2022 marks the twentieth year of the BMW M Award being presented to the MotoGP rider with the best qualifying results. If you’re not aware, MotorGP riders earn points based on their qualifying positions at each Grand Prix weekend. And since 2003, whoever has amassed the most qualifying points in a MotoGP season takes home the award. This year’s big prize is the first-ever BMW M3 Competition Touring! What prize could be more glorious for these hardcore professional motorcycle riders than a station wagon?
To see how the M3 Competition Touring stacks up against previous years, let’s take a look at past BMW M Award prizes. In 2021, it was the M5 CS. In 2020, the M2 CS. In 2019, an X4 M Competition. Then there was an M3 CS, M4 CS, M2, M6 Convertible, and, well, you get the idea. To be honest, while I’d happily accept any of these awesome M cars without hesitation (I can dream), if I had a choice, I’d go with the wagon.
The winner’s M3 Competition Touring was shown for the first time at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone this past weekend. It has Frozen Black paint, M sports seats with Merino/Black leather upholstery, and the M Competition braking system. This was not the only M3 Touring at Silverstone as the M3 Touring MotoGP Safety Car, which was based off the M3 Competition Touring, took the position of lead car on track for the first time.
Frank van Meel, CEO of BMW M GmbH, said “2022 is a very special year for us at BMW M, with a host of highlights related to our 50th birthday. One of these is the first BMW M3 as a Touring model, which generated quite a buzz at its world premiere at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in late June. It is the flagship of our BMW M model range this year, which is why it makes sense to offer the BMW M3 Competition Touring as the prize for the winner of the twentieth BMW M Award.”
Best of luck to all of the riders. It’s never too late to start researching how to install a tow hitch on an M3 Competition Touring with the center-mounted M Performance exhaust. I bet it would tow at least two motorcycles to the track. —Mike Bevels
[Photos courtesy of BMW.]