BMW retires from WTCC as factory team

In 2011 BMW will no longer be participating at the World Touring Car Championship as a factory team. Yet the brand will continue to provide its re-engined 320 TC for private teams.

Chevrolet, together with single-car newcomer Volvo, will become the only official brand teams to lineup for the 2011 season of the WTCC. Last year Seat also withdrawn from the WTCC as factory team but its cars continue to run in private teams.

BMW's outgoing motorsport boss Mario Thiessen said: "The BMW 320 TC, powered by the newly-developed 1.6-litre four-cylinder (DI-)turbo engine, will expand our customer racing offering, and be entered in the World Touring car Championship by private teams."

The WTCC programme had already been put in question, after BMW announced its decision to join the DTM from 2012. In 2010, Andy Priaulx and Augusto Farfus, BMW’s 2010 works drivers, will be focusing on the BMW GT, with the M3 GT2 set to run in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.

BMW experienced great success in the WTCC as Priaulx won the first three titles after the resurrection of the WTCC, in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

In the recent years BMW has failed to perform and expressed some frustration by not being able to compete against Chevrolet's petrol engines and SEAT's turbodiesels. In 2010 its’ title bid came to an early end, after both cars were disqualified from the Okayama leg because of a non-homologated gearbox.