DSC’s Daily Notebook (19/06/2023)

“Münchener Wirtshaus” BMW M1 to run at Le Mans Classic

BMW Group Classic has announced that it is returning to the Le Mans Classic for the first time since 2014. At the event, which promises to be bigger than ever as part of the centenary celebrations, it has entered the 1981 BMW M1 Group 4 in “Münchener Wirtshaus” livery.

Driving the M1 will be the original driver line-up from that year, HRH Prince Leopold of Bavaria, Christian Danner and Peter Oberndorfer. The trio were pictured (above) at a photocall in the Spatenhaus an der Oper restaurant in Munich as part of the reveal.

“I’m really looking forward to driving the BMW M1 Group 4 in “Münchener Wirtshaus” livery at Le Mans again after 42 years,” said HRH Prince Leopold of Bavaria.

“It makes me particularly proud that my friends Christian Danner and Peter Oberndorfer are here with me, so that we can take a trip back in time in a very special way.”

As well as entering the BMW M1 Group 4 in the Plateau 6 category, BMW Group Classic will be hosting an exhibition of Le Mans racing icons at the Musée des 24 Heures du Mans:

The overall winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999 – the BMW V12 LMR – will take its place alongside the first-ever BMW Art Car, the BMW 3.0 CSL from 1975 created by Alexander Calder. The BMW M3 GT2 Art Car from 2010 featuring the striking Keff Koons livery will also be on-site.

GT2 European Series at Dijon

The Fanatec GT2 European Series’ first visit to Circuit Dijon-Prenois saw three new winners in the Championship.

 The first 50-minute encounter of the weekend resulted in two new class winners. Reinhard Kofler and stand-in teammate Martin Koch claimed the first outright and Pro-Am victory for the #17 Team True Racing KTM X-BOW, while Leonardo Gorini secured his maiden Am class win for Ebimotors in their Porsche.

After a forced retirement in race one, Peter Guelinckx and Stienes Longin bounced back to take their second Pro-Am win of the season in race two aboard the PK Carsports Audi. Jan Krabec also returned to the top of the podium to earn a fourth Am win for RTR Projects.

RACE 1 RESULTS >>>
RACE 2 RESULTS >>>

Hinchcliffe set for guest drive at the Glen

IndyCar and IMSA veteran James Hinchcliffe will make his Mazda MX-5 Cup debut at Watkins Glen International this weekend as a guest driver.

The Canadian, whose ties to Mazda date back to 2005, will drive the #3 JTR Motorsports Engineering entry for what will be his first race at Watkins Glen in a sportscar.

“We’ve had the benefit of having MX-5 Cup run at a bunch of IndyCar races over the years, and I’ll tell you everyone in the paddock is either on the pit wall or switching over the feed in the engineering office to watch those races because they look like so much fun,” Hinchcliffe said.

“I think the series does a great job keeping everything nice and even. I think the competition is incredibly fierce and as drivers, that’s what you want to see. I’ve always enjoyed watching it and always thought it would be a blast to get the opportunity to try it. I’m very much looking forward to this.”

Lamborghini Junior drivers announced

Lamborghini Squadra Corse has unveiled the latest intake of drivers into its young driver programmes for the 2023 season.

The Super Trofeo Junior Drivers Program is dedicated to drivers aged 25 or under and who compete in one of the three regional Lamborghini Super Trofeo championships, while the GT3 Junior Drivers Program is reserved for those drivers competing at the wheel of a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 across the globe.

A total of 26 Super Trofeo Junior Drivers and 19 GT3 Juniors have been selected for the season-long assessment. All of them will be assessed throughout the season on their on-track performance, professionalism and technical feedback.

The most impressive drivers will then be selected by programme supervisor Raffaele Giammaria, to take part in an end-of-year shootout at Vallelunga in Italy, following the conclusion of the 2023 Lamborghini Grand Finals. Both the winner of the Super Trofeo Junior Driver Program and GT3 Junior Driver Program shootouts will go on to receive factory support from Squadra Corse in 2024.

2023 GT3 Junior Drivers

Daan Arrow, 19, Netherlands, GT Open
Jack Bartholomew, 24, UK, Italian GT
Riccardo Cazzaniga, 26, Italy, Italian GT
Pierre-Louis Chovet, 20, France, GT Open
Jaden Conwright, 24, USA, IMSA
Alessio Deledda, 28, Italy, DTM
Philippe Denes, 24, USA, Italian GT
Raúl Guzman, 23, Mexico, Italian GT
Benjamin Hites, 24, Chile, GTWC Endurance/Sprint
Nico Jamin, 27, France, GTWC Sprint
Brendon Leitch, 27, New Zealand, Le Mans Cup/Asian Le Mans Series/GTWC
Mateo Llarena, 19, Guatemala, Italian GT
Mattia Michelotto, 20, Italy, Italian GT
Baptiste Moulin, 23, Belgium, Italian GT/GTWC Sprint
Marcus Påverud, 23, Norway, GTWC Sprint
Artem Petrov, 23, Israel, Italian GT
Loris Spinelli, 27, Italy, IMSA
Glenn van Berlo, 21, Netherlands, GTWC Endurance
Mick Wishofer, 23, Austria, DTM

2023 Super Trofeo Junior Drivers

Largim Ali, 19, Denmark, Super Trofeo Europe
Filippo Berto, 24, Italy, Super Trofeo Europe
Douglas Bolger, 16, Japan/UK, Super Trofeo Europe
Amaury Bonduel, 24, Belgium, Super Trofeo Europe
Loris Cabirou, 18, France, Super Trofeo Europe
Hugo Condé, 22, France, Super Trofeo Europe
Ugo de Wilde, 20, Belgium, Super Trofeo Europe
Pedro Ebrahim, 17, Brazil, Super Trofeo Europe
Marco Giltrap, 19, New Zealand, Super Trofeo Asia
Riccardo Ianniello, 16, Italy, Super Trofeo Europe
Alessandro Mainetti, 19, Italy, Super Trofeo Europe
Edgar Maloigne, 22, France, Super Trofeo Europe
Patrick Matthiesen, 24, Denmark, Super Trofeo Europe
Marzio Moretti, 21, Italy, Super Trofeo Europe
Lucas Petersson, 21, Sweden, Super Trofeo NA
Guillem Pujeu Beya, 22, Spain, Super Trofeo Europe
Wesley Slimp, 21, USA, Super Trofeo NA
Oliver Söderström, 24, Sweden, Super Trofeo Europe
Gilles Stadsbader, 19, Belgium, Super Trofeo Europe
Rodrigo Testa, 17, Portugal, Super Trofeo Europe
Lucas Valkre, 22, France/Switzerland, Super Trofeo Europe
Yury Wagner, 22, Luxemburg, Super Trofeo Europe
Jake Walker, 17, USA, Super Trofeo NA
Jackson Walls, 20, Australia, Super Trofeo Asia
Carter Williams, 24, USA, Super Trofeo NA
Shenghui Xu, 20, China, Super Trofeo Asia

Images courtesy of BMW, GT2 European Series & IMSA