BMW debuts new safety car fleet for 2021 MotoGP

BMW has provided the official MotoGP Safety Car fleet since 1999, and the German manufacturer has now shown its latest additions that will join the start of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship season which begins March 28 in Losail for the Grand Prix of Qatar.

The new fleet is comprised of the G80 M3, G82 M4 and the F90 M5 CS, as well as the BMW Motorrad M 1000 RR Safety Bike. These will be joined by the BMW M8 Competition Coupe Safety Car, the F93 M8 Competition Gran Coupe Safety Car, an F95 X5 M Medical Car and an additional M 1000 RR Safety Bike at the first European round of the season, which takes place April 18 in Portimao, Portugal.

The Safety Car fleet gets a new approach to colours this year, superseding the M livery that has become tradition for the fleet. This time around, each car will wear exclusive colours for their respective models, and as such, the M3 Competition Safety Car gets Frozen Grey Dark Metallic, the M4 Competition Coupe Safety Car gets Sao Paolo Yellow and the M5 CS Safety Car gets Frozen Deep Green Metallic.

Just a few modifications were required in order to allow their use as MotoGP safety cars, said BMW, and these included the addition of light bars, flashing front lights, motorsport quick-release bonnet latches and emergency power shut-off switches for overseas transport when the MotoGP calendar travels between race weekends.

In the M4 Competition Safety Car, its rear seats have been removed and replaced with a roll bar and four-point safety harness setup. Both the M3 and M4 Safety Cars have modified exhaust systems.

In road trim, the M3 and M4 Competition produce 510 PS and 650 Nm of torque from a 3.0 litre biturbo inline-six, driving the rear wheels via an eight-speed M Steptronic automatic transmission. AWD is now available as an option. Meanwhile, the M5 CS gets an uprated version of the ‘regular’ 4.4 litre biturbo V8 to get 635 hp and 750 Nm of torque, sent to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

BMW M has chosen to go with a “classic, purist safety car look”, with emphasis on the basic colours of each vehicle, says BMW. Meanwhile, the M 1000 RR Safety Bike continues to wear the signature M livery, which is the same as that applied to the production bike, with the addition of MotoGP and “Official Safety Bike” decals.

How do you think these compare to BMW’s past MotoGP safety cars? These include the earlier iteration of the F90 M5, F82 M4 coupe, M6 Gran Coupe, 1 Series M Coupe and M2.