BMW celebrates 50th victory

BMW celebrates 50th victory in the FIA WTCC since 2005.

Brno, 1st August 2010. With his win at the "Automotodrom Brno", Andy Priaulx (GB) achieved a further milestone for BMW in international touring car racing, with the marque posting its 50th victory in the FIA World Touring Car Championship since 2005. In addition, BMW drivers have crossed the line in a one-two formation no less than 31 times. No other manufacturer has scored more successes in the WTCC than BMW.

Further statistics underscore the strong performances posted by BMW drivers and the competitiveness of their machinery: 57 fastest laps, 139 podium places, 667 laps in the lead, and no less than three drivers' titles and an equal number of manufacturers' championships between 2005 and 2007 impressively prove how BMW made its mark on the championship.

"Our heartiest congratulations to BMW Team RBM and Andy Priaulx," says BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. "We are proud to have celebrated our 50th victory in the World Touring Car Championship. There have been many memorable moments, such as the triumphs by Andy Priaulx in Macau, or Alessandro Zanardi's first victory in Oschersleben 2005. With the BMW 320i and also the BMW 320si WTCC we regularly featured at the sharp end during the past 124 races, and were able to post victories even under very difficult circumstances. I hope we can improve our position during the course of this year so as to be fighting for the championship at the finale in Macau. My thanks to all the drivers, teams, and team members of BMW Motorsport who made these 50 victories possible."

A total of eight drivers have scored victories for BMW in the WTCC since 2005, with the most successful being Priaulx. To date he has claimed 17 victories, with the first coming in Oschersleben (DE) in 2005 at the wheel of a BMW 320i. Sixteen further wins with the BMW 320si WTCC followed. His team-mate at BMW Team RBM, Augusto Farfus (BR), is next on the listing with 11 victories for BMW, followed by Jorg Muller (DE, 10 wins), Dirk Muller (DE, 4), Alessandro Zanardi (IT, 4), Felix Porteiro (ES, 1), Duncan Huisman (NL, 1) and Sergio Hernandez (ES, 1).

-source: bmw