BMW Motorsport has announced that its new entry level customer car will be based on the M2 Competition. In a late June press release BMW announced that delivery of the new car, which will replace the M240i Racing, is slated to begin in the second quarter of 2020. The car will get its first track test in round five of the VLN Endurance Championship at the Nürburgring on August 3, 2019. The move comes not one full year after the M240i Racing was introduced, which succeeded the previous M235i Racing.
An expanded distribution and service network and a new BMW M club racing sector will be put in place when the new car is introduced. BMW says, “The Customer Racing service concept is to be expanded by building and developing competence centers in the USA and Asia. To achieve this, experienced partners will be commissioned to support teams at a local level with a high degree of motorsport expertise.”
“On the distribution and service side, dealers with a focus on motorsport will be established around the world. They will offer optimal customer care, in line with BMW’s high standards, thanks to special training. This new area offers the ideal entry opportunity for BMW drivers who have, for example, fallen in love with motor racing while on BMW Driving Experience training courses.”
BMW M president Markus Flasch says “Our new offering will allow us to bring motorsport even closer to our customers in the future, With the new entry level model, based on our BMW M2 Competition, we are showing a strong commitment to customer racing in general. At the same time, we are also starting to establish the BMW M club racing sector. Future BMW M special editions will be particularly relevant in this regard. The presence on the club racing scene sees us close the gap between our motorsport training courses within the BMW Driving Experience and grassroots racing series. With our dealers focusing on motorsport, which we plan to establish around the world, and the additional competence centers. we want to offer the best possible service and a professional supply of spare parts outside of Europe, as well as efficient customer care on a local level—regardless of whether the customer in question is an entry-level driver or a professional.”
BMW motorsport director Jens Marquardt notes “It is fantastic to be able to take BMW’s customer racing program to the next level with the new club racing sector, as well as the associated setting up of global service and distribution structures. Customer racing at BMW has arguably never been as diverse as it will be from next season. With the new entry-level model – the successor to the BMW M240i Racing – we are, on the one hand, offering our grass-roots customers continuity. On the other hand, we are also addressing a new target group with the club level variant.”
No additional details on the new car, the new distribution and service network, or the new club racing sector accompanied the release, but you can find details about the M2 road car here.—Brian Morgan
[Photo courtesy BMW AG.]
