Flash.(Briefs)

BMW moving up?

BMW has taken the first step toward a return to top-of-the-line sports car racing with the new, V10-powered M6 coupe (page 22). Officially the German manufacturer has no plans to re-enter a discipline in which it last competed full time in 2001; that was in the American Le Mans Series. Behind the scenes, though, BMW has entered into a dialogue with the FIA, the governing body of world motorsport, to see how the M6 could be made competitive under the new GT1 class rules for next season. The FIA and Le Mans organizers have agreed on a common set of regulations for 2005. The next step is to work out how to incorporate mass-produced cars such as the BMW. A factory-built M6 racer would allow BMW North America to return to the ALMS and compete with Porsche. It has raced at a lower level, most recently in the Speed World Challenge and Grand-Am's GT division.

Meanwhile, over on the F1 side, Williams-BMW plans to have two launches early next year. Williams will go all the way to Bahrain to show its 2005 FW27 race car at Sakhir on Jan. 7. However, the official launch will be at the Valencia circuit in Spain on Jan. 31. The identity of a teammate for the newly signed Australian Mark Webber will not be known much before then.

Crew shuffle

Hendrick Motorsports will shuffle its Nextel Cup crew chiefs next year. Peter Sospenzo will move from rookie Brian Vickers' crew to veteran Terry Labonte's limited schedule on the organization's new No. 44 Chevrolet team. Lance McGrew, who helped Vickers win the '03 Busch ...