Strong Start for BMW M Motorsport
Björn Lellmann, Head of Customer Racing at BMW M Motorsport: “In the still young season, we can already celebrate further successes from our BMW M Motorsport teams. At Le Castellet, there were not only podium finishes for our BMW M4 GT3 EVO customer racing projects at the first GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS endurance race. The teams also collected trophies in the GT4 European Series with the BMW M4 GT4 EVO. In addition, our BMW M Racing Academy member Thomi Rackl gave an impressive performance in his first weekend in the series. In Asia, Team KRC secured a victory in the GT World Challenge Asia, and at the NLS race on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, various BMW M race cars once again achieved strong results. From a customer racing perspective, these included a class victory for Gamota Racing with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO, as well as a double success for AV Racing by Black Falcon with the BMW M4 GT4 EVO. Let’s keep it going!”
News, 14th April 2026.” loading=”lazy” />GT4 European Series Opener
The GT4 European Series kicked off its new season at Le Castellet, and BMW M Motorsport celebrated a successful start with the BMW M4 GT4 EVO, particularly in the Pro-Am class where they achieved victories in both races.
In the first race, Swedish drivers Victor Bouveng and Joakim Walde clinched victory in the #98 BMW M4 GT4 EVO from Schubert Motorsport. Gustavo Xavier (SUI) and Önder Erdem (TUR) finished third in the #60 entry by Razoon – more than racing. The second race saw Daniel Drexel (AUT) and Christopher Salkeld (GBR) take victory in the #70 BMW M4 GT4 EVO for Razoon – more than racing, while Bouveng/Walde secured second place.
Thomi Rackl’s Impressive Debut
Thomi Rackl, a member of the BMW M Racing Academy, made headlines during his debut weekend in the GT4 European Series. Partnered with Gabriele Piana (ITA) in the #12 BMW M4 GT4 for Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport, they set the fastest time in practice and secured pole position for race two. Despite leading at times during the race, they finished fifth after a late safety car period disrupted their momentum.
Rackl commented on his experience: “After practice sessions where Gabriele set the fastest time and I did too, we entered the weekend very confident. Unfortunately, I didn’t nail my lap during qualifying for race one and we started from P25. I moved up to P17 before retiring due to contact. Race two started better; I took over from Gabriele while leading but lost positions at the restart due to worn tyres and lack of straight-line speed.”
BMW Z4 GT3 Makes a Comeback
The iconic BMW Z4 GT3 has returned to competition after several years away from racing. The vehicle was seen in action at both the Nürburgring Nordschleife and Circuit Paul Ricard during the opening weekend of April.
Peter Posavac led a team comprising Michael Funke and Nikolaus Frank to return the Z4 GT3 to action at Nürburgring after its last outing in 2019. Posavac expressed his emotions about the comeback: “It’s highly emotional and shows what motorsport can achieve. I’m incredibly happy to bring the old lady back to the grid.”
At Circuit Paul Ricard, three Z4s participated in the inaugural races of the new GT3 Revival Series, which celebrates 20 years of GT3 racing. Christoph von Oeynhausen secured second place in both Pro-Am class races with his #888 BMW Z4 GT3 run by Classic & Speed.
M News Roundup: Additional Victories
- GT World Challenge Asia: Team KRC won in the SIL-AM category at Sepang with drivers Brian Lee (TPE) and Maxime Oosten (NED) in the #10 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
- NLS Race: At Nürburgring Nordschleife, Schubert Motorsport took overall victory while BMW teams secured eight additional class wins including Gamota Racing’s #23 BMW M4 GT3 EVO claiming sixth overall and winning SP9 PRO-AM.
- GT Cup Series: Dennis Waszek (CZE) won the eD4-GT3 class driving a BMW M4 GT3 entered by Racing Trevor at Red Bull Ring.
© BMW Group
