BMW Team Studie Signs Kruetten, Keeps Spengler

BMW Team Studie has announced that Niklas Kruetten will join Seiji Ara in its lineup for the new SUPER GT season, with Bruno Spengler staying on board as a third driver.

Kruetten will make his debut in the Japanese series aboard the team’s Michelin-shod No. 7 BMW M4 GT3 alongside veteran Ara, who remains on board at Studie for a fifth consecutive season.

DTM champion Spengler meanwhile will join the pair for selected races on the calendar, although which events he will appear at has not yet been specified by the team.

It marks the first time Ara’s full-season teammate has not been a BMW factory driver since the M4 GT3 was introduced in 2022.

Kruetten is no stranger to the M4 GT3, having raced in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS with BMW squad Team WRT last year and winning the Gold Cup title in the Sprint Cup leg of the series alongside Calan Williams.

The 21-year-old German also raced in the European Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans for COOL Racing in 2022.

Spengler contested five SUPER GT races last year alongside Ara, picking up a best finish of sixth, but was forced to miss three races due to clashes with his commitments in Italian GT. BMW has not yet announced the Canadian’s main program for 2024.

Studie has won two races with the M4 GT3 since its 2022 introduction, with Ara teaming up with Masataka Yanagida for the most recent of those at Suzuka last year. Ara went on to finish sixth in the championship.

A new black-and-green livery was also revealed by Studie, but notably with no major sponsor yet in place.