Nelson Piquet Jr will contest the Blancpain Sprint Series with BMW Team Brazil this year. The 28-year-old, son of three-time Formula 1 world champion Nelson Piquet Sr, will drive one of the Brazilian team’s pair of BMW Z4s in selected rounds alongside an undisclosed team-mate. Team boss Antonio Hermann said: “Nelson was going to race with us at the Baku round [of BSS predecessor the FIA GT Series] last year, but couldn’t do it after they changed the date.
“We invited him for the full season this year and he is happy to join the category, because he thinks it is going to be very good this year.”
Piquet Jr added: “In 1983, my father won his second title in F1 with a BMW engine. More than 30 years on, I’m proud for the opportunity to be part of the success story between Piquet and BMW family.” Piquet Jr could miss as many as three of the seven BSS rounds courtesy of his commitments in the US-based Global Rallycross series, which he joined last year.
Piquet is testing the BMW for the first time at Nogaro along with team regular Caca Bueno, and will continue his familiarisation at the official test of the Blancpain Sprint and Endurance Series at Paul Ricard today. Bueno is the only other confirmed driver ahead of the official announcement of the team’s programme at the start of April.
The team will this year be based at premises near the Estoril circuit in Portugal, rather than running out of the SUNRED team’s workshops in Barcelona. BMW Team Brazil has no plans to contest any Endurance Series rounds this season.
