THE BMW GROUP - AN INNOVATIVE PARTNER OF GERMAN WINTER SPORTS ATHLETES.

Technology and innovations are hugely important, not just in the automotive industry but in winter sports as well. Because there, too, they help athletes reach their full potential and deliver exceptional achievements. Innovative designs and materials as well as cutting-edge analysis tools enhance precision and help keep athletes improving – to stay ahead of the competition.

And this is where the BMW Group comes in. Because with our innovativeness and myriad technological opportunities, we are not just a reliable partner of award-winning sports events but we also work closely with the German biathletes, lugers and bobsledders themselves, boosting their performance even further with our expertise and systems from automotive development and production.

Since the summer of 2023 the German Ski Association DSV men’s team have been using the BMW Group’s Aerolab to examine their stance and target behaviour, posture and reactions in different conditions, with varying wind speeds and directions – all with the aim of optimising their performance even further. The German biathletes have been training in a place where you would normally find a quite different sort of high-speed machine being put through its paces and optimised: BMW Group cars – the NEUE KLASSE among them.

As part of the collaboration, the soles of the athletes’ cross-country skiing shoes were fitted with sensors to measure force application points and pressure distribution. The barrels of their rifles were also fitted with measuring devices to record how they aimed and fired. And the athletes were filmed in the wind tunnel so that their intuitive behaviour could be modelled for use with other athletes.

Initial findings from the project have already been helpful, supporting the team in the World Cup in February 2024 – and they will continue to do so in the future as well.

The German Bobsleigh, Luge and Skeleton Federation (BSD) has been relying on its technology partner BMW’s automotive measurement and analysis methods since 2010. Here, the focus is on the data-driven optimisation of interaction between sled, athlete and riding line. In racing, every thousandth of a second counts. So, to tap into the team’s full potential, Dr Julian von Schleinitz – multiple luge junior world champion and now a BMW Group data scientist – developed what’s known as the BMW data coach. Invisible to the human eye, the software has been in operation since 2016 and uses sensors fitted to training sleds to measure ride dynamics. It also records pitch and roll as well as acceleration and angular rates, generating new and valuable insights into the best material and the fastest individual racing line, depending on external conditions.

In bobsledding, a strong initial push using the power of the athletes’ feet is crucial – because their force is what accelerates the bob at the top of the run. To ensure the athletes have a good grip on the ice, the front sections of their shoes have plates under the soles with more than 250 spikes – made with the support of the BMW Group’s Additive Manufacturing Centre and a unique project trying out new ways of improving the athletes’ performance. Perfect custom spike plates are designed and developed for each individual athlete and then 3D-printed using a technology employed in the automotive industry. This not only saves time and material but also ensures quick, flexible production. The experts from BMW also test, trial and optimise the spike plates individually and use software to fit them to the athlete. The one-of-a-kind project is expected to achieve perfection in time for the Winter Olympic Games in 2026.

With these three projects, the BMW Group represents a strong winter sports partner and proves yet again that sportiness is part of its DNA – at any time of year.