New BMW M4 Coupé the prize for 2014 Best Qualifier
Once again, throughout the 2014 season MotoGP™ riders will be competing for the BMW M Award, handed out to the Best Qualifier. For this 12th edition, a special BMW M4 Coupé will be up for grabs.
On the eve of the Gran Premio bwin de España, MotoGP Official Partner BMW M unveiled the M4 Coupé for this year’s BMW M Award winner. The Best Qualifier of the 2014 season will win an exclusive new BMW M coupé, which features a completely new, 431 bhp six-cylinder inline engine with M TwinPower Turbo technology and which sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.1 seconds.
“BMW M GmbH is a strong partner and the BMW M Award is a coveted highlight of every season,” Pau Serracanta, Managing Director of the Commercial Department at Dorna Sports, commented during the presentation at the Circuito de Jerez. “The entire MotoGP family looks forward to the unveiling of the BMW M award every year and BMW M has once again come up with a real treat this season, in the form of this exclusive BMW M4 Coupé. The riders are thrilled and we are excited to see which of them will drive home in this breathtaking car come the end of the season.”
“The BMW M Award is a key part of our successful long-term partnership with MotoGP,” added Axel Mittler, Head of Cooperation MotoGP at BMW M. “We are proud that the BMW M Award is held in such high regard within MotoGP. Our M cars are coveted prizes and we are pleased to be able to present our latest high-performance car – the BMW M4 Coupé – as the BMW M Award. We have our fingers crossed for all of the MotoGP riders in the race for the BMW M Award.”
The BMW M Award classification features a points system similar to the one used for the race, in which riders are awarded points relative to their positions in qualifying. In 2013, Marc Marquez won the BMW M Award. After the first four qualifying sessions of 2014, the reigning World Champion leads the Best Qualifier standings with 100 points, ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa.
Also in Jerez last weekend, BMW M revealed its Official MotoGP™ fleet for 2014. This season, Safety Car 1 comes in the form of the M4 Coupé, with the M3 Sedan being used as Safety Car 2 and the M5 for Safety Car 3. There are a pair of M550d Touring models on offer as the two Medical Cars, with the Safety Officer housed in a M6 Grand Coupé. Of course, two-wheeled vehicles are never far away in MotoGP, including the two HP4 Safety Bikes which complete the 2014 range.