BMW recently launched the M Racing Academy as a development program for GT4-category drivers, focusing on bringing up drivers competing in customer racing programs. Among the four finalists participating in the program in 2025 is American driver Matt Million, who drove for Auto Technic Racing in the SRO GT4 America series in 2024.
Back in November, twelve candidates for the M Racing Academy were invited to Munich to participate in several challenges that included driving the M Hybrid V8 on the BMW M Motorsport simulator, sessions at Formula Medicine to test physical and mental abilities, iRacing simulator sessions to test their ability to provide feedback on car setup, and interviews with BMW M Motorsport communications personnel. That group of twelve was then narrowed down to four, which included Nerea Martí (Spain), Berkay Besler (Turkey), and Niels Tröger (Germany), along with Matt Million.
Million is only 24 years old but already has a lot of experience racing. He started racing karts at age five and worked his way up through Spec Miata and Mazda MX-5 Challenge. His first race in a BMW was in an E46 M3 in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill (California) in 2019. He competed in the 318ti Cup series in Germany in 2020, then back to the US for Spec E46 racing in NASA in 2021, followed by NASA and WRL racing with San Diego-based Palomar Racing in an E36 M3. In 2024, he debuted in the SRO GT4 America championship with Auto Technic Racing in an M4 GT4.
Million in SRO GT4 America action at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
One of the most challenging aspects of the selection program for the M Racing Academy was driving the M Hybrid V8 prototype on the BMW M Motorsport simulator. “It was very different from anything else I have experienced and unlike any other sim I’ve ever driven, but it was very cool,” he says. “All the touchpoints were just like the real car. It was a challenge, and I don’t think any of us had an easy time with it. We all struggled to some degree, but I think they appreciated seeing us work through it and give feedback.”
Million is looking forward to being a part of the M Racing Academy in 2025, and BMW has an exciting year planned for the four racers in the program. “They’re still working on it, but we’re planning to do a couple of training camps at Formula Medicine in Italy, as well as a couple of development tests with the new M2 race car,” he says. “We’ll probably do more with the factory in Munich, with some media communications engagements and workshops with the engineering team. They also may support us at a couple races of our own this season, so they may send someone from Motorsport to one of my races in SRO to act as a mentor. They’re giving us a platform to lean on all season in terms of feedback and help.”
The four drivers in the program have a great group of mentors from BMW. Drivers Jens Klingmann and Max Hesse will be involved in the program, along with former factory driver Dirk Adorf, who was also involved in the BMW Junior Team program that Hesse was a part of along with Neil Verhagen and Dan Harper. Completion of the program in 2025 may lead to a test in the M4 GT3.
Million’s racing season begins in late March at Sonoma Raceway. He’ll be back in an Auto Technic Racing M4 GT4 and also hopes to race more with Palomar Racing in 2025. Million is a driver coach at the Thermal Club in southern California when he’s not competing.
—David Haueter
[Photo courtesy BMW, David Haueter]
