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M FOR MULTITALENTED.

BMW M and Me: Torsten Schubert of Schubert Motorsport. From passionate amateur with petrol in his blood to successful entrepreneur and team principal. From vehicle trading to official factory partnership with BMW M Motorsport: Schubert Motorsport's rise is a true success story – and the partnership with BMW, which has been in place since the very beginning, has made a significant contribution to this. We met Torsten Schubert for an interview.

4 July 2025

Torsten Schubert got his first racing car before he had a road-legal one. Originally a successful driver himself, he founded the Schubert Motorsport Team in 1999. Based in Oschersleben in the Saxony-Anhalt region of Germany, he began his partnership with BMW in the same year. Since then, Schubert's racing team has grown steadily and is now one of the most successful German motorsport teams in its classes, regularly achieving success with the BMW M4 GT3. Since the 2025 season, Schubert Motorsport has been racing the BMW M4 GT3 EVO. In addition to his full-time job as managing director of Schubert Motors GmbH with 370 employees and as team principal of Schubert Motorsport, Torsten Schubert is also committed to local and social work. How he manages to juggle everything as well as he does? He told us in an interview on the sidelines of the DTM race weekend at Oschersleben.

CEO BMW M, Franciscus van Meel, and team principal Torsten Schubert.

CEO BMW M, Franciscus van Meel, and team principal Torsten Schubert.

TORSTEN SCHUBERT.

Torsten Schubert, team principal of Schubert Motorsport.

TORSTEN SCHUBERT.

Profession: Team manager, owner of a vehicle dealership and workshop

Passion: Motorsport with BMW M, family, promoting young talent

Motto: „The racetrack is my favourite place to be.”  

5 POWERFUL FACTS ON SCHUBERT MOTORSPORT:

  • 1999 Founding of Schubert Motorsport Team
  • 2001 First victory with BMW in a BMW 320i
  • 7 team titles with BMW
  • Driver and team titles in the 2022 DTM and team title in 2024 in the BMW M4 GT3
  • Team principal Torsten Schubert is recipient of the Federal Cross of Merit

Hello Torsten, thank you for taking the time to talk to us. Let's start with the first question: where does your passion for cars come from?

Even as a child I used to repair cars at home with my dad. He showed me how to lap pistons and bearing shells. That's how we started repairing the first cars for our neighbours, together with my brother, who also taught me a lot. And then we took our teacher’s mopeds home from school and repaired them. At some point, I became obsessed with the idea of driving something with two wheels. And after two wheels, four wheels eventually came along. Next, I bought my first autocross car. I didn't have a road vehicle, but I did have a racing car. I paid for it with the money my parents had saved for my first communion. They were completely dismayed. But the Trabant I was supposed to buy for that purpose was no longer available.

At the beginning of your career, at barely 20 years old in the GDR, would you have imagined that your career in motorsport would turn out as amazing as it has? 

No. We towed our first car to the racetrack with a tow rope wrapped around the leaf spring. Three people sat up front, in a Trabant 500, which I had built up for my friend who had built my first workshop for me. I borrowed the Trabant. Today, we have three trucks driving around with lots of equipment and accessories. You couldn't have dreamed of that back then.

Schubert Motorsport Team was founded in 1999. What made you decide to swap the steering wheel and cockpit for the pit wall?

I never wanted to swap completely. That's why I try to take part in races every year and do a few training sessions. One highlight was, of course, racing with my sons again last year in the 24-hour races at Dubai and the Nürburgring.

But yes, in 1999, our company headquarters with all its facilities was completed here in Oschersleben. We then started to build up our own team and were keen to get back to circuit racing. I ended my autocross career in 1999 with the European Championship title. 

After that, I started to build up our team for classic circuit racing. I still remember: back then in the German Touring Car Challenge, I had to drive a qualifying race. There were 44 cars registered at Hockenheim on the Short Circuit, and you had to finish at least 38th. And I just managed to do that. That's how I got to drive my first race at Hockenheim.

I already had a BMW engine in my car when I was doing autocross. It was a 1,600 cc. We built everything ourselves.
Torsten Schubert,

Team principal Schubert Motorsport

Schubert Motorsport has been a BMW M customer team since 2012; what are the reasons behind your long-standing partnership with the BMW M brand?

The DTM has always been a highlight for us. The enthusiasm was there. When the peaceful revolution came, I didn't want to do anything else except work with BMW. The M brand was associated with the fascination of motorsport, and so my fascination with the M brand has always been there. I already had a BMW engine in my autocross car. With 1,600 cc, we built everything ourselves. Later, the first electronic fuel injection system followed. That's why the connection to BMW M came about quite quickly for us.

Schubert Motorsport uses BMW M racing cars in various racing series; you also own several car dealerships and you do build racing cars for customer racing – how do you manage all that and still achieve continuous racing success with BMW M with your team?

You need a good team. Not just at the dealership, you also need a family behind you. If you look around here on a race weekend, my wife is looking after the guests at the hotel. The children are also here, doing pit lane tours because they don't have to work on the cars or drive today. Colleagues from the car dealership have also been supporting us here for years, ever since the GT Masters and DTC days. And, of course, here today at the DTM. With a strong team effort, you can achieve something like this.

What would you say is the recipe for success in motorsport?

Optimism, of course. You have to be able to take defeat on the chin. It happens, and then you have to get back up, fight your way back to the front and bring the team back together. You have to learn from the mistakes you've made – and then you should be able to find success again.

Can you imagine growing further and competing in even more racing series with even more vehicles?

Yes, we are already doing that and trying to broaden our base. We utilise a Dacia for young drivers coming up through the youth slalom programme. This gives them an affordable way to get started here at the NATC on the Oschersleben circuit, where transport costs and the like don't play a big role. We also use the M2 there and let young drivers try it out to introduce them to more professional motorsport.

CEO BMW M, Franciscus van Meel, Head of BMW M Motorsport, Andreas Roos, team principal Torsten Schubert and his previous head of engineering Marcel Schmidt, as well as BMW M works drivers René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde.

Line-up at Oschersleben 2024: CEO BMW M, Franciscus van Meel, Head of BMW M Motorsport, Andreas Roos, team principal Torsten Schubert and his previous head of engineering Marcel Schmidt, as well as BMW M works drivers René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde

We also use the M2 in Oschersleben and let young drivers try it out to introduce them to more professional motorsport.
Torsten Schubert,

Team principal Schubert Motorsport

Schubert Motorsport has also been competing in the DTM since 2022. You won the team title with your BMW M4 GT3 cars in your debut season and then again in 2024. What do you attribute this rapid success to?

Yes, we were given a wonderful car, the M4 GT3, which is even more successful than its predecessor, the M6. And, of course, we had a lot of experience. For example, we had helped develop the Z4 and built all the units back then. We did all the testing for the M GT4. So, we weren't completely new to the game. We also worked with many teams from the former DTM Class One, including some mechanics who are now back with us. With the wealth of experience these people brought to the table, it was easier to quickly build a good team.

At the start of the 2025 season, you have turned up with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO. What makes this vehicle special for you, and how will the new generation contribute to Schubert Motorsport's continued success in the DTM?

Well, we're still getting to grips with the car. The tyres need a bit of fine-tuning. We've already tried out lots of set-ups, but there's still room for improvement. Especially when it's cold on the racetrack, as we experienced this morning during qualifying here in Oschersleben. So, of course, we're trying to squeeze out those last few tenths, because the DTM is a sprint series where every tenth counts. You saw it this morning during qualifying: two tenths are enough to move up ten spots on the grid.

You also offer a race taxi service with a BMW M2 Schubert Competition. The type designation suggests a special version; can you tell us the details about your M2 race taxi?

The car was built at a time when BMW M had not yet decided to turn the M2 into a race car. We used our self-built vehicle as a race car for a 24-hour race. We were just as fast as GT4 cars. Unfortunately, we couldn't finish the race because the brakes weren't quite ready. But we fixed that, and today we use the car for race taxi rides or at events. When we organise our Driving Experience, we use the car to give people the opportunity to learn how to race.

Team principal Torsten Schubert, right, and BMW M works drivers Sheldon van der Linde, left centre, und Marco Wittmann, second right, on the podium at the Nürburgring, 2024.

Team principal Torsten Schubert, right, and BMW M works drivers Sheldon van der Linde, left centre, und Marco Wittmann, second right, on the podium at the Nürburgring, 2024

You also intend to use the BMW M2 Racing – can you tell us about your plans for the vehicle?

I think we need an entry-level class again. There have been various entry-level classes in the past. For example, the BMW M2 Cup, which had a unitary set-up. Our new concept is that teams come to the racetrack with their cars and we introduce the drivers to racing in this way, especially young drivers. And I believe that Schubert Motorsport will be back again to retain customers in this more affordable customer sports segment. Customers who have the talent, find sponsors and enter the world of top-level motorsport.

The idea is that we don't want to focus exclusively on top-level sport with Marco Wittmann and René Rast but want to take advantage of the breadth of the sport. We want to retain drivers who are interested and have the necessary budget as well. Because if a manufacturer says no, we're not interested in a particular series, then you're left standing there with nothing else to do. That's why it's important for us to maintain a broad base and retain the loyalty of many drivers. And then, if we don't have a suitable vehicle or aren't active in the given series, we can place the drivers with other BMW M teams we work with. Because these teams will eventually bring the parts to us for carbon repairs, things they need refurbished by us, and that in turn helps us to keep our workshop busy.

Schubert Motorsport also offers special foiling and liveries; which livery that you have created for a BMW M do you like best?

I think Sheldon van der Linde's car, which was branded Shell, had a special design. But also, the one for Marco Wittmann, for which we worked very closely with Schaeffler. The car has such a great green colour, it really stands out and is always very easy to spot on the racetrack.

Which BMW M model do you drive off the racetrack?

Naturally, I drive an M on the road, where I'm fully electric in an i5 M60. Now I'm looking forward to driving an M5 Touring soon. The hybrid drive gives you extra range on longer journeys.

You were awarded the Federal Cross of Merit. Would you like to tell us how you came to receive this honour?

I have been active in local politics in many areas for many years and support clubs and associations. And there are always a few things that are particularly close to our hearts. For example, together with the ADAC, we invited people who provided first aid during the attacks in Magdeburg. It is really important to us to support social projects like this. And then at some point, someone suggested nominating me for the Federal Cross of Merit.

Now for a personal question: rumour has it that you never sleep in a hotel during races, but always in the parts truck – is there any truth in that?

I always prefer to be at the racetrack. We always have great showers and very decent sanitary facilities. For the few hours you spend at the racetrack, I prefer to lie down in the truck. That saves me half an hour in the morning and evening travelling to and from the hotel. Especially when I think of the Hockenheim finale, where it sometimes takes an hour to get from the car park to the track – I can save myself that time. It also means I can be with the guys. Some of our mechanics like to stay at the racetrack too. And we always have good sleeping facilities in the trucks, which are better air-conditioned than many hotel rooms.

Torsten, thank you very much for talking to us.

Schubert Motorsport.

7 CHAMPIONSHIPS.

YEARRacing SeriesDriver(s)Race car

2001

German Touring Car Challenge (DTC)

Markus Gedlich

BMW 320i

2003

German Touring Car Challenge (DTC)

Claudia Hürtgen

BMW 320i

2004

DMSB Production Car Championship

Claudia Hürtgen

BMW 320i

2005

Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie

Claudia Hürtgen

BMW 320i

2015

ADAC GT Masters

Dominik Baumann, Jens Klingmann / Claudia Hürtgen, Uwe Alzen

BMW Z4 GT3

2022

DTM

Philipp Eng, Sheldon van der Linde

BMW M4 GT3 

2024

DTM

Sheldon van der Linde, Marco Wittmann, René Rast

BMW M4 GT3 

BMW M AND ME: TORSTEN SCHUBERT OF SCHUBERT MOTORSPORT.

The team principal on motorsport, racing series and the brand BMW.

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