Throughout its history, BMW has been involved in a range of motorsport activities, including Formula Two, Touring car racing and sportscar racing. BMW is currently active in Formula One. BMW AG (an initialism for Bayerische Motoren-Werke Aktiengesellschaft, or in English, Bavarian Motor Works; ISIN: DE0005190003), is an independent German company and manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. ... Auto racing (also known as automobile racing or autosport) is a sport involving racing automobiles. ... Formula Two was a type of formula racing. ... Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct automobile racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. ... GTP sports cars racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 1991 Sports car racing is a form of circuit racing, with purpose-built cars that nevertheless have enclosed wheel wells and often have closed cockpits. ... Formula One - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

History

1940 — 1980

BMW used its sporty 328 model as the basis for its early efforts in the Formula 2 series, a stepping stone to Formula 1; the 328 occasionally participated in F1 races. BMW ran its own team, but other smaller teams such as Veritas, AFM, and Jicey also used the 328. However, after the death of the initial F2 series in 1955 and its resurrection the following year, BMW's management decided not to participate in open wheel racing. The BMW 328 was a sports car made by BMW between 1936 and 1940, designed by Fritz Fiedler. ... While Formula One has generally been regarded as the pinnacle of open-wheeled auto racing, the high performance nature of the cars and the expense involved in the series has always meant that there has needed to be a path to reach this peak. ... Formula One, abbreviated to F1 and also known as Grand Prix racing, is the highest class of single-seat open-wheel auto racing. ... Veritas was a Formula One constructor from Germany. ...

Jo Siffert in the Lola 102-BMW at the Nürburgring.

In 1967, the Formula 2 regulations were changed to allow 1600cc motors, and BMW's new management was more open to the idea of open wheel racing. In the 1968 season, the company joined with Lola, using their 100 chassis. BMW sponsored drivers Jo Siffert and Hubert Hahne. For 1969, the team switched to Lola 102s, and used a new development of BMW's 1600cc engine, dubbed the M12. Siffert and Hahne remained; Gerhard Mitter and Dieter Quester shared a third car. Halfway through the season, BMW debuted their own chassis, the 269, at the Hockenheimring. Mitter was killed during development of the 269. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Jo Siffert, born July 7, 1936 – died October 24, 1971, was a Swiss race car driver. ... For other meanings, see Lola (disambiguation) Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a racing car engineering company founded by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon, United Kingdom. ... Detailed Nürburgring map showing both the Nordschleife and the new GP section. ... For other meanings, see Lola (disambiguation) Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a racing car engineering company founded by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon, United Kingdom. ... Jo Siffert, born July 7, 1936 – died October 24, 1971, was a Swiss race car driver. ... Hubert Hahne was a Formula One driver from Germany. ... Gerhard Mitter was a German Formula One driver. ... Dieter Quester was a Formula One driver from Austria. ... The Hockenheimring is a motor racing circuit situated near the town of Hockenheim in Germany. ...

For the 1970 F2 season, BMW debuted the 270 chassis, and campaigned with Jo Siffert, Hubert Hahne, Dieter Quester, and Jacky Ickx. The team won every race of the season. However, in 1971, BMW's involvement was pulled back, with the team only supplying engines for Dieter Quester's Eifelland. With a change in the F2 engine regulations to 2000ccs, BMW went on hiatus for the 1972 season. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Eifelland. ...

When BMW's returned to F2 in 1973, the company again supplied only engines. Although officially backing the March team's effort for drivers Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Jean-Pierre Jarier, they also supplied engines for teams such as Beta Racing and Brian Lewis Racing. From 1973 to the end of Formula 2 in 1984, BMW supplied engines to the championship-winning drivers in 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, and 1982. Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise (born 26 April 1937 in Paris, France) was a Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams. ... Jean-Pierre Jarier (born July 10, 1946) is a French Grand Prix racing driver, now retired. ...

1980s — present

In 1980, BMW announced their development of a turbocharged motor for the Brabham F1 team. The engine first raced in the 1982 season. The M12/13 engine won at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix at the hands of Nelson Piquet; Riccardo Patrese was the team's other driver. The following season, BMW supplied engines to the ATS team; the factory-backed Brabham took four victories on its way to Piquet's championship win. Two more victories came in 1984, and BMW added Arrows to its list of teams who received its engines. In 1985, Piquet's Brabham, who was now teamed with Marc Surer, managed only one win. Brabham - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The 1982 Formula One season was the 33th FIA Formula One World Championship season. ... Results from the 1982 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 13, 1982 Classification Notes Fastest Lap: Didier Pironi 128. ... Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (born August 17, 1952), more commonly known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian racing driver who was Formula One world champion in 1981, 1983, and 1987. ... Riccardo Patrese (born April 17, 1954) is an Italian former Formula One (F1) racing driver, from 1977 to 1993. ... ATS was a German Formula One team, named after German alloy wheel brand Auto Technisches Spezialzubehor, and active in Formula One from 1977 to 1984. ... Team Orange Arrows Formula One car at the 2000 United States Grand Prix The Arrows Racing Team team was founded in 1977, by Italian financier Franco Ambrosio (A), Alan Rees (R), Jackie Oliver (O), Dave Wass (W) and Tony Southgate (S) when Rees, Oliver, Wass and Southgate left the Shadow... Marc Surer was a Formula One driver from Switzerland. ...

In 1986, BMW started to supply engines for the new Benetton team, who earned the only win for a BMW engine at the hands of Gerhard Berger. However, the factory-backed effort at Brabham met with little success with the return of Patrese and Derek Warwick. At the end of the 1986 season, BMW announced it would drop out of Formula 1 at the end of the 1987 season. Benetton Formula Ltd. ... Gerhard Berger, born August 27, 1959 in Wörgl is a popular Austrian ex-Grand Prix racing driver who owns 50% of Formula One team Scuderia Toro Rosso. ... Derek Stanley Arthur Warwick (born Alresford, Hampshire, England, 27 August 1954) was an English racing driver. ...

BMW's M12/13 engine, however, continued to be used, because Megatron bought the rights to the engines for the Arrows team. The Ligier team was also supplied with the engine for the 1987 season. Following the 1988 season, turbocharged motors were banned, and Arrows ended its use of the former BMW engine. Ligier is a French automobile maker created by former racing driver Guy Ligier. ...

The BMW M12/13 Turbocharged I4 engine was famous during its life for being the first Formula 1 engine capable of 1000hp in racing trim, although it was capable of nearly 1400hp for qualifying with modification of its boost. Air foil bearing-supported turbocharger cutaway made by Mohawk Innovative Technology Inc. ... The straight-4 or inline-4 is an internal combustion engine with four cylinders aligned in one row. ...

BMW had various touring and sportscar successes throughout the rest of the 1980s and 1990s following its exit from Formula 1. In 1997, BMW announced that it had developed a partnership with Williams Grand Prix Engineering. The initial development of this partnership was BMW's sportscar effort, using chassis built by Williams and BMW M70 V12 engines. This culminated in BMW's victory at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans with the BMW V12 LMR. Not to be confused with Frank Williams Racing Cars, formed by Frank Williams 1967. ... The BMW M70 is a V12 piston engine. ... Colombo Type 125 Testa Rossa engine in a 1961 Ferrari 250TR Spyder V-12 engine simplified cross-section V12 redirects here. ... The 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 67th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 12 and 13, 1999. ... The BMW V12 LMR was entered in Sports car racing from 1998 to 2000. ...

Following the win, the second stage of BMW's partnership with Williams began, with BMW developing the powerful E41 V10 for Formula 1. The new Williams-BMW debuted in the 2000 season, driven by Ralf Schumacher and Jenson Button. In 2001, Schumacher took 3 wins and newcomer Juan Pablo Montoya took his first win. A lone win for Schumacher followed in 2002, but Williams-BMW returned to success in 2003, with two wins each for Schumacher and Montoya. Montoya was the lone winner in 2004. Ralf Schumacher (born June 30, 1975 in Hürth-Hermülheim near Cologne) is a German Formula One racing driver for the Toyota team. ... Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British Formula One racing driver from England. ... Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (born September 20, 1975 in Bogotá, Colombia) is a racing driver. ...

In 2005, disputes led to a rapid decline in the partnership of BMW and Williams. Constant disagreements over the cause of technical failures in the car led BMW to discontinue development of the P84/5 V10 as the season progressed, leading to no victories for the team's new driver line-up of Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld. Consequently, the car finished a distant 5th in the constructors' championship. A V10 engine is a V engine with 10 cylinders in two banks of five. ... Mark Alan Webber (born August 27, 1976) is an Australian Formula One driver. ... Nick Heidfeld (born May 10, 1977) is a German Formula One auto racing driver for the BMW Sauber factory team. ...

BMW Sauber F1

Main article: BMW Sauber

Wanting a split from their failing relationship with Williams, BMW's executives decided that adding an F1 team to the company's motorsport division, thus removing the necessity for a partner, was the only viable solution. Enticed by Sauber's new multi-million dollar research and development facility, which included an advanced windtunnel setup, BMW choose to offer a buyout to Peter Sauber rather than scramble to build the facilities themselves. Sauber took the offer, and the buyout went through; the team began racing under the BMW-Sauber F1 flag in 2006. BMW Sauber F1 is a Formula One team with bases in Hinwil, Switzerland and Munich, Germany. ... 2006 Formula One season - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...