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2018 BMW M5 MotoGP Safety Car Gets Ready for Season Start

On Sunday, March 18, the 2018 season of the MotoGP kicks off at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. And as the riders try to contain their excitement, so does BMW’s M division, whose cars have for years been involved in the sports.
BMW M5 MotoGP safety car 16 photos
Photo: BMW
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2018 is the 20th year the Germans will provide the official cars for the motorcycle racing series. For this event, the fleet of BMW M vehicles (seven in all for this season) to precede the riders would be led by the new M5, wearing MotoGP Safety Car guise.

Just as the production version introduced in September last year, the M5 MotoGP Safety Car is powered by a 4.4-liter V8 engine, developing 600 HP and a maximum torque of 750 Nm. For the MotoGP, M says it conducted “painstaking manual work” to get the car track ready.

“When we partnered with MotoGP organizer Dorna Sports in 1999, our aspiration was to use all our expertise, innovative technology from motorsport and new ideas to serve safety in the MotoGP,” said BMW M’s president Frank van Meel.

“That remains the case today. 20 years down the road, Dorna Sports still has a strong partner on board, in BMW M GmbH, for whom the safety of the riders takes top priority.”


Aside for the M5, the fleet of official and safety cars will include seven other models, all on scene for the races. The lineup includes the BMW M3, the BMW M4 Coupe, the BMW M2 and the BMW M6 Gran Coupe safety cars, as well as the BMW X5 M medical car.

The complete lineup of M models for the racing series is completed by two BMW S 1000 RR motorcycles, acting as safety bikes.

This year’s MotoGP will be the 70th motorcycle racing season. There will be 19 races in all, starting in Qatar this week and ending in Spain on November 18. Last year’s season winner, thus reigning champion, is Marc Marquez, racing for Honda's factory team.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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