Three days before the launch of its 2008 contender, BMW has announced a new partnership with Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Systems.

According to the press release, T-Systems, the business customer subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, and BMW will work together to develop innovative Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions.

The company logo will be visible on both the outside and inside of the BMW Sauber F1.08 cockpit area and on the car's nose section, as well as on team clothing and the drivers' helmets.

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen explains: "The latest IT and telecommunications technology represents an integral part of motor racing. The partnership of T-Systems and BMW brings together two leaders in innovation to create tailor-made solutions for our team. Our new partner possesses both IT and telecommunications know-how and experience and expertise in the automotive sector. This makes T-Systems an ideal partner for us in the development of future technologies which can also offer key benefits for series production."

T-Systems has already set up a high-performance data link to connect the team's locations in Munich and Hinwil. A parts logistics system based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, meanwhile, is currently in the pilot phase. This development focuses on the identification and location of all the car and replacement parts used by the team in its activities around the world. Further research and development projects are also in the pipeline. Under the spotlight here are data security issues, for example, as well as systems for recording service times which are designed to allow the service life of car parts to be optimised. T-Systems sees the new sponsoring partnership as a platform for conducting research and development work under extreme conditions.

"Instead of relying solely on laboratory trials, practical testing on the ground - under the toughest conditions - is also incorporated into the development process," says Reinhard Clemens, Member of the Board of Management at Deutsche Telekom AG responsible for business customers and CEO T-Systems. "This cooperation is a key milestone in the company's drive to become the leading ICT service provider for the automotive sector," he adds.

BMW and T-Systems can already look back on several years of partnership away from the race track. T-Systems has helped develop solutions such as BMW TeleServices, which underpin the data transfer required to carry out maintenance work during a journey. BMW also uses T-Systems' traffic information service TMCpro in its Connected Drive technology for production cars.