26/05/2016

BMW Team SRM - Australian GT Championship/Australian Endurance Championship

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Victoria (27-29 May, 2016)

 

After a hectic start to their 2016 Australian GT campaign, BMW Team SRM will have a chance this weekend to put the stunning white BMW M6 GT3 through its paces in the opening round of the Australian Endurance Championship in a 101-lap journey around the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.

 

The event will keep the Australian GT regulars on their toes, with the Phillip Island venue hosting both the fourth round of Australian GT ‘sprint’ series, and the opening round of the endurance season.

 

“We can’t wait,” BMW Team SRM’s team leader Steven Richards admitted. “It’s been a busy start to the year, getting the car just days ahead of the opening round in Adelaide, then running back-to-back with the Australian Grand Prix before the long haul across the country to Barbagallo in Western Australia. That was a lot of work for the whole BMW Team SRM operation at the start of the season, but over that period we also collected a lot of valuable data on the car.

 

“We’ve also received some of the ‘upgrades’ for the car too that put us inline with what the M6 GT3s in Europe and the USA are campaigning. We weren’t able to run those till after the Barbagallo round because they weren’t available before then, but we found some good forward progress during our recent test at Phillip Island with the new brake and suspension component upgrades.

 

“We also had some fantastic support from BMW Motorsport in Germany at our most recent test day at Phillip Island. BMW place great emphasis on their customer racing programs around the world, so to have them out to 'fast track' our learning with the BMW M6 GT3 was fantastic."

 

BMW Team SRM have a busy weekend on their hands, with Australian GT on Friday and Saturday - which will feature two 60-minute races - then the opening round of the Australian Endurance Championship on Sunday, with 101-laps, or around three hours of racing scheduled for the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.

 

“This is the event we’ve been waiting for since the arrival of the car,” Richards explained. "The Australian Endurance Championship is better suited to our driving combination, and both Max [Twigg] and I were very comfortable in the car during the recent test. This weekend will present plenty of challenges, not the least being five hours of racing, so there’s a lot we need to consider, especially with the endurance event, where strategy plays an important role with things like planning pit stops and taking advantage of the almost inevitable Safety Car interventions.

 

“Max and I both love the circuit, so we’re pretty confident, but at the same time, a lot of our success this weekend will rely on us staying on the lead lap throughout the early stages of the race so that we can attack across the final hour.

 

“I think the car has the pace - especially in the cooler conditions we’ll expect this weekend, the Twin power Turbo technology BMW M6 V8 will be in it’s element - I think the team has the experience now with the car, and I think as a driving combination we’re as good as any team entered, so it really all just comes down to strategy and luck!”

 

The #100 BMW Team SRM M6 GT3 will turn its first official laps in practice on Friday, 27 May with two 30-minute practice sessions, ahead of the two 20-minute qualifying sessions which will determine the grid for the fourth round of the Australian GT Championship. 

 

Keep up to date with BMW Team SRM team across the Phillip Island weekend by visiting; www.facebook.com/BMW_Team_SRM and get involved with the conversation on Twitter;www.twitter.com/BMW_Team_SRM

 

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Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Victoria (27-29 May)

 

Schedule: [AEST - GMT +9]

10:25am - Australian GT; Practice#1(30-minutes)

12:15pm - Australian Endurance Championship; Practice#1(30-minutes)

2:05pm - Australian GT; Qualifying#1 (20-minutes)

2:35pm - Australian GT; Qualifying#2 (20-minutes)

 

9:35am - Australian GT; Race#1 (60-minutes)

11:50am - Australian GT; Race#2 (60-minutes)

 

10:35am - Australian Endurance Championship; Qualifying#1(20-minutes)

11:05am - Australian Endurance Championship; Qualifying#2(20-minutes)

11:05am - Australian Endurance Championship; Race (101-laps)

 

Rnd#1 - 3-6 March, Clipsal 500, Adelaide, SA

Rnd#2 - 17-20 March, Albert Park [AGP], Victoria

Rnd#3 - 6-8 May, Barbagallo, WA

Rnd#4 - 27-28 May, Phillip Island, Victoria

Rnd#5 - 8-10 July, Townsville, Queensland

Rnd#6 - 11-12 November, Highlands Motorsport Park, NZ



 

Rnd#1 - 29 May, Phillip Island, Victoria

Rnd#2 - 26-28 August, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW

Rnd#3 - 28-30 October, Hampton Downs, NZ

Rnd#4 - 13 November, Highlands Motorsport Park, NZ


 

Weather predictions for this time of year in Phillip Island always include warnings for rain and cold snaps, and this year is no different. Maximum temperatures aren’t expected to climb above 14 degrees, with showers scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

 

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BMW Team SRM are proudly supported by BMW Australia, BMW Financial Services Australia and President Limo Australia.