BMW scores its second straight DTM manufacturers’ championship
Timo Glock, driving a BMW M3 DTM, took his first series win—and the first win for BMW Team MTEK—in a rain-soaked DTM season finale at Hockenheim.
Glock’s win, along with Bruno Spengler’s third-place finish, Andy Priaulx’s sixth, and Dirk Werner’s eighth, propelled BMW to its second consecutive manufacturers’ title in the marque’s second year back in DTM competition.
BMW Team RBM’s Augusto Farfus, who finished eleventh at Hockenheim after a difficult race, finished second in drivers’ points to Audi’s Michael Rockenfeller, who had clinched the drivers’ title three weeks earlier at Zandvoort. Team RBM finished second in the team championship to Audi’s Team Phoenix. Last year BMW had won all three titles.
Glock made the first of his two mandatory pit stops on lap 31 of the 42 lap race. He said afterward that he did not know that he would run such a long stint. “It happened through the race," he said, “you don’t know what the track will do.” But the car’s speed was there, so he pitted very late, and was able to hang on for the win through another stop with just five laps left. The track was drying in the waning laps, but much of the race was run in the rain.
BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt said, “That was an incredibly exciting finale to the season, with a fantastic outcome for us. We witnessed a sensational race from Timo Glock and BMW Team MTEK –it was hard to beat in terms of excitement. Timo showed his strong nerves to claim his first win and second podium of the year in his tenth DTM race; all in all it has been a great debut year for Timo. Bruno Spengler and Andy Priaulx also drove a great race, while Dirk Werner also finished in the points. Thanks to the good team performance, we also managed to win the Manufacturers’ Championship. That is a great conclusion to what has, at times, not been a particularly easy season for us. In the end we have five wins and four pole positions to our name, and have also won the Manufacturers’ Championship and finished second in the Team competition, as well as picking up the unofficial ‘Rookie of the Year’ title (for Team MTEK’s Marco Wittman, ed.) and the award for the fastest pit crew with BMW Team Schnitzer – we can certainly be happy with that.”
This was the final race for the M3 DTM. Next year the M3 bodywork will be replaced by an M4 body, which is now being tested in the wind tunnel.—Brian S. Morgan
