The founding cohort of the BMW M Racing Academy has successfully completed the year-long programme designed to support talented young drivers from customer racing.
Berkay Besler, Nerea Martí, Matt Million and Niels Tröger have spent the past months receiving comprehensive training and support from BMW M Motorsport, having been selected for the scheme based on their prior performances in GT4 machinery.
Throughout the year, the quartet was mentored by BMW M factory driver Jens Klingmann, with assistance from Max Hesse and Robby Foley. Dirk Adorf, who has extensive experience from previous talent development programmes, also provided support.
Experiences offered included multiple training sessions with Formula Medicine’s Dr. Riccardo Ceccarelli and his team, a 24-hour race simulation, and direct, hands-on coaching at the participants’ customer racing events.
The four drivers also worked alongside BMW M factory pilots on the development of the new BMW M2 Racing, whilst Martí and Besler joined BMW M Motorsport at the FIA WEC round at Imola, with Million attending the Laguna Seca IMSA Sportscar Championship event with the works outfit.
Following a successful debut season, the process of selecting the ‘Class of 2026’ is already underway.
“I’m extremely proud that we were able to establish this development programme again this year,” said Björn Lellman, Head of Customer Racing at BMW M Motorsport.
“Supporting talent from the customer racing sector is something both BMW M Motorsport and I personally care deeply about. During the BMW M2 Racing tests, the four participants made important contributions to development work, benefitting everyone involved. It was fascinating to watch how our ‘Class of 2025’ evolved both on and off the track.
“My thanks go to our BMW M works drivers Jens, Max, and Robby for their intense and constructive mentoring, which makes this program so special. We’re all very eager to continue following the progress of Berkay, Nerea, Matt, and Niels. After such a strong debut year, I’m very excited to see what the next generation of the BMW M Racing Academy will bring in 2026.”
Klingmann added: “It was great that, in the second half of the year, we were able to dive deep into the DNA of BMW – the values, the core business, the history, and the future – to broaden the participants’ understanding as drivers and give them a bigger-picture view.
“At the start of the program, we worked with Formula Medicine to assess each participant’s physical and mental baseline, and from there we built personalized training plans. Seeing their progress over the year was very rewarding. The 24-hour simulation was also crucial for teaching how to approach such an event, manage rest periods, and recover both mentally and physically. For drivers without prior endurance experience, that’s a real eye-opener.
“Overall, my impression is extremely positive. It was a lot of fun, and we were able to give the participants behind-the-scenes insights that money can’t buy. I’m happy that we could always be there for them – whether analyzing onboard footage, answering questions, or sharing advice. I wish all four of them the very best and hope they can apply everything they’ve learned in the BMW M Racing Academy to their future careers, both on and off the track.”
