The 2008 season should be exciting for BMW racing fans. In the US, both Automatic Racing and Turner Motorsport will be back to defend their Koni Challenge championships, and Automatic Racing will be launching its new Grand-Am GT M6. Bimmerworld will be back in World Challenge with its E90 325s, and of course, the young drivers of Formula BMW will be back for another season of close wheel-to-wheel racing. Outside the US (no USGP in '08!) BMW-Sauber should be a strong competitor in Formula One, and in World Touring Cars BMW will be back to see if it can extend its run to four titles in a row. Even now, in the off season, there is action. Automatic Racing just completed a successful test of the M6, so it should be ready to roll in the Rolex 24 in January. BMW-Sauber will soon conduct a shootout to find a new test driver to replace Timo Glock, who has moved to Toyota. And outside the BMW world, but still in Formula One, Fernando Alonso will be returning to Renault. No one is confirming salaries, but one web report, quoting speculation in the Spanish media, pegs the number at 51.5 million a year. Back down to earth, BMW CCA Club Racing just ended a successful season with an early-December event at Roebling Road, where Andy and Bryan Watts won the enduro and Bryan won the sprint. Their C-Modified E36 faced strong challenges from both Mike Akard in his D-Mod E30 318 (with a big 6 under the hood) and Barry Battle in a C-Mod E46 323. The Roebling event was the last opportunity for Club Racers to score points toward National Championships. As soon as the official tallies are released, we'll tell you who won the titles. In the news section, expect fast and full coverage of all the major pro series in '08 along with more coverage of Club Racing. And please use this forum for anything you'd like to discuss about either Club Racing or pro racing.
