BMW used Saturday's ROWE 6 Hours ADAC Ruhr Cup round of the 2019 VLN series held at the Nürburgring for the first public outing of its new entry-level race car based on the M2 Competition.
The car is the replacement for the M235i Racing customer race car launched in 2014 and successfully completed its first test with flying colors. It will be aimed at teams competing in grass roots and club racing, rather than top professional classes, which BMW targets with race cars based on the M4 and M8.
2020 BMW M2 Competition-based race car - Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
The new M2 Competition-based race car, which is still being developed for the 2020 motorsport season, wasn't on static display on Saturday. It completed 28 laps on the Nürburgring during the VLN race, with BMW Motorsport junior driver Beitske Visser and M division test and development engineer Jörg Weidinger taking turns behind the wheel.
“From my perspective, the test went very well,” said Weidinger. “During this kind of test drive in race conditions, you gain experience that you can’t get in private tests.”
2020 BMW M2 Competition-based race car - Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
Unfortunately there are no specs to divulge since development is ongoing. The M2 Competition road car features a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-6 good for 405 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque, and the race car should boasting similar figures.
BMW expects to start deliveries of its M2 Competition-based race car to customer teams in the second quarter of 2020.
