BMW and Method One have an inextricable historical past. Most continuously, the connection will get diminished to BMW’s historical past of supplying engines. Removed from an unfair categorization. However there’s one other means BMW “provided” Method One within the early 2000s: Method BMW. A separate entity with beforehand restricted OEM involvement (though BMW did provide engines), the OEM took the reigns with sights set on creating even higher drivers.
Method BMW: Fast Modifications and New Faces
As we talked about, Method BMW already bought its engines straight from the mothership. With BMW Motorsport’s intervention in 2001, issues modified a bit. BMW now supplied whole automobiles for the collection. Secondly, the automaker reconfigured how the ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil Membership, actually “Normal German Car Membership”) labored. It prioritized drivers aged 15 or older with no worldwide racing expertise apart from karting.
The Method BMW program is touted by BMW as being “way over merely a step up from karting.” Method BMW gave drivers entry to distinctive training alternatives that different junior racing collection didn’t. A bodily health coach, PR coaching and entry to manufacturing unit drivers and F1 bosses made Method BMW stand out. An actual paddock — full with a hospitality tent for socialization, consuming, and entertaining — gave Method BMW an much more genuine really feel. “It actually set a brand new benchmark when it comes to what a junior race collection may present,” Alex Schmuck, who was Method BMW USA Motorsport Supervisor.
Crossing the Pond
After two years, BMW started eying the UK and US markets. Method BMW USA grew to become a factor, debuting on the Lengthy Seashore Grand Prix on April 13, 2003. This system represented a chance for youthful drivers to get behind the wheel of one thing extra akin to an actual F1 automobile, as BMW’s ADAC rides pushed the boundaries for the category. Carbon-Kevlar and composite tubs have been used together with a Motorsport-derived seat. Weighing simply over 1,000 kilos, the 140-horsepower four-cylinder bike engine mounted behind the driving force was greater than sufficient for motivation. However, after all, these developments got here at a value. BMW themselves estimated prices for a typical driver to be round $200,000 per race season, considerably greater than different junior race collection.
Whereas a tricky promote, BMW did handle to snag some huge fish. Bobby Rahal, who seemingly wants no introduction, and Tom Milner, who ran a factory-backed M3 within the American Le Mans Collection, have been onboarded, which could have cajoled different smaller groups to become involved. Additional blessings got here from a sanctioning cope with Championship Auto Racing Groups, or CART, the then-leaders of open-wheel racing. Even Roger Penske and Rick Hendrick, dealership and race workforce homeowners, bought concerned, buying automobiles however permitting BMW to select the driving force.
Method BMW’s Finish
From the collection debut at Lime Rock in 2004 till the ultimate races of the collection in 2009 — when it was then often known as Method BMW Americas to point the inclusion of a brand new race weekend added in Mexico — Method BMW formed a era of F1 drivers and hopefuls. All races finally led to a worldwide collection that pit the perfect from in every single place in opposition to one another. Winners bought to check out a full-fledged F1 automobile.
This system developed a number of drivers that later ended up on the F1 grid, together with Nico Rosberg, a future F1 world champion, and Ho-Pin Tung who raced with each Williams and Sauber BMW groups. Finally, 2009 noticed the tip of Method BMW as the worldwide recession worsened and BMW pulled out of all Method One efforts.
