats to the 4.4L 450 bhp engine borrowed from the GTS. This car is the fastest and most advanced four door M3 of all time. And it’s one of the most limited of all time. With only 67 being made worldwide (and none coming to the US) don’t expect to ever actually see one.
But let’s forget that it’ll probably cost a fortune (we’re guessing somewhere around 150,000 Euros) and just revel in the best looking M3 since the CSL. And don’t be surprised if we don’t see some of this tech on the next generation M3.
Official Release: Munich/Nürburg. BMW M GmbH will use the M Night event in the lead-up to the Nürburgring 24-hour race to unveil a spectacular new addition to its model range. The BMW M3 CRT (Carbon Racing Technology) embodies a concentrated blend of state-of-the-art development expertise – inspired directly by motor sport – in the areas of drive system and chassis technology and intelligent lightweight design. It also represents the worldwide debut of a new production process for carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) components in the automotive industry.
This process allows CFRP to be introduced widely in the construction of the high-performance BMW M3 Saloon-based sports car created by the BMW M GmbH factory. And that helps it achieve a weight-to-power ratio of 3.5 kilograms per horsepower. A V8 engine with customary M high-revving characteristics and maximum output of 331 kW/450 hp accelerates the BMW M3 CRT from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.4 seconds.
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Sections: Motorsport, Nürburgring, Official News Jun 26th, 2011 No Comments 
