Bmw M3 Dtm

This past weekend, BMW celebrated its return to DTM racing after a 20-year embargo of its home series. On the first practice day of the weekend at Hockenheim, Andy Priaulx was the best BMW in tenth, almost a second off the pace. By Saturday morning's second free practice just before quallifying, BMW pilot Bruno Splengler, who was 20th on Friday, Jonathon Ramsey

With six cars joining the grid this year in the DTM series, BMW is sure to present wildly different liveries – largely determined by the sponsors brought on board – for each one. And this is the first.

Choosing a safety car to pace a racing series is tricky business that almost invariably results in either a constant flux of vehicles called into duty or playing favorites between the manufacturers taking part in the series. NASCAR changes its pace cars about as quickly as it changes tires. Formula One sticks with Mercedes-Benz machinery, and nobody seems to complain very much. But Noah Joseph

BMW M3 GT2 in ALMS – Click above for high-res image gallery