Motorcycle Racing.

Successes on two and three wheels.

The racing history of the blue and white brand began with the very first BMW motorcycle. The R 32 hadn't even been officially unveiled yet and it was already at the start of a race. Shortly afterwards, the first sports models appeared, with which BMW won numerous German championships and also caused a sensation internationally. By the end of the 1930s, BMW machines dominated all motorcycle racing disciplines.

"Tried and tested in sport – tried and tested in production" became a living slogan. Numerous innovations that made their debut in motorsport found their way into series production. The long history of success with impressive victories on the road, off-road, on two wheels and on three wheels characterises the dynamic character of all BMW racing motorcycles to this day.

Road Racing.

In the 1920s, BMW was already celebrating victories and championship titles. Between 1924 and 1929, the young brand won the German Road Racing Championship in the prestigious 500 cc class without interruption. In the 1930s, the German BMW team won the international Six-Day Race three times in a row – the European off-road championship.

From 1935, BMW was also at the forefront of international road racing. In 1938, when the European Championship was held over a full season for the first time, Georg Meier won the title in a BMW. He was also the first non-British rider to win the Senior TT on the Isle of Man. This dominance on and off the road, as well as countless speed records, made BMW the sporting brand par excellence by the end of the 1930s.

Walter Zeller's runner-up finish in the 1956 World Championship marked BMW's return to the top of the international pecking order. The sporting genes of the BMW Motorrad brand are impressively demonstrated time and again by its successes in prestigious events such as the Bol d’Or in France, the TT on the Isle of Man, the American Superbike Championship and the current Endurance and Superbike racing series (EWC and WSBK).

Sidecar Racing.

Sidecar racing was one of the most popular racing events of the post-war period. The sidecar motorcycle was often referred to as the "little man's car", while the riders, with their spectacular manoeuvres, were dubbed "acrobats on three wheels". In 1954, Wilhelm Noll and Fritz Cron won the first sidecar World Championship for BMW, ending the long dominance of the British. Little did they know that this was the start of a unique series in motor racing: By 1974, BMW sidecars had won a total of 19 Drivers' and 20 Brand World Championships. Over the course of time, the motorcycles also underwent a remarkable visual development. In the beginning they were solo racers with sports sidecars, but soon the sidecars were much flatter, and the fairing became more and more important. These efforts were once again rewarded with a World Championship title in 2016.

Tourist Trophy.

The Tourist Trophy is a motorcycle race that has been held on the Isle of Man since 1907. It is considered to be the oldest and most exciting, but also one of the most dangerous motorcycle races in the world. Each year, over 40,000 racing fans flock to the island to take part in the week-long series of competitions organised as part of the TT. Georg "Schorsch" Meier made history in 1939: He became the first non-British rider to win the premier class of the series, the Senior TT, on his BMW compressor bike. From the 1950s, BMW dominates the TT sidecar class, while solo machines enjoy further success in 1974 and 2014.

Speed Records.

Top speeds in motorcycle racing are always just a snapshot in time. In order to make an objective and fair comparison of which bike is the fastest and therefore the best in the world, the conditions must be standardised. World record rides set such a standard. In 1929, the successful road and off-road rider Ernst Jakob Henne set the first absolute world speed record on a BMW. He made headlines in the world's press and the young BMW motorcycle brand was now an international household name. The world speed record then developed into a battle for prestige with English and Italian riders and brands. Time and time again, Henne beat the competition. Over the course of his career, he set a total of 76 records. Wilhelm Noll did the same in the post-war period: The 1954 and 1956 Sidecar World Champion led the BMW Sidecars to ever new records.

Off-Road Motorsport.

BMW off-road prowess. The BMW R 37 wins its first international gold medal in rallying. Whether at six-days, hill climbs or circuit races, BMW is always on the winners' podium and proves its reliability on difficult terrain. The desert provided a new challenge: First held in 1979, the Paris-Dakar Rally quickly gained a reputation as the toughest off-road stage. For BMW, the endless stages in the scorching African heat on unpaved roads were the ideal stage to test the reliability of new products under the toughest conditions. Between 1981 and 1985, it was the recently launched G/S series that proved the off-road capabilities of the Boxer with four victories. BMW Motorrad celebrated a successful comeback to the "Dakar" with overall victory in 1999 and a quadruple victory in 2000.