[Jason]

BIMMERPOST NEWS

Eighth Place in Daytona for the 19th BMW Art Car

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January 29, 2017

Daytona. The 19th BMW Art Car experienced an eventful race appearance at the Daytona 24 Hours, finishing eighth in the GTLM class. The opening round of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) once again offered fans excitement right down to the final lap.

One of the highlights of the 24-hour race at the Daytona International Speedway was the BMW M6 GTLM Art Car, designed by American artist John Baldessari and driven by Bill Auberlen (USA), Alexander Sims (GBR), Augusto Farfus (BRA) and Bruno Spengler (CAN). After 652 laps of racing, Farfus took the chequered flag at the wheel of the 19th member of the BMW Art Car Collection. The quartet of drivers, as well as team principal Bobby Rahal’s crew, delivered a focussed performance, despite difficult conditions with heavy rain and a total of 21 full-course yellows. GTLM victory went to the number 66 Ford.

The Baldessari car is only the third BMW Art Car in history to finish the 24-hour race it appeared in. The same feat was only achieved by Roy Lichtenstein’s BMW 320i in the 1977 Le Mans 24 Hours and the BMW M1 Art Car created by Andy Warhol at the same event in 1979. Prior to this year’s Rolex 24, the latest BMW Art Car appearance dated back to 2010, when the BMW M3 GT2 Art Car created by Jeff Koons was sent into action at Le Mans.

In contrast, the 55th Rolex 24 At Daytona came to an early end for the number 24 BMW M6 GTLM. Only 14 laps into the race, first-stint driver John Edwards (USA) came to a stop at the pit lane entrance after suffering vibration at the rear of the car. BMW Team RLL tried to get the BMW M6 GTLM back out onto the track, and Edwards did actually rejoin briefly after a long break for repairs. However, he was then forced to retire permanently just one lap later due to persisting powertrain issues. Martin Tomczyk (GER), Kuno Wittmer (CAN) and Nick Catsburg (NLD) did not play a part in the race.

The Turner Motorsport team delivered a fighting performance in the GTD class: Jens Klingmann (GER), Jesse Krohn (FIN), Maxime Martin (BEL) and Justin Marks (USA) lost ground – and several laps – due to repair work on their yellow number 96 BMW M6 GT3 following a collision they got involved in on Saturday night. Afterwards, however, the team moved up the ranks again, eventually finishing eighth out of 27 GTD competitors. Victory in this category was secured by the number 28 Porsche.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “Eighth place for the BMW M6 GTLM Art Car was a relatively conciliatory ending to a tough race for us. After the number 24 car had been forced to retire early with a technical issue, BMW Team RLL never gave up. In the end, however, a better result today was out of reach in difficult conditions. We had to fight with our hands tied for much of the race. The Turner Motorsport team also proved some good fighting spirit, finishing eighth in the GTD class to claim a respectable result with the BMW M6 GT3, despite losing a lot of time following an accident that was not their fault. On the whole, we would obviously have preferred a more successful start to the new IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. However, it did not really come as a huge surprise to us that it was not easy – particularly on this track, which poses its own unique challenges for the cars. Everyone could see that the balance of performance is not yet perfect for this year’s field. Congratulations to Ford on this victory achieved in an exciting finale. Regardless of the sporting outcome of the Rolex 24, the outing of the 19th BMW Art Car, designed by John Baldessari, was a real highlight. The drivers and BMW Team RLL enjoyed racing this work of art at Daytona. We are already looking forward to this year’s second Art Car, designed by Cao Fei, which will be in action in Macau at the end of the year. As far as the IMSA season is concerned, we want to put on a stronger display at the 12-hour race in Sebring in mid-March than we did here in Daytona.”

John Baldessari (Artist, BMW Art Car #19): “Everybody gave this their all, which makes me a happy man. In Daytona competition is fierce. I wholeheartedly thank BMW Motorsport, the drivers, the engineers as well as the mechanics. My car has now earned its spurs on the racetrack and has proven itself as the fastest work of art I ever created.”

Bobby Rahal (Team Principal, BMW Team RLL): “Everyone did a great job on the number 19 car. It’s a shame we went a lap down, because the opportunity to get the lap back didn’t ever present itself. The car ran reliably, the pitstops were good and the drivers did a great job. We’re very proud to have had the chance to compete with a BMW Art Car. We’ll forever be a part of its history. It’s obviously a disappointment for the number 24. The number of mechanical failures we’ve had during our 10-year relationship could probably be counted on one hand, so it’s a big surprise when we have an issue. I’m anxious to look into it further.”

Bill Auberlen (No. 19 BMW M6 GTLM, eighth place): “This is one of the highlights of my career, without any doubt. It’s going to go down in history, the 19th BMW Art Car will outlive us. To be part of the artwork, this vision from a master like John Baldessari, is a great privilege. I just wish we could’ve done better in the race. The BMW M6 GTLM ran perfectly, the team did a great job, and the drivers too. Hopefully we’ll come back fighting for the Sebring 12 Hours, and then for the rest of the IMSA season.”

Alexander Sims (No. 19 BMW M6 GTLM, eighth place): “It’s thoroughly special to race a BMW Art Car at the Daytona 24-hour race – to be in an Art Car, as historic as it is, is a massive privilege. To have my name on the side of this car is fantastic. We obviously came here to win, so in that regard this weekend proved to be honestly quite disappointing. Everyone in the team and at BMW did a good job this weekend, but we just lacked some pace – that’s that. I’m looking forward to the rest of the IMSA season. Everything is new to me, it’s a massive learning curve but I can't wait to get stuck in.”

Augusto Farfus (No. 19 BMW M6 GTLM, eighth place): “It was a unique opportunity to write my name in BMW Art Car history. People might see my name on the BMW M6 GTLM Art Car in 50 or even 100 years’ time. This is something that will live with me forever. From a sporting point of view, it clearly wasn’t our race. The team did a fantastic job, the set up was perfect, the pitstops were great, all my team-mates drove superbly. Unfortunately, when you’re unlucky, you’re unlucky – even the full course yellows didn’t go in our favour.”

Bruno Spengler (No. 19 BMW M6 GTLM, eighth place): “Well, this wasn’t exactly what we had planned for this race. For the first time I was driving the car in the wet during the night of a 24h race. This was an exciting experience. However, compared to the opposition we were lacking speed. And in the decisive situations we weren’t lucky either. But we didn’t give up, the drivers didn’t make any mistakes. This fact will stay in my memory as well as the huge honour of driving the BMW Art Car. I’m very proud of having been a part of this.”

[Gray_Panther]

I always loved the side shots where the rotors looked like molten rings of lava!

[wdb]

That's an ART CAR?

[RPChan]

I am having a hard time seeing the "art" associated with that paint/decal scheme. Give me the cars of yesteryear or even the 2010 paint scheme. I hope if it races again the change the word "FAST" to "FASTER".

[Scrippy]

I agree, that may be art but it sure comes off as an effortless attempt. I feel like my daughter did that with one of her sticker books.

[drjoe66]

Really a pathetic result for the RLL team. The others are driving circles around them. If you are that slow, at least have reliable cars.

[WreckerX5d]

They get a solid C for effort in the art department.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by drjoe66

Really a pathetic result for the RLL team. The others are driving circles around them. If you are that slow, at least have reliable cars.

You can thank IMSA BoP for the pace. The M6 GTLM was getting walked constantly on the oval. There's nothing more you can do with the setup, but to drop aero, and then the car will lose ground in the corners (which it already is). Homologation racing is, unfortunately, largely political. You have to lobby for a competitive BoP package, or you're just not going to be competitive.

[3M TAPE]

The most WTF BMW Art car ever..

[drjoe66]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

You can thank IMSA BoP for the pace. The M6 GTLM was getting walked constantly on the oval. There's nothing more you can do with the setup, but to drop aero, and then the car will lose ground in the corners (which it already is). Homologation racing is, unfortunately, largely political. You have to lobby for a competitive BoP package, or you're just not going to be competitive.

The others are better at sandbagging during preseason testing.

[drjoe66]

Originally Posted by Wrecker335d

They get a solid C for effort in the art department.

That is a generous grade. If my kid turned in such a project in her arts class she would probably get an F.

[E9TOU]

The M6's were just not competitive this year - it was a hard race to watch being a BMW fan. I hope they receive better BOP for the next races, but it just seems like the M6 doesn't have the straight-line speeds or at least cornering ability. Next year's dedicated GTE Pro car can't come soon enough.

[vladberca]

Not a result to be proud of.....
I hope they'll do much better in the next races!

[Motorsportenterprise]

Really strong showing in the 911 RSR debut taking 2nd (should have won) in GTLM and the top spot in GTD.

[MiamiE93Vert]

It was a fun race to watch, and I got to introduce my two girls to watching the races, but looking at the details of BMW for this race and recent past they are very frustrating and troubling signs:

- the cars were not competitive in any sense, the M6 was not competitive last year either.
- if all we can talk about is the honor of racing an art car and finishing, it was not a good race.
- former BMW drivers that took podiums and accolades for the brand in the past are driving for other teams (I am looking at you Joey Hand and your 2017 Rolex watch won with ford).
- The race winners, the Taylors, were a family racing together, father and sons. Graham Rahal does not race for BMW and his Dad.

Maybe the way the car is regulated is the cause, maybe it is bad luck, maybe the above have nothing to do with anything, but the M3 and Z3 had better results before the M6 (and I am not a fan of the art car, :, I appreciate art that looks like something I cannot do, the car looks like it was made from leftover stickers, no me gusta). BMW needs to up their game.

[sipman]

I cannot find the art in that car either. You'd have thunk that an artist would be salivating at such a large canvas! I have to guess it's the largest car on the track, except for the tow trucks and flat beds. I mean, the M6 is too tall, and too wide to compete with any of the cars in GTLM. Whenever it follows another car in a tv shot, you can how much taller it is than it's competitors. I have to guess it's the largest car on the track, except for the tow trucks and flat beds.
I understand about being wide. Heck the past z4 was super stretched which is why it was awesome in the turns but a burden on the straights. This car is neither.

[der max]

The car is not so bad They can win races in Europe in GT3. Concerning the art car, Baldessari was asked to produce a simple paintjob to save weight.

[lan4]

Agree with comments about M6 not being competitive and political nature of the BoP in IMSA. Not sure how long BMW is going to be content with press releases patting themselves on the back for showing up, and talking about the fact that they ran an "art" car, didn't have the pace of the other cars, blah, blah, blah. Not sure where the art was/is.

Went to Lime Rock and Watkins Glen last year, and frankly the M6 GTLM is borderline ugly (the street M6 is a beautiful car, the racing version looks all wrong in my opinion), and doesn't sound good either. It's a BIG car in person.

The Z4 GTLM didn't win that much (well it did win more than the M6), but I think it captured more attention with radically good racing car looks, and just the fantastic sound of the s65 (especially in person). Just don't know what BMW was thinking in choosing to race a beautiful cruising car like the M6.

My suggestions:
1. Run 3 cars for the 6, 12 and 24 hour races like Ford is doing with the GT, more likely to have a finishing car. I'm sure BMW can afford it for the North American market.
2. Replace the M6 with an M3 or M4. or maybe the M2. Smaller cross section, and Ford and Porsche are running 6 cylinders, why can't BMW?
3. Leverage the sponsorship money they are putting into IMSA with some politics in terms of M6 aero, boost, fuel capacity, SOMETHING to go a little faster before this season is over.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by lan4

Agree with comments about M6 not being competitive and political nature of the BoP in IMSA. Not sure how long BMW is going to be content with press releases patting themselves on the back for showing up, and talking about the fact that they ran an "art" car, didn't have the pace of the other cars, blah, blah, blah. Not sure where the art was/is.

Went to Lime Rock and Watkins Glen last year, and frankly the M6 GTLM is borderline ugly (the street M6 is a beautiful car, the racing version looks all wrong in my opinion), and doesn't sound good either. It's a BIG car in person.

The Z4 GTLM didn't win that much (well it did win more than the M6), but I think it captured more attention with radically good racing car looks, and just the fantastic sound of the s65 (especially in person). Just don't know what BMW was thinking in choosing to race a beautiful cruising car like the M6.

My suggestions:
1. Run 3 cars for the 6, 12 and 24 hour races like Ford is doing with the GT, more likely to have a finishing car. I'm sure BMW can afford it for the North American market.
2. Replace the M6 with an M3 or M4. or maybe the M2. Smaller cross section, and Ford and Porsche are running 6 cylinders, why can't BMW?
3. Leverage the sponsorship money they are putting into IMSA with some politics in terms of M6 aero, boost, fuel capacity, SOMETHING to go a little faster before this season is over.

The 2-series is racing in the CTSC series, so we won't see it in WTSC, and there's zero chance we'll see it in GTE/GTLM. That's reserved for a brand's top marquee vehicles. No way BMW is fielding an entry-level car in that class.

The M6's biggest design issue is its bulky appearance. When you walk the grid and look at a car like the C7.R, the fenders flare out wildly, much like the Z4 GTLM. The M6 just kind of looks like a refrigerator box on wheels. The aero at the front is broken up mostly by large black panels. and the sides are very slab-like, with a consistent sill-height all the way down the waistline.

IMO, the M6 GT3/GTLM was an attempt to revitalize the iconography of the 3.5 CSL's Gr.5 glory days. You can see the design language in the way the front fenders are boxed out at the rear. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked out all that well for BMW, but I still think it's hard to blame the car.

It is naive to believe that the base road car has much to do with competitiveness of a GT3 or GTLM car. The cars are developed from the ground up to meet a performance envelope. From there, it's 100% about the BoP ebb and flow.

If BMW RLL are making any mistakes, it is that they are not playing enough games. They're showing up and running hard like they're supposed to, and IMSA certainly hasn't rewarded them for it. Chip Ganassi's teams were unquestionably sand-bagging leading up to Le Mans, and IMSA has done very little to slow them down. Every time they do something, CGR pulls another rabbit out of their hat and find more pace. Gee, I wonder what the deal is there?

I talked to Steve Dickson (BMW RLL General manager) for a while at the BMW tent, and the frustration is palpable. He was very gracious, and obviously loves motorsport, but the jilted feelings are starting to leak through in any conversation you have with BMW RLL team members. In between jokes about how crashy the Porsche Motorsport drivers were last year, there was a lot of "I get it, but com'on" feeling about the way IMSA is balancing the GTLM class. With Ford's return, the GTLM field got a much needed injection of diversity, but BMW RLL still would like an opportunity to be competitive, and I get the sense they don't feel like they are being given that shot.

[Chihuahua]

Nice photos, it's a shame they couldn't do better.

I know art is subjective, but that is the laziest piece of 'art' I've seen in a long time. The TMS car has more artistic character to it than the actual art car. I never thought someone would out Holzer the art car program, but it looks like I was wrong. Bravo, I guess.

[lan4]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

The 2-series is racing in the CTSC series, so we won't see it in WTSC, and there's zero chance we'll see it in GTE/GTLM. That's reserved for a brand's top marquee vehicles. No way BMW is fielding an entry-level car in that class.

The M6's biggest design issue is its bulky appearance. When you walk the grid and look at a car like the C7.R, the fenders flare out wildly, much like the Z4 GTLM. The M6 just kind of looks like a refrigerator box on wheels. The aero at the front is broken up mostly by large black panels. and the sides are very slab-like, with a consistent sill-height all the way down the waistline.

IMO, the M6 GT3/GTLM was an attempt to revitalize the iconography of the 3.5 CSL's Gr.5 glory days. You can see the design language in the way the front fenders are boxed out at the rear. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked out all that well for BMW, but I still think it's hard to blame the car.

It is naive to believe that the base road car has much to do with competitiveness of a GT3 or GTLM car. The cars are developed from the ground up to meet a performance envelope. From there, it's 100% about the BoP ebb and flow.

If BMW RLL are making any mistakes, it is that they are not playing enough games. They're showing up and running hard like they're supposed to, and IMSA certainly hasn't rewarded them for it. Chip Ganassi's teams were unquestionably sand-bagging leading up to Le Mans, and IMSA has done very little to slow them down. Every time they do something, CGR pulls another rabbit out of their hat and find more pace. Gee, I wonder what the deal is there?

I talked to Steve Dickson (BMW RLL General manager) for a while at the BMW tent, and the frustration is palpable. He was very gracious, and obviously loves motorsport, but the jilted feelings are starting to leak through in any conversation you have with BMW RLL team members. In between jokes about how crashy the Porsche Motorsport drivers were last year, there was a lot of "I get it, but com'on" feeling about the way IMSA is balancing the GTLM class. With Ford's return, the GTLM field got a much needed injection of diversity, but BMW RLL still would like an opportunity to be competitive, and I get the sense they don't feel like they are being given that shot.

Good info. Agree.

Been going to Rolex, IMSA, etc. races with my family for 20 plus years, BMW was always very competitive with the various M3's , LMR, Z4. This is sad to watch.

You would think team RLL would not be so naive at this point (in terms of knowing how to sandbag). Obviously too late for this season, but if what you are saying is true (sandbagging, politics, etc.) maybe BMW should also field another true factory team (like Corvette). Maybe it's not just the car. As they say in sports.....if you ain't cheating you ain't trying.

[SCBMW02]

IMSA continues to handcuff BMW!