BMW 320 TC

Last updated
BMW 320 TC
BMW 320 TC Gabor Weber 2012 Race of Hungary.jpg
Category World Touring Car Championship
Constructor BMW
Designer(s) BMW Motorsport
Predecessor BMW 320si
Technical specifications [1]
Chassis BMW E90
Engine 1,598 cc (98 cu in) BMW P13 [2] In-line 4 cylinder engine Turbo, 8,500 RPM limited front-mounted
Transmission 6 speeds + reverse Semi-automatic sequential Limited-slip differential
Weight1,150 kg (2,535.3 lb) (base weight (as per regulations), +/- ballast
Tyres Yokohama
Competition history
Debut 2011 FIA WTCC Race of Brazil
RacesWins Poles F/Laps
95819

The BMW 320 TC is a racing car built under Super 2000 specifications, which competed in the FIA World Touring Car Championship from 2011 to 2014. The car came into use as a customer car, after BMW ended their WTCC factory program at the end of the 2010 season.

Contents

History

The BMW 320 TC is the further development of the BMW 320si WTCC, with which Andy Priaulx won the World Touring Car Championship for BMW in 2006 and 2007. Well over 60 models have been delivered to date by BMW Motorsport Distribution.

The new BMW 320 TC, which from 2011 can be used in series in accordance with the new Super 2000 regulations, is driven by a 1.6 litre, DI-turbo, four-cylinder engine called P13, because it was based on N13B16. The six-speed, sequential gearbox, which can be used to configure the circuit-specific transmission ratio, is also a new feature.

2011 WTCC regulation changes

In 2011 the FIA introduced the Super 2000 Kit Variant package, which allowed teams and manufacturers to change the engines of Super 2000 racing cars with 1600 ccm turbocharged engines. BMW Motorsport manufactured their own version of the new engine which was available for purchase to customer racing teams from 2011.

The car won five races in the WTCC. Its first victory was achieved by Franz Engstler in Race 2 of 2011 FIA WTCC Race of Germany. The second victory came at 2011 FIA WTCC Race of Japan by Tom Coronel. Norbert Michelisz took the third win in front of his home crowd at the 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Hungary. The fourth and fifth victories came in 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Austria and in 2012 FIA WTCC Race of Japan, both when Stefano D'Aste took the checkered flag in Race 2.

Chassis

The self-supporting BMW 320 TC body is manufactured in BMW Plant Regensburg alongside the production body shells for the BMW 1 and 3 Series.

Compared to the production BMW E90 model, the axles and the suspension geometry has been changed significantly. The new axles design include a camber setting that could be adjusted independently of any other settings parameters, such as roll center and track. This would make the axles easier for semi-professional teams to set up. The track width and camber were increased, while the wheel carrier and bearing were carried over from the production model.

Information

Length4,539 mm (179 in)
Width1,858 mm (73 in)
Heightapprox. 1,350 mm (53 in)
Wheel base2,760 mm (109 in)
Weight1,170 kg (2,579.4 lb) base weight (as per regulations), +/- ballast
Tank capacityapprox. 45 L (11.9 US gal)
Price220 000 EUR + VAT
Engine typeFour-cylinder inline turbo engine with direct fuel injection and air restrictor
Capacity1,598 cc (97.5 cu in)
Compressionmax. 12,5:1
Outputmax. 310 bhp
Torquemax. 420 Nm
Engine Speedmax. 8500 rpm

Teams and drivers

Current teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers entered the BMW 320 TC for the 2013 World Touring Car Championship season: [3]

TeamDriver
Liqui Moly Team Engstler Flag of Germany.svg Franz Engstler
Flag of Hong Kong.svg Charles Ng
ANOME Flag of France.svg Jean-Philippe Dayraut
ROAL Motorsport Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tom Coronel
Flag of Hong Kong.svg Darryl O'Young
Proteam Racing Flag of Morocco.svg Mehdi Bennani
PB Racing Flag of Italy.svg Stefano D'Aste
Wiechers-Sport Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Fredy Barth

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Touring car racing</span> Motorsport road racing competition

Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW in motorsport</span> Motorsport activities of BMW

Throughout its history, BMW cars and motorcycles have been successful in a range of motorsport activities. Apart from the factory efforts, many privateer teams enter BMW road cars in touring car racing. BMW also entered cars or provided engines in Formula One, Formula Two and sportscar racing. BMW is currently active in IMSA, the Isle of Man TT, the North West 200, the Superbike World Championship and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Touring Car Championship</span> Auto racing championship in the United Kingdom

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as the British Touring Car Championship for the 1987 season. The championship, currently running Next Generation Touring Car regulations, has been run to various national and international regulations over the years including FIA Group 2, FIA Group 5, FIA Group 1, FIA Group A, FIA Super Touring and FIA Super 2000. A lower-key Group N class for production cars ran from 2000 until 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Touring Car Championship</span> Worldwide auto racing championship

The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a single season in 1987 as the World Touring Car Championship and most recently a world championship (WTCC) that has run between 2005 and 2017. Following the 2017 season, an agreement was reached for the FIA WTCC to become FIA WTCR and use the TCR technical regulations.

The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World Touring Car Championship, and replaced by the European Touring Car Cup between 2005 and 2017 when became also defunct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schnitzer Motorsport</span> German auto racing team

Schnitzer Motorsport was a motorsport team based in Freilassing near Munich, Germany. From the early days of its establishment, the team mostly operated an automobile racing squad for BMW, and had remarkable results in touring car and sports car racing. The team would often run the cars for BMW under the name of "BMW Motorsport". In 2012, the team operated the DTM team for BMW under the name of "BMW Team Schnitzer".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 World Touring Car Championship</span>

The 2006 World Touring Car Championship season was the third season of FIA World Touring Car Championship motor racing. It featured a ten event, twenty race series which commenced on 2 April 2006 and ended on 19 November. The series was open to Super 2000, Diesel 2000 and Super Production Cars, with two titles awarded, the FIA World Touring Car Champion for Drivers and the FIA World Touring Car Champion for Manufacturers. Andy Priaulx won the Drivers title and BMW won the Manufacturers award.

The 2007 World Touring Car Championship season was the 4th season of FIA World Touring Car Championship motor racing. The championship, which commenced on 11 March and ended on 18 November, after twenty-two races, was open to Super 2000 Cars, Diesel 2000 Cars and Super Production Cars as defined by the relevant FIA regulations. The Drivers' Championship was won by Andy Priaulx and the Manufacturers' Championship by BMW.

The 1987 World Touring Car Championship season was the inaugural World Touring Car Championship season. It commenced on 22 March 1987 and ended on 15 November after eleven races. The championship was open to Touring Cars complying with FIA Group A regulations. The Drivers title was won by Roberto Ravaglia in a BMW M3 and the Entrants title by Eggenberger Motorsport in a Ford Sierra Cosworth No 7.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super 2000</span> Race car class

Super 2000 is an FIA powertrain specification used in the World Rally Championship, the British Touring Car Championship, the World Touring Car Championship, and other touring car championships. The engines were originally 2 L naturally aspirated, and later being also allowed 1.6 L turbocharged units producing approximately 280 bhp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norbert Michelisz</span> Hungarian racing driver

Norbert Michelisz is a Hungarian auto racing driver and the 2019 winner of the World Touring Car Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Engstler Motorsport</span> German auto racing team in Wiggensbach

Engstler Motorsport is a private German auto racing team based in Wiggensbach, run by driver Franz Engstler. It has competed successfully in the Asian Touring Car Championship and the ADAC Procar Series. It is sponsored by lubricants company Liqui Moly and known officially as Liqui Moly Team Engstler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mehdi Bennani</span> Moroccan racing driver

Mehdi Bennani is a Moroccan racing driver who currently competes in the TCR Europe with Sébastien Loeb Racing. He was TCR Europe Champion in 2020 with the Belgian team Comtoyou Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 World Touring Car Championship</span>

The 2010 World Touring Car Championship season was the seventh season of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, and the sixth since its 2005 return. It began with the Race of Brazil at Curitiba on 7 March and ended with the Guia Race of Macau at the Guia Circuit on 21 November, after twenty-two races at eleven events. The championship was open to both Super 2000 and Diesel 2000 cars.

Masaki Kano is a Japanese auto racing driver who currently races in the Super GT racing series. He is best known for having competed in the World Touring Car Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 World Touring Car Championship</span>

The 2011 World Touring Car Championship season was the eighth season of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, and the seventh since its 2005 return. The championship, which was open to Super 2000 cars and Diesel 2000 cars, began with the Race of Brazil at Curitiba on 20 March and ended with the Guia Race of Macau at the Guia Circuit on 20 November, after twelve events and twenty-four races.

Next Generation Touring Car, also known as NGTC and by its Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) designation TCN-1, is an FIA and TOCA specification and classification for production based race cars. The specification covers national level touring car racing. The goal of the limited choices in engines and parts in the NGTC classification is to allow more manufacturers and privateers to race by reducing the cost of a competitive car and to reduce reliance on the increasingly expensive Super 2000 equipment. The only significant differences between different models is the external body shells and the use of front- or rear-wheel drive; the suspension, brakes and transmissions are common to all cars, and engines are of uniform performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 World Touring Car Championship</span>

The 2013 World Touring Car Championship season was the tenth season of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, and the ninth since the series was revived in 2005. The championship, which was reserved for cars run to Super 2000 regulations, began with the Race of Italy on 23 March and concluded with the Race of Macau in support of the Macau Grand Prix at the Guia Circuit on 17 November, after twenty-four races at twelve events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JAS Motorsport</span> Italian motor racing team

JAS Motorsport is an Italian motor racing team and an engineering and manufacturing company. It was founded in 1995 by Paolo Jasson, Maurizio Ambrogetti and Giorgio Schon. The company initially competed with Alfa Romeo in 1996 and 1997. Since 1998, they have been an official partner of Honda, and have developed, built and raced cars in various different disciplines for the Japanese manufacturer, as well as provided customer racing services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Touring Car Cup</span> International touring car championship

The FIA World Touring Car Cup was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had different incarnation of a World Touring Car Cup held between 1993 and 1995. Following the 2017 season, an agreement was reached for the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) to become WTCR and use the TCR technical regulations. As factory teams were not allowed to compete in WTCR, the series lost the 'World Championship' status of the WTCC, instead becoming a 'Cup'.

References

  1. "Official website of the BMW 320 TC". Archived from the original on 2012-01-05.
  2. https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/latin-america-caribbean/article/detail/T0306961EN/from-m121-to-p48:-an-overview-of-the-evolution-of-bmw-turbo-engines-in-motor-racing?language=en
  3. "WTCC Entry list 2012". WTCC Hírblog. 2012-03-04.