From a press release issued by Dorna Sports: BMW M Power ten year partnership with MotoGP strengthens BMW celebrated their 10th year of involvement with MotoGP today when the latest fleet of Safety Cars was handed over to Dorna for their usage throughout the entire 2008 season. Spearheading the fleet will be not just the cutting edge technology from BMW’s M Power division, but also bikes from BMW Motorrad with two HP2 Sports powered by the strongest series of boxer engine produced from Munich. The hand over took place on the home straight of the Jerez circuit with Axel Zimmermann of BMW M Power handing the keys over to Race Director Paul Butler, Rider’s Safety Delegate Franco Uncini and Dorna representative Javier Alonso. No less than four M Power cars are part of the Safety Car fleet for 2008, each one of them honed to driving perfection on the immortal “Green Hell” of the Nürburgring, with a 420hp V8 M3, 507hp V10 M5, M6 and M5 Touring all spearheading the fleet as the Safety Cars, ultra swift transport for the Race Director and Safety Officer. Each Grand Prix will also see the Safety Bikes clearing the track with two BMW HP 2 Sport boasting 133hp and 115Nm of torque with a ready to ride weight of under 200 kgs. A brand new BMW M3 Cabrio will be up for grabs come the end of the season in the BMW M Award for the year’s best qualifier in the MotoGP class. New rules will apply for 2008 making the BMW M Award follow the standard points system used by the MotoGP World Championship for race positions (25 points for pole position, 20 for second etc). This change, coupled with the decision to run the contest only in qualifying sessions, means that riders who miss a round for any reason will still be in the running for a new BMW M3 Cabrio. Some MotoGP riders have been so impressed by this stunning new V8 M3, that they are already now happy owners of one of Munich’s most evocative cars.