20 years of BMW M safety cars in MotoGP™.

The BMW M5 Competition had the honour of leading MotoGP™ riders safely through the exciting 2018 jubilee season. The setting for the BMW M5 Competition, which replaced the BMW M5 with xDrive as the lead vehicle, was also tested on the Safety Car until the middle of 2018. The design of the safety car is based on the BMW M8 GTE, the long-distance racing car that made its debut at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Just like the thoroughbred race car, the BMW M5 Safety Car is also equipped with features like quick fasteners on the bonnet, bucket seats from the BMW M4 GTS and a front splitter specially made by BMW M engineers. In addition to this, the expanded cockpit includes a powerful control centre that allows drivers and passengers to conveniently start various light signal programmes and flashing frequencies.

The BMW M2 is a compact high-performance sports car perfectly suited for use on the race track. In order to meet the high expectations of a safety car, the BMW M2, like its predecessors and successors, was upgraded by BMW M with extensive special equipment. In the 2016 MotoGP™ season, the BMW M2 Coupé proved its strength as a safety car.

With powerful proportions, sharp eyes and decked out in M Performance Parts, as well as being coated in BMW M Motorsport colours, the BMW M4 Coupé Safety Car makes no secret of its racing genes. At the same time, the lead car of the 2015 MotoGP™ season proudly displays the typical hallmarks of a safety car. The M4 Coupé can also be considered the technical pioneer of the BMW M4 GTS. The safety car's innovative water injection system on its M TwinPower Turbo inline 6-cylinder petrol engine was tested at an early stage, giving the M4 GTS a significant performance boost and went into series production for the first time.

For many sports car enthusiasts, the production model of the strikingly wide BMW 1 Series M Coupé is already a classic among BMW M models, not least because of its outstanding performance. But the safety car of the 2011 MotoGP™ season also made a not inconsiderable contribution. With its compact dimensions, comparatively low weight, manual transmission and rear-wheel drive, the Coupé is the epitome of pure driving pleasure.

The E89 BMW Z4 M Coupé is also one of BMW M GmbH’s most exciting models. It contains all the necessary ingredients: a sharply-drawn silhouette, compact dimensions and the in-line 6-cylinder engine, which is geared to revs and caused a sensation in the legendary E46 BMW M3. These conditions made it the ideal vehicle to lead the fastest motorcycle racers throughout the 2007 MotoGP™ season.

The legendary BMW Z8 is equipped with almost everything you need to survive on the world’s major race tracks, even in its production trim. Thanks to a design borrowed from the legendary BMW 507, paired with racing features and the obligatory additional equipment required for use as the MotoGP™ Safety Car 2002, the Z8 wowed fans across the globe and is one of the highlights of a long-running partnership.