BMW M2 Cup – Red Bull Ring, Saturday.
Hello everyone a very good morning to you welcome to Spielberg the Red Bull Ring it is the final showdown for the BMW M2 cup for 2023 two races to sort who will be champion who will be rookie champion who is going to get to the very top step it’s critically important remember in
The BMW M2 cup of course you can’t hide drivers are making their way to the grid right now what an exciting event it’s going to be and down on the grid is Verina and we’re so thrilled are you ready ready for The Final Countdown we certainly are and fact is it’s all about
Transparencies and opportunities here at the BMW M2 cup and it’s all about three guys who are fighting for the championship check it Out who’s going to win the championship uh me for sure I’m going to do everything I can to put as much pressure on light as possible give myself the best opportunity to Win who is going to win the championship I hope I and who’s going to win the championship me of course I hope so I hope so okay good luck thank you Mate so the concept of the bmwm 2 cup is really really exciting and I have two people here I’m going to interview because one of these ladies here is es caman and she’s a candidate for the BMW M2 uh cup and uh for next year so Esme
You got a big smile in your face what would you say what makes this concept so exciting why would you want to be a driver in this cup because uh I’m here now and see how buddy improveed himself on and off the track so I want to be
There too and it’s a lovely car to drive and yeah lot of experience to learn and yeah the yeah this so excited absolutely I can totally see that excitement in your face and somebody’s also very excited as Ali McAfee because your son Ali your son Robbie is is also um taking
Part in this cup and exactly what Esme just said this whole excitement Improvement that’s something you can confirm absolutely he’s he’s improved so much over the season both on and off the track I think this uh M2 cup with project one is more is about developing the driv completely not you know skills
Off the track as well so it’s great and for me coming from Australia it’s Perth Australia Perth in Australia West Australia um is so exciting to be here and I I I can’t believe it so and uh yes so it’s it’s great it’s really good well we’re excited you’re here all the way
From Australia and supporting your son of course and we’re hoping to see you next year in this cup and um also just being in the middle of it everybody arriving here does that make your pulse go fast yeah yeah and my heart go fast and everybody because in the nland I
Drove to Fort Fiesta this it is an yeah so different car to drive very fast and yeah all right well hopefully we’ll see you next year thank you so much Ali thank you so much Esme and now uh let’s check out Bart hon who’s one of the three guys fighting in the championship
And he’s starting in P4 so bad it’s all about the championship this weekend you’re starting in P4 so what are you going to make out of it and how excited are you uh I’m really excited to be honest uh we’ve been here before like at
Nurur gring on wet tires at the start of a race and the truck looks pretty dry so it’ll be interesting to see what happens chance of rain during the race so just looking forward to whatever we get thrown at us but also looking uh at the championship I mean it’s exciting yeah
Of course it’s good to be uh still fighting into the last round it’s something I’ve never achieved before so it’s a big positive on my end uh more than anything though I know that I need to move forward today and score as many points as possible so we’ll see what
Happens right B well best of luck thank you so much and we’re going to move on because now we have in P3 we’ve got Luca link and that’s it’s going to be exciting to find out how he’s doing I mean obviously they’re all thrilled to get started in the race hello there Luka
How are you doing I got I see a smile underneath the helmet yeah I’m doing quite good uh super happy to be here after all the ups and downs in the season finally could show what I got um but I also know that I got some pretty
Fast Bo behind me so um yeah but I’m super happy to be here and I just hope for a good racing and I was just going to say you’re starting in P3 so that’s a great effort from your to see you all the way to P3 so uh hopefully see you on the
Podium yeah hopefully hopefully but um it’s still it’s still a long race but I hope for the best yeah all right well best of luck and we’re going to try to grab zenah FZ he’s on P2 so let’s just see if we still have him before they
Kick us out that’s for sure so starting from PT Cent from P2 Center um how optimistic are you to be ending up on the podium maybe even a win yeah I’m very happy with my result in qual uh P2 best rest of the season uh yeah and we
Will see what we are going to do uh this race uh we are starting on wet tires so that’s very interesting on an uh half dry track half wet track so we will see what uh I will go all right well best of luck for the rest thank you so much
Senna and that’s it from our part so we need to get out of here so now enjoy the race It’s the final countdown It’s the final two races so let’s do it let’s go racing as always thank you so much for Mar bringing us all the anticipation and
Excitement down there on the grid alongside me Chris Harley who has been such a huge part of the BMW M2 Cup this season I know you’ve been really really impressed with some of the young talents that we’ve seen here and isn’t it always great in any Motor Racing championship
And the BMW M2 cup is one of those but of course it’s all young talents who are developing their skills to see it come down to The Final Countdown you know it is um you know when the championship uh will be decided this weekend it’s got to
Be decided this weekend you know we see so many times when championships are decided with one or two events still to go and it kind of takes the sting out of it yeah right down to the the whes the first time the Red Bull ringers hosted
The uh the season finale and uh you’re absolutely right about these talented young drivers the average age on the grid this year has been 18 which is you know the youngest even in a championship which is renowned for building up young Talent is the youngest field that we’ve
Had since the championship uh began and uh you know project one setup this pyramid where they’re looking to develop these drivers and take them up through GT4 racing eventually up to GT3 they get a lot of behind the scenes guidance as well uh in terms of you know be in the
Project one garage in the DTM Races they get to go race control understand how all of that works they get great um Management in terms of their media training and also uh lots of physical fitness tests that go on they have courses on nutrition so it’s all about an all-rounded development for the
Drivers yes and the GD in full that you can see Leon furry then going for pole position uh look who we heard from on the grid and B hon with work to do from P4 uh berning hen going from P5 then as Julius Dennison going from uh P6 Denny
Burnt and Yan matchz at p7 and p8 they complete row four of our eight row grid and I know Chris is looking very hard because there was one car missing on the L fury on the uh on the grid um Max rosm and alongside Max rosam isus Robert
Hefler Luis Cara going from p p12 and there is the sovan Solen car uh yes sovan Sola has he kind of ground to a h l Fury out there on his own wasn’t he as he came uh through to turn four on the formation lap cuz everybody that was
Around Cent had to sort of hit the brakes but he f it back up he’s got it going again what a frustration for him because that’s as he said he’s best qualifying of the year so far now the thing is uh we have been told by race
Control we’re going to do two formation laps now the rules are such Chris that presumably he now can reoccupy his original position or has he got stared from the back now because he had stopped during a formation lap yeah and they’ve all gone past him I think is’s the issue
So will be to the if he’d not gone to the back I think he will he will have to go to the back we’ll see if that is the case but that could be interesting watching you come through uh but yeah as I say they came through to ter for was
Like just letting fury on his own where’s everybody else gone and they all hit the brakes and uh yeah there was luckily no problems but I noticed as well Max rosam who’s still got a slim chance of the championship he swapped cars he was in the one of the yellow
Cars yesterday will switch cars each race weekend they get nominated a car that’s the car they drive and he had the the yellow car yesterday one of the yellow cars but he had his worst qualifying of the season so far just what he didn’t need when he’s going for
The championship ninth on the grid but he’s in a white car uh today they got this extra formation that L Fury got poll position yesterday in fact he’s got Poll for tomorrow as well second fastest lap time so he got three points yesterday critical points yeah 20 points
Uh clear now there’s only 21 points available at the end of this race uh 20 points for a win tomorrow a point for fastest lap so the maths are fairly straightforward for this if Bart hon finishes behind Lon Fury in the race then Leon Fury is champion because by
Definition he’ll score at least one more Point wherever they finish than uh his championship rival and he’s got more race wins as well so even if they’re tied on points tomorrow Lon Fury would be champion thank you for that uh so extra formation lap and now to the best
Of our knowledge and hearing from bar hon with Verina down there on the grid all the cars are on wwea the tires now as we were watching the bit of the formation lap that we saw because of course all our eyes were on this number 24 car of senan Solen who was stricken
There is very much a dry line there Chris now you and I both know having been involved in Motor Racing for 150 years this year um that wet weather tires work really really well when it’s wet and when it’s not wet uh all of a sudden uh they become a little bit more
Difficult to manage to get the best out of um it’s going to be really tricky for them yeah it has actually rained for about an hour hour and a half something like that 2 hours so it is uh it’s damp uh in patches but there’s a big dry line
And look at the start finish thre on the commentary box and half of it towards the pit wall is damp the other half is completely dry so in the dry conditions they’ll tend to overheat a little bit and that will be tricky for them so yeah
They’re going to manage the tires it’s a slightly shorter race cuz we’ve had some delays in the in the preceding qualifying session so 27 minutes plus one lap that’s still a long time to make wet Goodyear Tires withand what’s probably going to be a dry track by the
End of it yes I would agree completely with that um well let’s see how we do we’re just about to reach the conclusion of the second of the formation lap so basically as Chris has identified Leon furry if he can win this race well it’s pretty much sealed and dealed uh we will
See though because there are uh 27 minutes of race action to come from the BMW M2 cups they line up in their grid positions of course in their boxes and you can see there they’re furiously working around the car which should be starting P2 on the grid uh brilliant
Qualifying from Sena and unfortunately whatever the issue is down there uh you can see that uh this is true of motor racing nowadays you know it tends to be rather than 19 mil spanners and hammers it’s laptops is it dat exactly right so effectively this puts Luca link second now we’ already
Got his best ever qualifying of the season orever in his first season of the championship LC link qualifying third after qualifying 10th five times consecutively third on the grid but only Lon Fury in front of him now the good news s vanula has refined it and he’s going to start from the pit
Lane okay so now uh this is when the real the butterflies start to go because we await the liting Gantry we get the green flag from the Marshall at the back of the pack L be heading into the Nikki L turn it’s a steep climb uphill uh we
Have three lights four lights and now we have five when they go out let’s go racing well something of a sluggish start if I’m honest with you and you can see the part hon was trying to get to the inside line he’s taking a wide look
On the outside now where it’s going to be very very damp but uh they make it through turn number one and we hope as a lot of drivers run very wide there there bit of a slingshot opportunity and also the chance to avoid any collision and
They use that wisely but for Leon furry it was pretty much job done and big battle going on for P3 right now as they go side by side and uh heavy heavy breaking now continue to climb through turn number three and then you can really set yourself up for a potential
Overtake move going into turn number four so as they run then it is furry that has done the best job possible Chris yeah LCA Lincoln second side by side for third place though number 55 Colin burning Housen trying to get around the outside here into turn four
Downhill run you have to be careful but Hon’s got the inside line and just about holds on to the position Denny burn who was the early season Championship leader behind in fifth and a good start for Max rosan which he needed he’s up to sixth place from knights on the grid the big
Beneficiary here could be Denny burn to be honest because as these two are squabbling in front of him over the P3 position Denny burnt is just waiting to try and take advantage you can see a slide there from B hon as he tried to hold on to it I have to say impressive
Work from Bernie hon who has huge courage because he was hanging it around the outside and he was absolutely committed and determined and made it work Chris yeah eventually got through and all that pressure he put on the Australian off in the end of Denny B has
Gone through as well and maybe Max rosam in the number five car no not quite Denny B goes way out wide though and he givs the place back to Bart hon so hon back to Fourth and also losing a place there to the the black C of yamas was
Max rosam also went out wide my goodness me and now there is a fight going on for the P1 position here Chris so Leon furry of course leading the championship going into turn one right now having put the first lap in the book tell you what his
P1 one position is not uh quite as steadfast as he would like it to be as he’s being chased all the way through the Kink now which is turn number two and then up towards turn number three and continues these fights going on behind as the start is under
Investigation we can see the car’s getting just a little bit skiddish under breaking here and three AR breast is never going to go through there and big advantage taken there by Dennison who goes through yeah Denise and gets two places there so the ex Danish formula 4 driver going through looking at the
Start they’re happy with it so no further news or uh decisions on that one but yeah good start this for the Danish driver fourth place in the black 95 car still knows to tell for the lead of the race Lon Fury also today celebrating his 18th birthday if he win the championship
That will be the best present he’s ever had yeah so Leon furry is currently really having to try and show a clean pair of heels to link behind and he’s not not getting away at all so uh fair play here uh quite a fight going on on
For P1 2 and three now as bucken is trying to buy into this party as diving up the inside there is Max rosam as you say he’s looking very Lively in this race yeah he needs to because he’s not only got a beat Leon Fury he’s got to
Beat him by quite a margin he’s 29 and a half points behind at the moment he’s got to close that Gap to 20 points or less at the end of this race to stay in touch that’s a big ask isn’t it LCA link out wide yeah and that just played into
The hands of bual in a bit didn’t it didn’t need two invitations to go through and uh pick up that inside line and go through to pick up P2 so uh quite a short lap here of course at the Spielberg circuit now you can see drivers taking different lines there I I
Believe that is to be they’re trying to keep those tires in a temperature that will work and they’re searching out for the damp parts of the track quis yeah I I would say it was 50/50 at the start whether he went Slicks or wets it’s taken a long time to dry out this
Circuit though as say hasn’t rained for well since the start of the morning really and it still hasn’t dried out despite a couple of qualifying sessions so for safety and for the Young Drivers have gone with the wet Tire here’s a replay of the start which they were
Looking at I’m afraid to say CER Vana came back into the pits at the end of the previous lap as well so really frustrating day for the Dutch driver yeah that’s very unfortunate having done such a good job in qualifying there you can see from that replay angle just how
Far those drivers run wide through turn number one and this is also something of a pinch point when you run into turn number three here because you’re still climbing uphill when you take that right-hander and uh well you can see several drivers still running very very
Wide Chris and it’s not the uh way through as we saw that replay but this then a little bit of panel rubbing going on there between bar hon and the numbera uh no harm done though as they continue their forward looking trajectory and getting very very sideways there was the
Robbie mcafe C we heard from Robbie’s family on the grid just earlier on yeah and look at this Denny ber now having a side by side battle with Robert hefer guest driver in the championship he was fifth in the championship last last year he’s in the 53 car Max rosam trying to
Get in in the action as well car number five three breast Dave if this works for Max rosam it will be the move of the day in my opinion two in one come on Max Rosen we don’t have any favorites but it was just such a brave move hefler way
Out wide of the 53 C is going to lose three places as a result of that think Max has done it you know he has as bits of grass and mud and various other debris kicked up there as one or two of the drivers run wide this is really
Really good stuff right at the front of the pack I mean there is almost nothing between the top five drivers currently no so Lon Fury leads on for the championship with a day to spare as it stands Colin burning second third is Luca link fourth is Julius Den Bart hon
It’s not working out for him he’s in fifth place a bucking bronco there for Robert heer in Ninth Place yes rally crossing our routs uh so great sideways driving from Robert heer is not exactly the quickest way around though and that’s somewhat plays into the hands of
Yan machas who can go through so nonetheless very entertaining for us to watch watch but as Robbie mcafe now he’s going to try and take advantage as well because he’s behind those two yeah mcafe like most of the drivers in his first season in this Championship traveling
All the way from Australia we got Australians South Africans Lots Europeans in the the series as well so it’s truly an international field this uh lots of them also compete in the Benny Lu M2 cup and that’s been co-led with a couple of rounds to go by Lon
Fury and Sen vanula mcafe also competes in that Championship here then side by side action as an attempted move from Callin burning house and on the way into turn three to squeeze through and this was the max rosan move and uh way out wide there was going Robert heer and he
Was on the back foot for about three corners after that wasn’t he do you know what this is just about uh the whole ethos of the M2 cup is developing Young Drivers and young talent and uh when you see drivers seizing opportunities like they did there and uh yeah really really
Good to see and just proving that the whole concept is working and working really really well Leon furry is probably having to do a little bit more defending than he would have thought he would have to having done such a good job in qualifying but I think there’s a
Lot of challenges that are facing this these drivers in this particular race and an Ever revolving track surface and you can see them all diving for the damper part of the track and now for the first time of asking Leon has begun to build up a bit of a margin just under
9/10 Chris yeah Colin burning was uh ahead of him uh through they came briefly Leon Fury battling back away though Bonnie Ken has had won Podium this season he knocked on the door a few times this year before he finally got it a couple of rounds ago at the lit R he
Had several fourth place finishes but he’s still looking for his first win and I can see out of the commentary box window that Claudia Henning has had a bad weekend so far worst qualifying for a while for Claudia it’s coming to the pits in the 23 car with a problem Max
Rosam has been something of an Entertainer to watch so far he’s just dived to the inside in turn number three as boning house and did enough on Leon furry and Dennison uh to P3 then it is hon then it is Max rosam and you can see here Max rosam absolutely utterly
Totally determined yeah have he got the lead with that move that we saw on the replay up at turn three burning hen has got his head down he’s got eight nearly 9/10 of a second clear and as I say he’s looking having got his first Podium recently for his first win in the
Championship but Leon Fury maybe is thinking I don’t need to win the race I just want to wrap up the championship at Den in third place having a real Backle here with Bart hon Bart hon then has to watch his tail because Denny B in the yellow bre car gets alongside him yes
And it’s all going a bit South for bar hon at the moment he knows uh where he needs to finish and what he needs to do to keep his championship aspirations alive and uh regrettably it seems to be going the wrong way for Bart such a likable young man and a real driving
Talent as well yeah Bart’s already lost a place on this lap to Max rosam who course his third in the championship at the number five cast and matx is up to fourth place now and harassing den and they go the ballan stage yes uh Absolute Total 100% commitment uh
From all of our M2 cup drivers that we’re enjoying here and you can see the cars slipping and sliding around more than ordinarily you would see and the reason for that is they started the race on those wet weather tires on a track that is drying out in places uh it
Becomes very very difficult and part of the whole driver development uh package how do you drive that car on tires which are not optimized for the track conditions yeah and it’s going to be probably a race of two halves as well cuz those tires are going to overheat so
He look after them who copes with the car when it starts being very skittish on those ties Denny b is all over Bart hor at the moment Denny in the yellow number eight car B is defended for a couple of Corners now that fifth place Luca link having started on the second
Row of the grid as in that battle as well but he’s Dro back to seventh place now so burning leads and is now 1.7 seconds clear of L Fury oh just Tak a look at the inside there I mean just a little little love tap there wasn’t to
Say just a kiss to say I am here like he needed any reminding of that um absolute extraordinary commitment that we are seeing and I have to say hats off to Denny burn we are seeing some brilliant driving here uh bar hon having to really stick his elbows out now because if
Denny’s front end was welded to B’s back end they could not be any closer it’s like one car yeah so Jill Den losing two places in two corners there Bart hon first Denny burn next he’s trying to get them both back or at least ddy BT back
But ddy bur’s trying to attack and defend at the same time he looks at the inside of B contact and the driver second in the championship sent out wide B goes through Den goes through at wi goes B hon with a bit of paint work damage and bits of body work minus his
Car now yes it’s half a kilo lighter than it was due to various bits having been flung off that car uh quite physical between them but forgive me Rin is racing and we like to see that um not necessarily always the quickest way around the track but uh great for our
Entertainment just nearly 3 seconds to the good now Buck ahead of Leon furry uh the incident between cars number 19 and 23 in turn number nine is under investigation uh we will see what race control make of that following their investigation so uh two turn number three right now really Steep and climb
Uphill and the cars go all through now with somewhat less physical activity than we have seen previously look at this in replay and this was where various door mirrors and other parts of panels uh went uh flying yeah pretty full on move that from D he committed move wasn’t it he
Was the quietest most under spoken character he could meet in the pit he’s so calm and and relaxed and super friendly but put a race helmet on and they all get a demons don’t they great battling going out there between these youngsters yes various parts of the track infrastructure are going to need
To be replaced at the end of this race but ah God Bring it on Bring it on we love it okay so uh as they continue to uh fight uh you can see here that absolutely remaining just as committed is bar hon and bar hon now uh the wrong way around because he’s
Found his way back past Denny burnt somehow and Denny burnt is really pushing bar horse I mean those two have had such a dingdong battle and a really really interesting battle I just have a feeling that this is going to rage right until the end of the race potentially
Chris yeah it’s none of this ideal though is it for his championship hopes you got Max rosan right on the to of Leon Fury for second place as well this he’s really going to help out Colin Beren as he looks for his first win so Beren through turn one knows to tell the
Battle for second but even if rosan gets second place from furry furry is still on course for the championship title is way out wide goes Julius Den almost into the barriers um he actually was able to carry lots and lots of momentum through that really rather unorthodox move um
But these three uh they’re going to get a prize from us for providing such entertainment as diving up to turn number three now it’s almost closed your eyes cuz you don’t know who’s going to come out in front of him yeah I reckon Ram’s got second place yes he yeah got
To have a look at the inside he looked like he controlled it as he went out of shot coming out of the corner and I don’t think again Lon Fury not fighting to ho and yamb has had a moment he’s going the wrong way so he’s got to spit
It back around and get back on track well uh whichever way you’ve looked I mean I certainly wouldn’t want to be the director of this as he just makes sure that everything is steering correctly and for Yan he can continue and this is how was there a
Little assist there Chris I think there might have been close wasn’t it right right behind him he put him in I’m sorry that was Robbie McAfee right behind him with the 22 car T chap you’re going in um sure he didn’t say that Chris but that’s how it looked and
That was oh so so close wasn’t it how did he keep that out of the tires yeah that was good good recovery cuz he looked like he was second favorite to come out of that didn’t he yes could have got much closer no right benningen then he’s got unbelievably
Three and a half seconds to the good after uh uh what has been an extraordinary extraordinary race and here is now 3.9 to the good as we get Al across the timing line a live gap between uh buning Housen and rosam P2 furry then is P3 then it is hon who is
P4 of course hon needs to be ahead of furry andad even if he was ahead of furry it wouldn’t be enough would it Chris uh no he’s uh well potentially it could be 21 points available tomorrow depends where they finish CU he’s got more wins he’s got four on the truck
Actually Lon Fury but yeah he got he’s got to finish ahead of him as ddy BT now puts bar hon back down to fifth place the good move under breaking all the way to turn three slides the back end of the car out but Hon’s going to get him back
On the exit well there you go uh just when you think you’ve done enough no you haven’t keep cool calm and collected and that’s precisely what B hon did realized that he was carrying too much Pace he would never be able to scrub off all that speed very sideways moment Bart
Said I’m coming back at you and that’s precisely what he did so we’ve got just under 11 and 1 half minutes of this uh wonderful BMW M2 Cup race to come and thus far neither Chris know myself I’ve had a moment to take a breath because there is something going on at whichever
Pack of cars you look at so Leon Fury the championship leader on course for 16 points in third place Bart hon is fourth to fewer 14 points needs to outscore him he’s not at the moment and he’s dropping back max rosam third in the championship
Second in the race he’s going to get 18 points so by my math as it stands Leon Fury is 22 points clear of Bart hon there’s only 21 points available tomorrow he’s he’s on course for the championship title I think he knows it as well which is why he hasn’t fought
Too hard when burning hasnen and rosam have got alongside him absolutely right driving with his head isn’t he he realizing the bigger picture but uh it’s still with 10 and 3/4 minutes nothing is over until the rotund lady sings as they say still having seen what’s happened
During the course of the race lot can happen still unfortunately for Bart hon he can’t get up the road the reason being his rearview mirrors been full of the yellow yellow Peril behind him Denny burnt I mean poor old BART to try and think about attack give up Dave goodness
Sake look what I’m having to to defend yeah absolutely he was ragging over the curves there wasn’t he he knows he’s having a break super late cuz if he doesn’t ddy B’s going to Chuck it out the inside as he’s done about four times in this race so far it’s a great B
There’s a little nudge come on hurry up he says coming out of the corner absolutely love it uh Ah that’s Robbie McAfee driveth penalty that little nudge we saw I I kind of not surprised but I’m honest with you that was a proper Wimbledon Stadium move wasn’t it you’re
Going in friend and he did uh right here we can see just how close but Boston is feeling the attention of the number eight car of Denny burn just a little love tap this might be an interesting conversation between these two at the end of the race
Christmas card lists being edited as we speak here then buning H from rosam uh before uh fur hon and then Denny bur the very car that we are watching right now the yellow Peril as I’ve named it during the course of this race because he has
Been an absolute Peril to bar hon ahead of him I have to say Chris actually if you look at the Gap uh between P3 and this extraordinary spectacle which is P4 and P5 it’s coming down a little bit I’m trying to build the anticipation absolutely and uh it’s
9 minutes to go plus one lap and that track Evol evolving and changing and drying of the tires getting more and more worn so you know a lot can happen easy to make a a mistake here that incident at turn three between hon and burnt he’s been looked at by the steward
It’s under investigation yeah come on add it to the list quite a bit of homework to be done there isn’t there over the sausage curves they go like they just don’t care I these drivers absolutely giving everything and it’s great to see uh such talent now here is the uh prediction
Then if everything stood the way it does currently l for on 186 points and bar hon then on 164 your calculations absolutely correct Mr Harley he would have a margin of 22 points with only 21 available tomorrow yeah absolutely so on course for the championship title on his
18th birthday and what a run it has been for him he’s only had two races this year off the podium and he’s had five wins including four consecutively if he’ won this race five on the trop would have been a record of the bmw2 cup s
Vana back in the pits he did go out for a bit and he did actually at the fastest lap of the race so at least they’ll get a point for that but real frustrations for the dut driver after a great qualifying yesterday yeah that’s a great
Shame never want to see the cars in the pit Lane you can already see the cloudia hening car is already there but uh that’s very very unfortunate but Testament to how well the team really manage these cars in what has been a very very very physical race only two
Cars in the pit Lane meantime let’s catch up and catch in with our race leader then buen who since he’s got past has built a margin of some 4 seconds uh meantime the Waring factions continue although for the moment um I think B hon has been able to show a relatively clean
Pair of heels to Denny burn meantime behind Chris that’s not the case there’s still plenty going on now Robbie McAfee versus Luca link that was McAfee with this penalty he’s got coming there at the moment battling uh just the tail end of the top 10 Luca link trying to swing
Out wide to find that damp patch closest to the pit well they you can see the definite line that we’ve got now dry on the right hand side of your picture still damp on the left hand side yeah so trying to take advantage of um half an effort to try and keep those
Wet weather tires into a into a temperature window that they’re going to appreciate because they have been pushed and pushed for the uh race that we have had so far so this three-way fight that is going on currently is p8 n and 10 that we’re watching and as they’re into
Turn number three uh for for uh what have we got 6 and 1/2 minutes of the race remaining it’s as we were yeah a warning for Denny B they’re looking at that incident that nudge between him and B hon they warning so they’re watching him but there’s no uh there’s no penalty
For him uh so he’s got to be a little bit careful a bit circumspect but Denny still battling here with h Bart hon Bart must be really frustrated by this race he’s spent the entire race battling Denny B for fourth place when he wanted to be catching a passing Laton Fury
Thing is uh you know um I think that’s exactly the right decision from race control sideways around that turn um black and white flag is exactly the right thing look we’re keeping our eye on you um because I think you know actually what they have delivered has
Been just awesome racing and you can see how the cars now are really really unsettled because they’re they’re struggling for grip Chris yeah absolutely and uh just kissing the gravel trap there was Denny B in the number eight car the young German driver still trying to get back ahead of the
Australian Bart hon uh by D of winning the overall champion ship fur is going to win the rookie Championship as well cuz there’s only the man you’re looking at Bart hon that’s back from last year it’s almost entirely made up of rookies this year uh so Bart who’s fourth in the
Championship last year the only non rookie yeah here comes Denny here he comes uh where is he going to make this move now on B hon he’s tried everywhere he’s been successful on occasions and then unsuccessful again so he’s really got the measure of him now I believe as
They make the run up through the King which is turn number two and then into turn number three so standby uh this is for P4 in the race the battle that’s going on between bar hon and Denny Burns now hold on to your hats fastest man on
The track Max rosam in second place a 1465 last time around was 7/10 quicker than Colin burning has he’s been doing it for a couple of laps now the Gap was over 4 seconds it’s now 2.7 he’s not given up on the race win yet fantastic right wide outside then and
That isn’t necessarily the way for Carla around there up against the car of but Valiant effort yeah try to carry the speed so Louisa Cara now having to keep an eye on the mirrors Lucas Sidle one of the guest two guest drivers alongside Robert hefler in the race on her case
Now and she got a slow exit inside line was covered so went for the outside line it would have been a heck of a move this but she ran out of grip on the way into the corner and just out break herself a little bit and I think also there you
Know because you are continuing to climb up here you lose momentum as well I certainly found out on my bicycle absolutely it is steep isn’t it really steep at climb up to turn three much more so than it looks on television actually so here’s the gap between the
Top two coming down all the time yes it is coming down uh so we will see and uh here we can see the uh sliding bar hon car and the equally sliding all yellow machine of Denny burn I mean that was a big one around there
And I was about to say I think Bart spent his entire race having to defend that position but actually I think they’re they’re trying to drive so quickly they might be pushing each other on a bit as well uh so bar hon P4 seeing his championship aspirations e way as uh
We see uh into the pit Lane the car of Robbie McAfee with that drive through penalty Chris yeah so finally serving that one that will drop him out of the top 10 up put LCA link back up to ninth but frustration for Luca after excellent qualifying yesterday dropping back he
Wasn’t entirely convinced that he was going to get on the podium when Verina asked him he knew it was going to be a tough fight so it has proven to be and here if you needed reminding is a replay of the incident which caused the drive-through penalty I mean that was a
Proper om Spin and new friend and we were talking of Christmas C list earlier on and I think he’s definitely not on that one now look at this was the slide I was describing Chris we saw it from a different camera angle it’s even more dramatic
Now and that is Terry Grant Stunt Driver at his best yes they need uh somebody else for uh the next fast than the Furious film number 15 or whatever it is there’s your man ddy burnt he can go sideways as well as anyone yes uh brilliant stuff uh and we’re oh my
Goodness where’s the race gone we got two two minutes and a quarter plus a lap still to come I’ve been extraordinarily and I know it’s really difficult for him but I’ve been extraordinarily impressed with bar hon here even though he can see his aspirations slipping away he has been utterly utterly Relentless steadfast
Than any other ADC you can use to describe his defense mechanism about one of the most uh uh I was going to say aggressive drivers in Denny burnt who has been utterly determined to get by him and has done it on a couple of times
And then lost out again and uh you can see again the cars are melded get molded together as one as now Denny goes to the inside bar on the outside I reckon that Denny if he squeezes him now but Bart will have more momentum and sure enough
He’s able to CL the door so I Denny burn fair play wherever he can he has tried and Bart has had the answer to it and Max Ros has taken another half a second out of coling bery has but time is running out the gap’s down to 1.8
Seconds last time through look at this and there’s a nudge up there round goes B hon that is title hopes completely gone now sent into a spin and remember Denny B was already on a warning yes I really rather think that that will be a
Slam dunk for Denny and as you say Chris that is utter slam dunk for bar hon any slim hopes he had for the championship have now gone away in a 360 like that I think Danny just clipped that inside curb which kind of sent him into it
Let’s have a look just here yeah just Clips the curb so I don’t think it was intentional but unfortunately the end result is that Barton hon has been spun around uh and well done to our team look and you’re right the just clipping that curb and the front end of the car didn’t
It and you know when you’re driving with the U absolute commitment you are anything like that any little uh little touch on a on an already accelerating car is just going to be enough isn’t it and that’s sure enough what happened I think Colin burning as’s responded it
Wasn’t a great second sector for Max r i he lost 410 to the race leader so that might be enough now the clock down to zero when they come through and then plus one lap at the end of what’s a short and 27 minute race so they did
Just snu through before the clock ran out so will be this lap plus one more two to go uh two to go can we take much more of it and uh well there’s kind of no surprise you’ll see on the screen in a moment here that Denny burnt will pick
Up a drive-through penalty for pushing another car um and that’s you know certainly wasn’t malicious as as Chris has in indicated we just you know he ran across the curve that just unsettled the front of the car made contact with the back of bar holon sent him around but uh
There we are that is an I rather think think that probably it’ll be a time penalty if he doesn’t take the drivethru well he will have enough time to do that so if everything stays the way it is now and don’t necessarily count your horses yet 186 points for Leon furry and bar
Hon on 160 that will be 26 points behind and that’s done for him hasn’t it yeah and also look B Hon’s only just ahead of Max Ros second having been up there fighting for the championship all the way through the season Max rosam might you know be looking at Nick in second
Place away from Bart tomorrow oh that’s J Den going a bit deep into the corner wasn’t it uh has he survived he was running in fifth place Denny burnt of course will go through the pit Lanes that’ll become fourth Robert hefler going pretty well behind him in the top
Six as well so Leon furry then and again part of the whole Drive development of these young talents in the BMW M2 cup he’s just kept his call Chris and done what he has needed to do not stressed not push too hard when ordinarily perhaps he would do that thinking about
The bigger picture and the points allall yeah almost feels like that that was as you said a big three points getting pole position yesterday that took him just that step closer to the championship and gave him some more options today one more lap to go then 4.6 km for Leon Fury
To become the 2023 BMW M2 Cup champion so here though is our race leader Colin buen then P1 and Max Ram running P2 and the gap between them when they crossed the timing line was some 1. 667 seconds so berning hen with a enough of a margin over Max rosam and Leon
Furry then just running quietly on his own in P3 uh Denny burn is showing us P4 but of course he does have a drive-through penalty to take and as I suspected he probably won’t take that during the race therefore it will be a time penalty that will be added to his
Race time and will significantly drop him down the order so boonen then uh has had say this not much going on now how dare I say that Chris uh because right in the middle there uh is the number 13 car of craft but of course and that is
Bar hon trying to claw his way back up as far as he can having been turned around and this is the thing whilst um whilst accepting that Denny burn has picked up a driveth through penalty and he does get penalized for what he did it kind of doesn’t help B
Does it no julus den at the head of this battle trying to fend them off Bart hon Robert heer just be this is once bent gets that penalty effectively going to be the battle for fourth place four of them together on this final lap of the race absolutely amazing it’s been uh um
Second by second action as uh heading towards the final turn then on this relatively short as spelberg circuit Here Comes Colin buing house and then heading towards the checker flag which is wav to top his car max rosam is going to take P2 and then to take the
Championship by taking P3 Here Comes Leighton furry that’s a cool calm collected head has paid off for him as he takes a P3 and indeed becomes the BMW M2 Cup champion for 2023 bear in mind still a race to come tomorrow but if we needed a a fairly
Exciting or very very exciting Showdown uh when it comes to the championship we’ve certainly had it today Chris there’s tears down in the pit Lane friends family supporters of Lon Fury well he’s won championships in South Africa the VW polo cup which of course the fander Linda’s now very successful
DTM driver won in the past he won the global super to cars championship in South Africa Africa last year he came to the BMW M2 cup for one weekend at the end of last year and already got on the podium at hackenheim and he’s been a worthy Champion excellent effort from
Him and Well Done Colin Bernie a race winner for the first time this season in the championship yes a very good job done here’s confirmation of the classification berning hen then taking the win ahead of Max rosam Leon furry with P3 enough to seal the championship Bart hon P4 Julius Dennison P5 then
Adrien richy P6 Robert hefer p7 and Luca link then uh p8 and what a good starting position Luca had kman CRA P9 Lisa Cara P1 then it was Yan matchz and Lucas seedle Robbie mcafe Denny burnt after after the time penalty and then of course we lost s van Solan Claudia
Henning during the early stages of this BMW M2 Cup race one of two this weekend but the championship has been uh sealed of course the big Championship celebrations Chris will not come until after the final race that’s it we’ll have a Champions Podium at the end of tomorrow’s race and the rookie
Champion but it’s going to be the same blo this man late in Fury on his 18th birthday what a way to celebrate the championship title is his Colin boning has will be top of the Moon as well that move that decisive move as it proved to
Be up at turn three to get the win Max R I’m a great drive from 9th to Second yes and he’s still on course for you know maybe not winning the championship but he can fight B Hol of second of the championship now yeah so the cars come
In then there’s going to be lots of emotions and lots of Celebration and the cars line up correctly there and well uh we have seen a terrific BMW M two Cup race one uh here at uh in Austria uh they’ve entertained us all season long that’s for sure these young talents who
Are very much part of the development program and uh Colin is going to be out of the car and be very happy big fell you know um as you can see now going be the first time we see him and that’s Lovely isn’t it rivals on track friends off track and you know
Going to congratulate this man the champion Leighton furry go on on top of the car steady on though be a bit damn friend I think he’s pleased I think there could be a movie career for you as well there with stances like that next superhero Chris um great effort yeah
Yeah I don’t think anybody can deny him he’s been superb especially the second half of the season oh the emotion oh bless and there the family to congratulate and there actually is the architect of for one of the architects of the BMW M2 cup along with Y mes there
Is hbor Camp who of course is HB bur Camp’s uh very much um driving these young talents ah and look at that that isn’t that really nice to see but what is really nice is also the camarad there is in the paddock of course once the
Crash home goes on as we have seen you get pretty decisive physical racing but actually uh there was a great atmosphere and here’s confirmation of how the driver classification finish after this race 186 points means that bar hon cannot cannot get him Max rosam though
As you have said Chris is just uh five and a half points behind B hon in or chasing for P2 in the championship yeah he got 18 points and B got 14 so scoring by four that’s going to be uh it’s going to be really tight as well so that’s
Still a battle to be had uh there’s Christine curling there on the left of the pit looks after the drivers in terms of all the as well and also gets them to the podium which is not the work of a moment does a darn good job doesn’t she
Okay so we can see the emotions on the face then of the new champion of course there is the race Podium to come and in and amongst all the action down there is Verina and I’ve got the birthday boy and the new uh champion of the BMW M2 cup
And this smile is just huge so congratulations how excited are you oh I mean we couldn’t get a a better birthday gift I must say uh the car I had travels with them already on the warm-up lap I felt like I lost a lot of power so I
Knew it was going to be a tricky race I had to try to keep everyone behind me as long as I could I knew I didn’t have the pace uh once Colin got passed I knew that he was gone and once Max got passed
I knew the Gap was to Bart so I knew what I had to manage but through the stress of aser and the the the terrible start we had to this Championship to win it here is it’s incredible childhood dream of man so I was so happy so glad
To hear that congratulations what a phenomenal Al job and a perfect birthday presid and now he’s 18 and he can officially drive so back to you guys thank you so much it was very nice to see just in the back of the shot I don’t know whether you picked it up but Maxim
Must was there as well Chris who of course you know he is just a classic example of how this program works so well and uh he he is being developed as we speak I he’s about 8 foot tall you can’t miss it can you but um you know he
Was he was there to congratulate the family as well you can just see him to the right hand side of your picture there talking to HB bur camps yeah winner of uh the the One race that had finished here last year and of course going on to win the championship title
Racing in GT4 this year racing in GT Masters this weekend as well so he’s on the pyramid on the way up and uh we’re going to see uh quite a few of the names in this Championship uh with big futures as well Lon Fury definitely there is the
Very this is very tall driver is Max rosam there to the left of your picture and the race winner Colin Burling Housen Oh well the shortened version of The Anthem to play out so that we can uh crack on with this uh Podium uh for the BMW M2 cup the first of two races this weekend but the championship has been uh done and dusted and there you can see trophy SP
I’m just going to throw that piece of paper away which said who’s doing the trophy presentations that was uh Christine curling then making the Trophy presentation to Leon furry for P3 and hbur camps then uh from Project one the company that runs this BMW M2 cup then making the Trophy presentation to Max
Rosam you and I have been here probably 100 times Chris and it’s always great to see as you see now B bman making the Trophy presentation to our race with Colin buik Hasen the trophies I was going on to say always Immaculate here aren’t they yeah absolutely and uh what
They do as well they’ll have a a rookie Podium back in the paddock afterwards and also they present the uh mechanics with these race Tire trophies as well so the mechanics stick with each race car the drivers swap cars get to work with different mechanics across the course of
The year they meic the runs the championship and they get these Bor original trainers as well the top three gold silver and bronze and L Fe he’s got a few pairs of those now yes quite a few pairs have a bid for one of those pairs
Um that’s yog mes who is making those presentations they are I mean the well need a wheelbarrow really to carry off all the silverware that they get at the end of a race so well done uh to all our drivers of course uh well done to Leon
Furry he’s done enough to seal the championship but well done to the top three and to the rest of the pack as well because you delivered an awesome race for us and it was really really enjoyable and all our trophy presenters move in then to be part of the
Photograph of what was a stunning race one and great photograph done of dusted who’s going to win the race to get the bubbly uncored then well first of all the truck will arrive to take away all the trophies and oh well it was Max rosam if I’m not mistaken Chris yeah
He’s the winner but Colin berz and the race winner Leon Fury the champion a race to go tomorrow been a great race Dave it has been a great race and we’ll see if a race to tomorrow from Chris Mel thank you so much for watching goodbye for Now
Season fnale of the BMW M2 Cup at the Red Bull Ring.
#BMWMMotorsport #BMWM2Cup
