It’s safe to say October was a busy month for BMW in South Africa. Not only did it host the M Fest at the Kyalami track, but it also hosted the local premieres of the M3 Touring and M5. We’ve now learned an important announcement was made in the lead-up to the annual event. A racing academy will be established to scout for talented drivers interested in a motorsport career.
The BMW Racing Academy will start off with a sim racing program. This has been approved by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and Motor Sports Association (MSA). A karting program will follow before the remaining drivers get behind the wheel of race-ready BMWs. The goal is to find people from previously disadvantaged backgrounds and help them live their dreams as racing drivers.
The driver development program is scheduled to kick off near the end of the year and continue through 2025. NGK Pablo Clark Racing is helping BMW South Africa by providing its racing car engineering expertise. One of the academy’s cars is this specially prepared 3 Series Sedan. The E46 was put through its paces by racing driver Fabienne Lanz last Saturday during the BMW M Performance Parts Race Series.
As to how the idea for a racing academy came to be, it originated from last year’s M Festival. South African race car driver and DTM championship winner Sheldon van der Linde attended the event and was part of a “one thought-provoking discussion.” One thing led to another, and the local BMW branch decided to find a way to help young drivers. Here’s what BMW Group South Africa CEO Peter van Binsbergen declared:
“We gave it some thought and together with NGK Pablo Clark Racing we are developing an approach to help bring racing dreams to life!”
Source: BMW
