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GRAND-AM
GT: Q&A With BMW’s Jens Marquardt
BMW Motorsport director talks customer Z4 cars, GT3 in America and the progress of the proposed U.S. DTM championship...
Jens Marquardt is the director for BMW Motorsport worldwide. (Photo: LAT)
With BMW confirming talks of a likely switch to a GT3-based Z4 for the 2013 American Le Mans Series season, SPEED.com caught up with BMW Motorsport director Jens Marquardt to get his thoughts on a variety of topics, including continued discussions on the proposed U.S. DTM championship.
DAGYS: If given the green light, could you see the BMW Z4 GTE being offered as a customer car?
MARQUARDT: It depends on what IMSA and the ACO do. I think there are also now discussions and thoughts of having adopted a system a little bit like like Le Mans, where you have GTE-Pro and Am classes.
Why not? For sure, it's something that would need time to set up properly and do it the right way. But I wouldn't rule it out.
DAGYS: Could you see a standalone GT3 championship in America being successful?
MARQUARDT: In Europe, it obviously works quite well, but that's because there are so many manufacturers involved. I think the platform is good. It's a question of having a similar thing available here and getting the American manufacturers into the same boat.
DAGYS: Has there been any progress on the proposed U.S. DTM series?
MARQUARDT: I think the communication is still in a good situation. From ITR's side, we're still quite active in communication and conversation but at the same time, we have to do it in a proper way.
For a championship where you're still adjusting regulations and still moving things around, to bring that somewhere in the world I think is maybe not the smartest thing.
It doesn't help anybody, really. Because what you want is a solid and stabilized product and then move it here. The time frame is something you have to carefully think about.
DAGYS: What do you think the success of a U.S. DTM championship would hinge on?
MARQUARDT: I think it's nice Mercedes, Audi and BMW are involved in Europe because that's home turf. But at the same time, when you think of America, and maybe also Asia, having the likes of Cadillac or Lexus involved as well would get much more attention and acceptance into a series like that.
At the same time, I think at some stage having those cars race in [DTM] Europe would be good. We're all global players.
DAGYS: What is the state of the proposed BMW Z4 for the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series?
MARQUARDT: We've got some pretty detailed replies from them. We know exactly what the framework is. It's just something we have to sit back and evaluate how much effort we have to put in and how much different it is from what we're running now, and what's the potential.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
DAGYS: If given the green light, could you see the BMW Z4 GTE being offered as a customer car?
MARQUARDT: It depends on what IMSA and the ACO do. I think there are also now discussions and thoughts of having adopted a system a little bit like like Le Mans, where you have GTE-Pro and Am classes.
Why not? For sure, it's something that would need time to set up properly and do it the right way. But I wouldn't rule it out.
DAGYS: Could you see a standalone GT3 championship in America being successful?
MARQUARDT: In Europe, it obviously works quite well, but that's because there are so many manufacturers involved. I think the platform is good. It's a question of having a similar thing available here and getting the American manufacturers into the same boat.
DAGYS: Has there been any progress on the proposed U.S. DTM series?
MARQUARDT: I think the communication is still in a good situation. From ITR's side, we're still quite active in communication and conversation but at the same time, we have to do it in a proper way.
For a championship where you're still adjusting regulations and still moving things around, to bring that somewhere in the world I think is maybe not the smartest thing.
It doesn't help anybody, really. Because what you want is a solid and stabilized product and then move it here. The time frame is something you have to carefully think about.
DAGYS: What do you think the success of a U.S. DTM championship would hinge on?
MARQUARDT: I think it's nice Mercedes, Audi and BMW are involved in Europe because that's home turf. But at the same time, when you think of America, and maybe also Asia, having the likes of Cadillac or Lexus involved as well would get much more attention and acceptance into a series like that.
At the same time, I think at some stage having those cars race in [DTM] Europe would be good. We're all global players.
DAGYS: What is the state of the proposed BMW Z4 for the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series?
MARQUARDT: We've got some pretty detailed replies from them. We know exactly what the framework is. It's just something we have to sit back and evaluate how much effort we have to put in and how much different it is from what we're running now, and what's the potential.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
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