BMW Z4 GT3 in Macau

ASIAN SENSATION WITH BMW MOTORSPORT.

This is how crazy racing is on the biggest continent in the world.

Asian Sensation with BMW Motorsport.This is how crazy racing is on the biggest continent in the world.

Nowhere is more passionate about motorsport than Asia. Fans worship racing drivers as if they were heroes here, and shower them with gifts at the track. People in Asia love one thing above all: quality, and thereby everything that comes from Germany. This, and the major successes at the racetrack, explain why BMW enjoys such a tremendous reputation on the biggest continent in terms of surface area. More colourful, louder, flashier; the 110% magazine illuminates the phenomenon of racing in Asia.

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BUNTING, FLAG, COWL: THIS IS HOW CRAZY FANS IN ASIA ARE.

Asia has the craziest motorsport fans by far. They dress up, and wear crazy hats. Others wear BMW team gear purchased at the merchandising stand. 20,000 people turn up and pay to see the BMW race cars, even for a test on a Monday. At the Fuji race in Japan, 120,000 spectators is not a rarity. Despite the masses of fans, the autograph sessions are usually very disciplined. No great throng of people forms around the drivers; instead there is an orderly queue that stretches hundreds of metres through the entire paddock. When the autograph session is over, the crowd disperses in an orderly fashion within seconds, as if nothing had ever happened.

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Fans at the autograph session in Fuji
Fans in the pitlane of Fuji
Photographers at the race track in Fuji

MOUNTAIN PANORAMA AND URBAN JUNGLE:
TWO MUST-SEE RACETRACKS IN ASIA.

Mount Fuji

The spotless snow-covered peak of Japan’s highest summit can be seen from a distance of hundreds of kilometres,
and yet it is just a short trip from Tokyo on the bullet train. The Mount Fuji volcano rises 3,776 metres into the sky and
draws visitors from all over the world like a magnet. Nestled at the foot of the landmark, in addition to many other natural
beauties and historic sites, is the Fuji Speedway racetrack. If you look out of the team garage and to the left, a breath-taking
panorama offered by no other racetrack in the world opens with Mount Fuji.

The spotless snow-covered peak of Japan’s highest summit can be seen from a distance of hundreds of kilometres,
and yet it is just a short trip from Tokyo on the bullet train. The Mount Fuji volcano rises 3,776 metres into the sky and
draws visitors from all over the world like a magnet. Nestled at the foot of the landmark, in addition to many other natural
beauties and historic sites, is the Fuji Speedway racetrack. If you look out of the team garage and to the left, a breath-taking
panorama offered by no other racetrack in the world opens with Mount Fuji.

Asian Sensation with BMW Motorsport

Formula 1 in Fuji

The track and its 16 turns became famous in 1976. At the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, Niki Lauda declared that the rain-slicked track was too dangerous and climbed out of his race car.
A courageous decision, which earned him a lot of respect, and moved the cinema audience in the blockbuster ‘Rush’, had far-reaching consequences;
Lauda lost the world championship to his long-time rival James Hunt, by just one point. The first Japanese Grand Prix – a race for all eternity.

The track and its 16 turns became famous in 1976. At the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, Niki Lauda declared that the rain-slicked track was too dangerous and climbed out of his race car.
A courageous decision, which earned him a lot of respect, and moved the cinema audience in the blockbuster ‘Rush’, had far-reaching consequences;
Lauda lost the world championship to his long-time rival James Hunt, by just one point. The first Japanese Grand Prix – a race for all eternity.

Asian Sensation with BMW Motorsport

Marco Wittmann

In November, the Fuji Speedway will experience another spectacle.
The DTM and SUPER GT will host their first joint race weekend on Japanese soil there.
BMW has a Dream Team lined up for the Dream Race: Alessandro Zanardi, Marco Wittmann and
local hero Kamui Kobayashi will warm up the fans with their turbo-powered BMW M4 DTM and
take on the Japanese rivals of Honda, Lexus and Nissan. And thus the racetrack at the foot of Mount Fuji
will once again make motorsport history in 2019.

In November, the Fuji Speedway will experience another spectacle.
The DTM and SUPER GT will host their first joint race weekend on Japanese soil there.
BMW has a Dream Team lined up for the Dream Race: Alessandro Zanardi, Marco Wittmann and
local hero Kamui Kobayashi will warm up the fans with their turbo-powered BMW M4 DTM and
take on the Japanese rivals of Honda, Lexus and Nissan. And thus the racetrack at the foot of Mount Fuji
will once again make motorsport history in 2019.

Asian Sensation with BMW Motorsport

BMW M6 GT3 in Macau

Our second must-see track does not have a breath-taking panorama yet the Guia Circuit in Macau is no less spectacular.
Quite the contrary; each year artificial barriers turn the urban canyons of the former Portuguese colony into a racetrack that enjoys legendary status among fans and drivers.
Macau is a tremendous test of courage, an infernal ride through metre-high concrete, perhaps the last great adventure in circuit racing.
At 6,115 metres, careers are raised to the next level, world champions are formed. Dreams crash into walls.

Our second must-see track does not have a breath-taking panorama yet the Guia Circuit in Macau is no less spectacular.
Quite the contrary; each year artificial barriers turn the urban canyons of the former Portuguese colony into a racetrack that enjoys legendary status among fans and drivers.
Macau is a tremendous test of courage, an infernal ride through metre-high concrete, perhaps the last great adventure in circuit racing.
At 6,115 metres, careers are raised to the next level, world champions are formed. Dreams crash into walls.

Asian Sensation with BMW Motorsport

Augusto Farfus celebrates his victory in Macau

While the city has changed rapidly – Macau and its hotel towers is the Las Vegas of Asia with its gambling monopoly
– the street circuit turns are the same as at the first race in 1954. Every November, the international automobile association,
the FIA, crowns the GT racing world champion in the Chinese Special Administrative Region.
The 2018 title went to Augusto Farfus in the BMW Team Schnitzer BMW M6 GT3.
If Brazil’s Farfus, dubbed ‘Gustl’ by the fans, repeats this success in 2019,
the grey urban canyons of Macau will become the setting for a roaring victory party.

While the city has changed rapidly – Macau and its hotel towers is the Las Vegas of Asia with its gambling monopoly
– the street circuit turns are the same as at the first race in 1954. Every November, the international automobile association,
the FIA, crowns the GT racing world champion in the Chinese Special Administrative Region.
The 2018 title went to Augusto Farfus in the BMW Team Schnitzer BMW M6 GT3.
If Brazil’s Farfus, dubbed ‘Gustl’ by the fans, repeats this success in 2019,
the grey urban canyons of Macau will become the setting for a roaring victory party.

Asian Sensation with BMW Motorsport

MODERN SAMURAI WARRIORS:
THE TWO BEST-KNOWN RACING DRIVERS IN ASIA.

The world of motorsport is surprisingly small, with career paths often intertwined. Who would have thought that the same race team that is the home of one of the most well-known racers in Asia, also contests the IMSA series with the BMW M8 GTE? Most motorsport fans should be familiar with Takuma Sato from his time in Formula 1 – and one or two collisions with Michael Schumacher, but before he became a racing driver, he caused a stir on two wheels. Sato won numerous national motorcycle championships in the Junior sector, before he discovered karting at the age of 19. The 1.64-metre Japanese contested 91 Formula 1 races between 2002 and 2008. Then he discovered a new love, the IndyCar series, and went down in the history books as the first Japanese racer to win an IndyCar race when he was victorious in Long Beach in 2013. His private life is more laid back. What would he take with him to a desert island? Food, a power generator and his family, and he is still faithful to his dear IndyCar today. And this is where we come full circle. He is currently racing for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, which BMW fans know as BMW Team RLL from the IMSA series.

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One name has to be included on the list of Asia’s most famous racing drivers: Kamui Kobayashi. The old adage is true in his case - you always meet twice in life. After his Formula 1 career, a foray into the WEC and Super Formula, he contested two Formula E races at the Hong Kong E-Prix in December 2017. His team back then, MS&AD Andretti Formula E, under the name BMW i Andretti Motorsport, has been responsible for BMW’s works entry in the race series for electric single-seater cars since Season 5. Most recently, Kobayashi was a regular starter at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. The man from Japan has three second places to his name. He and his team-mate dominated the LMP-1 class in the iconic race for 23 hours in 2019, before they were plagued by a defect and victory slipped from their grasp.
As fate would have it, the paths of BMW and Kobayashi will cross again in 2019 – at Fuji in November, when the DTM and Super GT compete together in the Dream Race. Kobayashi will race in a BMW M Motorsport touring car for the first time on the 4.563-kilometre track in view of the legendary Mount Fuji.

 

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Kamui Kobayashi

THE CRAZIEST TEAM PRINCIPAL:
EDEL-TUNER YASUAKI BOB SUZUKI.

Yasuaki Suzuki

If you want to see just how crazy Bob Suzuki is, take a look at the Manfred Winkelhock’s BMW M3, on display in the showroom in Yokohama. Studie AG installed a PlayStation in the engine compartment. Anyone sitting in the race seat behind the steering wheel looks through to a flat screen and can put the pedal to the metal in sim racing. BMW lovers are also spoiled with countless tuning items such as brakes, wheels or buttons. Bob Suzuki and Studie AG are famous for providing their Japanese customers with the best, hand-picked BMW parts in the world. Enriched with their involvement and experience in motorsport, they have gained unmatched expertise in this area.

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A white functional building at a crossroads in Yokohama where bullet trains on the Tokaido-Shinkansen line whoosh above the roof. The traffic passes indifferently. Only insiders purposefully indicate once they reach the address 61-2, Kishinecho. For them, the inconspicuous building is a temple to horsepower.

This is where Studie AG has its showroom and workshop. Its boss is quite possibly the most flamboyant BMW tuner in the world. Yasuaki Suzuki founded the company on 27th July 1995 – out of love for BMW. He wanted to share his passion for the Munich-based brand with his Japanese compatriots. Today, he is the boss of five shops and a winning race team. Yasuaki Suzuki – known as Bob – lives in Roppongi. Tourists are familiar with the district in the Minato region of the Tokyo prefecture as a late-night party zone. But Roppongi, which translated literally means ‘six trees’, is much more, also being a modern hub for art, design and shopping. BMW fans may well come across Bob Suzuki and one or two BMW drivers in a restaurant or karaoke bar here after a race weekend.

 

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Yasuaki Suzuki

FLAMBOYANT DESIGN AND TITLE ON THE ASSEMBLY LINE:
BMW CUSTOMER RACING IN ASIA.

BMW M6 GT3 Steiff

More colourful, louder, flashier are descriptions that suit BMW Team Studie better than any other team in the BMW cosmos.
The fans in Asia love the crew from Yokohama. This is primarily due to the extravagant designs of their BMW racing cars.
The colourful manga liveries in turquoise and magenta of the BMW Z4 GT3’s appearances in the Japanese SUPER GT are legendary.
For a long time, the logo of a renowned soft toy manufacturer was printed in large letters on the bonnets of the BMW Z4 GT3 and
the BMW M6 GT3 – and the Studie AG stores stocked teddy bears alongside brake discs.

More colourful, louder, flashier are descriptions that suit BMW Team Studie better than any other team in the BMW cosmos.
The fans in Asia love the crew from Yokohama. This is primarily due to the extravagant designs of their BMW racing cars.
The colourful manga liveries in turquoise and magenta of the BMW Z4 GT3’s appearances in the Japanese SUPER GT are legendary.
For a long time, the logo of a renowned soft toy manufacturer was printed in large letters on the bonnets of the BMW Z4 GT3 and
the BMW M6 GT3 – and the Studie AG stores stocked teddy bears alongside brake discs.

Asian Sensation with BMW Motorsport

BMW M4 GT4 at the Blancpain GT Series Asia

Bob Suzuki’s team had already clocked up plenty of race kilometres with BMW cars before collaborating with BMW Japan
and launching BMW Sports Trophy Team Studie as a customer racing team in 2014. From that time on, BMW works drivers
provided the team from Yokohama with support behind the steering wheel. 2018 saw the team make the brave decision to move
from Japan to the stage covering the whole Asian region, and take on the challenge of Blancpain GT Series Asia with the
BMW M4 GT4 with great success.

Bob Suzuki’s team had already clocked up plenty of race kilometres with BMW cars before collaborating with BMW Japan
and launching BMW Sports Trophy Team Studie as a customer racing team in 2014. From that time on, BMW works drivers
provided the team from Yokohama with support behind the steering wheel. 2018 saw the team make the brave decision to move
from Japan to the stage covering the whole Asian region, and take on the challenge of Blancpain GT Series Asia with the
BMW M4 GT4 with great success.

Asian Sensation with BMW Motorsport

BMW Team Studie celebrates its team title

In its very first year, BMW Team Studie won the team title. Then driver victory followed a season later
when Sunako Jukuchou was crowned champion in the GT4 category of the series renamed Blancpain
GT World Challenge Asia. As always there was a twist; the design of the race car was of a more than
striking carpet pattern in BMW M colours.

In its very first year, BMW Team Studie won the team title. Then driver victory followed a season later
when Sunako Jukuchou was crowned champion in the GT4 category of the series renamed Blancpain
GT World Challenge Asia. As always there was a twist; the design of the race car was of a more than
striking carpet pattern in BMW M colours.

Asian Sensation with BMW Motorsport

BMW Z4 GT3

Another major BMW customer racing team is at home in Taiwan. Team principal Jun-San Chen founded Team AAI in 1991
– and has been active as a driver in all manner of series ever since. Back in 2013 the team competed in Macau with two
BMW Z4 GT3s, after switching to BMW at short notice for the season finale of the Asia Le Mans Series (ALMS) at Sepang.
One year later, Farfus and the then newly crowned DTM champion Wittmann steered the BMW Z4 GT3 through the streets of Macau.
Team AAI had established itself as a firm fixture in the BMW customer racing world and successes soon arrived.
In the 2017/18 season, the team was crowned champion in the ALMS.

Another major BMW customer racing team is at home in Taiwan. Team principal Jun-San Chen founded Team AAI in 1991
– and has been active as a driver in all manner of series ever since. Back in 2013 the team competed in Macau with two
BMW Z4 GT3s, after switching to BMW at short notice for the season finale of the Asia Le Mans Series (ALMS) at Sepang.
One year later, Farfus and the then newly crowned DTM champion Wittmann steered the BMW Z4 GT3 through the streets of Macau.
Team AAI had established itself as a firm fixture in the BMW customer racing world and successes soon arrived.
In the 2017/18 season, the team was crowned champion in the ALMS.

Asian Sensation with BMW Motorsport

Nick Yelloly in the BMW M6 GT3

They also received championship honours in the China GT Championship. Nick Yelloly in the #90 BMW M6 GT3 won the driver’s title in 2019,
and AAI was the winning team, and they will be racing on the streets of Macau once again. At the wheel of the BMW M6 GT3, Joel Eriksson will
be chasing the title and will stick with the team beyond that. Team AAI is set to return to the ALMS for the 2019/20 season – with Eriksson as driver.
At his side will be team principal Jun San Chen and Hongli Ye of China, who will meet his compatriots from Team Astro Veloce Motorsport.
The Chinese team is set to compete with two BMW M6 GT3s for the first time and will receive support from Jens Klingmann for the season opener.
So, the BMW customer racing family is growing and growing in Asia, and as a global brand ambassador is contributing to the continued growth of BMW’s reputation on the largest continent.

They also received championship honours in the China GT Championship. Nick Yelloly in the #90 BMW M6 GT3 won the driver’s title in 2019,
and AAI was the winning team, and they will be racing on the streets of Macau once again. At the wheel of the BMW M6 GT3, Joel Eriksson will
be chasing the title and will stick with the team beyond that. Team AAI is set to return to the ALMS for the 2019/20 season – with Eriksson as driver.
At his side will be team principal Jun San Chen and Hongli Ye of China, who will meet his compatriots from Team Astro Veloce Motorsport.
The Chinese team is set to compete with two BMW M6 GT3s for the first time and will receive support from Jens Klingmann for the season opener.
So, the BMW customer racing family is growing and growing in Asia, and as a global brand ambassador is contributing to the continued growth of BMW’s reputation on the largest continent.

Asian Sensation with BMW Motorsport

SUCCESSES FOR ALL ETERNITY: THE HISTORY OF BMW IN ASIA.

Macau. Macau time and again. The streets of the city on the Pearl River delta have always been a good hunting ground for BMW – and have always played a key role in BMW Motorsport’s history characterised by success. If you ask BMW hero Andy Priaulx about his memories of Macau these days, the former works driver from the small Channel Island of Guernsey goes into raptures. The Special Administrative Region on the south coast of the Chinese mainland is the site of his greatest successes. Priaulx was crowned world champion three times in Macau, in final races dramatic in part. From 2005 to 2007 he achieved a slick title hat-trick in the World Touring Car Championship. Always at his side was Bart Mampaey’s team, BMW Team RBM, which is currently battling for points in the DTM.

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Charly Lamm and Augusto Farfus
BMW 320i of Andy Priaulx

Anyone opening the history books and leafing through to BMW in Asia will inevitably stumble upon one name: Schnitzer – perhaps the most prominent BMW team of all time. The Freilassing team has also made an impression on Asia with Macau playing a key role once again. The team, still under the management of the late Charly Lamm at that time, is, with 14 successes, the record winner in Macau. The first victory dates from 1980. Back then it was Hans-Joachim Stuck in the BMW 320 who was the first to see the chequered flag. Between 1980 and 1998 alone, the team won nine times in Macau for BMW. Charly once said: “This race is unique in motorsport and not comparable with any other event.” And that means something coming from a team dominant in the DTM and which won the 24 Hours Nürburgring and 24 Hours of Spa consecutively. These days we know that Macau was something of a race of fate for Charly, his final race as team principal. It ended in triumph with victory for the BMW M6 GT3 and Farfus. This will make the Brazilian and Schnitzer’s 2019 return to the city on the Pearl River all the more emotional.

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110% FAN.

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110% TECH.

The drivers, engineers and management work around the clock to achieve the goals of BMW Motorsport with new technology, innovative solutions and vision. Check it out for yourself and dive into exciting stories from the world of motorsport.