BMW Media Site BMW Endurance Challenge At Daytona Begins 2018 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge; BMW M4 GT4 Debuts in North America.  Contact: Thomas   Plucinsky thomas.plucinsky@bmwna.com   Bill  Cobb billcobbcommunications@yahoo.com     BMW Endurance Challenge At Daytona Begins 2018 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge; BMW M4 GT4 Debuts in North America.  Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – Jan. 22, 2018 . . . The January 26th BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona will provide the opening act for the 56th annual Rolex 24 at Daytona weekend as privateer and professional racers from all over the world begin another season of sports car racing in North America. The four-hour race is the opening round of the 2018 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.For a seventh consecutive year as title sponsor, BMW of North America, LLC will support the race with BMW Motorsport Director, Jens Marquardt giving the start command as Grand Marshal, Franciscus van Meel, President, BMW M GmbH will wave the green flag to start the race and the pace car duties will be performed by the all-new 2018 BMW M5 Sedan. In past events, fans at the Speedway have been among the first to see such BMWs as the then upcoming1M Coupe, and M235i Coupe pace the race.The new BMW M4 GT4 will debut in the GS class at the race in the capable hands of BMW privateer teams. Entries from Classic BMW Motorsports and BimmerWorld Racing are expected. BimmerWorld is also planning to race the lone BMW ST class entry with their well sorted BMW 328i.“BMW of North America’s title sponsorship of the BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona is one of the hallmarks of our customer racing program in the USA,” stated BMW of North America Motorsport manager Victor Leleu. “We are proud to wave the green flag on the first professional sports car race in North America and are excited for the debut US race for our new M4 GT4.”The four-hour BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona takes the green flag at 1:00 p.m. Friday, January 26th and will be broadcast Feb. 10th at 8:00 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.BMW Group In AmericaBMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 and X4 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 153 BMW motorcycle retailers, 124 MINI passenger car dealers, and 36 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.The BMW GroupWith its three brands, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 30 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.In 2014, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.118 million cars and 123,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2013 was euro 7.91 billion on revenues amounting to approximately euro 76.06 billion. As of 31 December 2013, the BMW Group had a workforce of 110,351 employees.The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwgroupusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com.