BMW Italia expands its commitment to motorsport by creating another single-make championship, in addition to the one dedicated to the Mini, which turns ten in 2021. The BMW M2 CS Racing Cup Italy, on the other hand, is making its absolute debut and can count on the support of ACI Sport as a sports promoter and as a Promodrive for organizational technical support.
This is an absolute novelty within the panorama of Italian motorsport and the inaugural season will see the drivers compete in six events on the tracks of the most famous national circuits, but for now without an audience: Monza, Misano, Mugello, Imola and Vallelunga. The championship will start in the first weekend of May and each stage will be developed over two days, with two free practice sessions for a total duration of 30 minutes, two qualifying sessions of 15 minutes and two races per weekend (Race 1 and Race 2) 30 minutes + 1 lap each. There will be one or two drivers per car, at the choice of the Team.
“The single-make will enhance the skills of the drivers. BMW Motorsport has done a great job on the M2 CS, creating a fun and high-performance car that is easy to drive,” Roberto Ravaglia, Eighties Touring Champion, explained during the championship presentation conference. always behind the wheel of BMW. The star car of the single-make will be the BMW M2 CS Racing, which was developed in parallel with the M2 CS road, to be homologated in competitions such as the VLN Endurance Championship in the Nürburgring, the TC America and the national single-make championships. Some solutions of the BMW M4 GT4 were used in the development and it was decided to leave ABS and traction control active to help novice drivers.
The 3-liter 6-cylinder in-line bi-turbo delivers 450 hp and 550 Nm of torque, discharged to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox and a Draxler mechanical self-locking differential. The other significant changes compared to the production car concern the racing axle shafts, the Sachs single-way shock absorbers and the Alcon brakes from 390 mm in front and 355 mm in the rear, as well as obviously all the safety equipment necessary for FIA homologation. Slick tires are supplied by Michelin, which will also provide track assistance service during race weekends. In this regard, the Team Village will help create an authentic racing atmosphere and will consist of a minimum of 15 to a maximum of about 18 boxes, one for each Team, plus a couple for technical checks. Finally, the overall prize money of the ampionato exceeds 100,000 euros.
