The impressive development of automotive gaming in recent years has long since confirmed this forward-looking assessment. BMW M Motorsport is a credible partner for the diverse gaming community and reaches a young and digital target group with its commitment. Impressive vehicles, thrilling racing and emotional moments: This is what BMW M Motorsport stands for on both the real and virtual race track.
BMW M Motorsport's presence in the virtual space begins with the development of virtual racing cars and extends through the three virtual BMW M teams and high-quality hardware for racing simulators to the organisation of virtual racing events such as the BMW M Power Tour.
VIRTUAL BMW M MOTORSPORT CARS.
For years, BMW M Motorsport has been working hand in hand with the leading simulation platforms to offer the community virtual racing cars that are as close as possible to their real-life BMW M Motorsport cars. In collaboration with iRacing, BMW M Motorsport 2023 was the first manufacturer whose new LMDh prototype, the BMW M Hybrid V8, could be driven virtually by fans from all over the world. Together, they also launched the virtual BMW M4 GT3 and previously the BMW M4 GT4, the BMW M8 GTE and the BMW Z4 GT3. The developers at iRacing received a large amount of real data for this, which was also used for the development of the real vehicles. BMW M Motorsport vehicles are also integrated into simulations and games such as Assetto Corsa Competizione, Forza Motorsport, Le Mans Ultimate, Rennsport and rFactor 2 in a similar way.
BMW M POWER TOUR.
BMW M Motorsport and iRacing expanded their successful cooperation in 2024 to include another exciting project: the BMW M Power Tour. The series is aimed at every member of the community of over 200,000 drivers and has been running for twelve weeks since March 2024. The racing events will be held on twelve of the most prestigious circuits in the motorsport world.
Platform: iRacing
Cars: BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M4 GT3, BMW Z4 GT3, BMW M4 GT4, BMW M8 GTE
Race days: Tuesday, Wednsday and Thursday
Format: Warm-up (3 minutes) - qualifying (8 minutes/2 laps) - race (30 minutes)
Race calendar
| Date | Car | Race track |
|---|---|---|
12. – 14. March | BMW M Hybrid V8 | Sebring International Raceway |
19. – 21. March | BMW M4 GT4 | Nürburgring Grand Prix |
26. – 28. March | BMW Z4 GT3 | Okayama International Circuit |
2. – 4. March | BMW M8 GTE | Red Bull Ring |
9. – 11. April | BMW M Hybrid V8 | Suzuka GP |
16. – 18. April | BMW M4 GT3 | Autódromo Internacional do Algarve |
23. – 25. April | BMW Z4 GT3 | Motorsport Arena Oschersleben |
30. April – 2. May | BMW M8 GTE | Brands Hatch GP |
7. – 9. May | BMW M Hybrid V8 | Laguna Seca Raceway |
14. – 16. May | BMW M4 GT3 | Misano World Circuit |
21. – 23. May | BMW M4 GT4 | Nürburgring Nordschleife |
28. – 30. May | BMW M Hybrid V8 | Le Mans |
AUTOMOTIVE GAMING TEAMS.
BMW AUTOMOTIVE GAMING AMBASSADOR: BRUNO SPENGLER.
BMW M works driver Bruno Spengler is also a big supporter of Automotive Gaming and spends a lot of time on the virtual track himself. Through hard work and many training sessions, the 2012 DTM champion has developed into one of the best and most successful professional racing drivers among automotive gaming drivers. The Canadian won the iRacing 24h Nürburgring and the championship in the IMSA iRacing Pro Series. In 2022, he guided BMW M Motorsport fans through the BMW SIM Academy, a video series with tutorials on automotive gaming. Since 2023, he has been supporting the BMW M teams as an automotive gaming ambassador and is available to the drivers as a competent contact person with his experience from both worlds.
BMW AUTOMOTIVE GAMING HARDWARE.
The development of high-quality hardware for automotive gaming is an important area of BMW M Motorsport's commitment. At the forefront of these developments is clearly the steering wheel for the BMW M4 GT3, which was designed jointly with hardware manufacturer Fanatec. It can be used both in the real racing car and in the simulator without any modifications and thus offers a completely authentic racing feeling.
FUSION SL.
Another hardware highlight is the ‘Fusion SL’, a unique combination of sim racing rig and lounge furniture. The idea was to develop a piece of furniture to save space and integrate aesthetically into a modern living environment, which can be converted into a rig in a few simple steps, but when folded up also serves as a work table, coffee table or seat. This idea was realised in a collaboration between BMW Group Designworks and the office furniture manufacturer Klöber.
