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Today's 'Race Car Driver Freaking Out His Wife On A Track' is BMW's Augusto Farfus

Jeffrey N. Ross — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:46:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Europe, Videos, BMW, Humor, Racing

Augusto Farfus isn't even 30 years old yet, but he already has a certain commanding precision on many of the world's greatest racetracks, including Germany's famed Nürburgring. In the latest installment of the "Scare Your Wife At The Track" internet video meme, the BMW DTM driver takes his wife, Liri, for a high-speed tour of the Nürburgring in a BMW M3 Coupe.

When Liri agreed to hop in the passenger seat for a hot lap with her husband, we have a feeling the two had different meanings of "slow" and "exciting" driving. While most of us would have a hard enough time just staying on the challenging track, Farfus tackles the Green Hell while explaining elements of the track and dealing with his wife screaming in fear for most of the nearly 10-minute video. At one point (around the 5:02 mark) it looks as if Mrs. Farfus even starts to pass out a little just before saying that she's going to be sick, but she still handles the ordeal better than the respective wives of Riccardo Patrese and João Barbosa, the reigning queens of the Scare Your Wife meme.

Farfus, who we learn early in the video has a nickname of "Ninho" from his wife, is having fun the entire video commenting on a classic Mercedes-Benz as they blow past it, an Audi driver who Farfus comments "probably thinks he knows the track" as they pass it in a turn and numerous other cars and motorcycles.

Check out the video below to see whether or not Ninho will end up in the dog house for his antics.

Continue reading Today's 'Race Car Driver Freaking Out His Wife On A Track' is BMW's Augusto Farfus

Today's 'Race Car Driver Freaking Out His Wife On A Track' is BMW's Augusto Farfus originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW calls M3 DTM Concept to the matte

Jeff Glucker — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 18:03:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, BMW

BMW has revealed the car that marks the automaker's return to DTM racing. The BMW M3 DTM Concept provides a look at what race fans can expect on the DTM starting grid in 2012. Not every bit of matte-finish cool on display above will be carried over to the ready-to-race version, but as with the majority of its concept cars, BMW's finished product will likely look very close to the car you see here.

The BMW M3 DTM Concept is powered by a 480-horsepower 4.0-liter V8 engine (that's with the required air restrictor in place), mated to a six-speed sequential gearbox. Sprinting to 62 miles per hour takes about three seconds, and the racer's top speed is somewhere around 186 mph. It will be up to British driver Andy Priaulx and Brazilian teammate Augusto Farfus to keep the M3's matte finish looking fresh as they battle for podium spots.

BMW's full press blast is available after the jump.

Continue reading BMW calls M3 DTM Concept to the matte

BMW calls M3 DTM Concept to the matte originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 17 Jul 2011 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW continues curtailing racing programs

Noah Joseph — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:02:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, BMW

BMW 320si WTCC, BMW-Sauber F1.07 and Formula BMW FB02 - Click above for high-res image gallery

What would BMW be without racing? We could be about to find out if recent developments are any indication. The Bavarian automaker competed in F1, the World Touring Car Championship and various sportscar series, while running its own Formula BMW feeder series that has helped breed such talents as Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel. The automaker announced its withdrawal from Formula One at the end of this year, and reports now indicate that they'll be severely curtailing their participation in the World Touring Car Championship as well.

BMW mounted a concerted comeback effort in the WTCC this year, only to narrowly lose out again to SEAT. Whether the decision is directly related to the upset or not is unclear, but reports out of Europe say that BMW will be reducing the number of its cars in the championship next year from five to two. That means eliminating the national teams system it had in place, consolidating and putting its WTCC-spec 320si in the hands of Team Schnitzer (the erstwhile BMW Team Germany), which gains triple champion Andy Priaulx from BMW Team UK to partner with multiple race winner Augusto Farfus. Two-time CART champion and double amputee Alex Zanardi, who was racing for BMW Team Italy-Spain, is moving to the Superstars Series. (Touring car fans should also note that SEAT's 2008 champion Yvan Muller is moving to Chevrolet to replace the retiring former F1 driver Nicola Larini.)

What remains to be seen is whether BMW will continue cutting its racing activities in other series as well, or if they'll have cut enough expenditures from their F1 and WTCC programs to let its sportscar programs and Formula BMW survive the cutbacks.

Gallery: BMW 320si WTCC

[Source: OmniAuto.it]

BMW continues curtailing racing programs originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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