Both BMW Team RMG and BMW Team RBM will continue in DTM in 2017, while Team Schnitzer and Team MTEK will shift from DTM to GT racing programs. The announcement, coming from Munich on December 6, is the first of many to come in a week that will culminate in the BMW Motorsport Season Review event on December 9.
Audi, BMW, and Mercedes, the three manufacturers running in DTM, will each be cutting back from eight to six cars in 2017. BMW’s six cars will be run by two teams; Team RMG, run by Stefan Reinhold, won the team title in 2014, and scored two drivers’ championships with Marco Wittmann in 2014 and 2016. Team RBM, run by Bert Mampaey, finished third overall in team points in 2016, just behind Team RMG (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline won the title), and finished second in team points in 2013.
Charley Lamm’s BMW Team Schnitzer, whose long-time partnership with BMW includes a win at Le Mans in 1999, won the DTM team title when BMW returned to the series in 2012; Bruno Spengler won the title running with Schnitzer that year. The team will return to GT racing in 2017.
Team MTEK, run by Ernest Knoors, will prepare for BMW’s return to WEC competition in 2018. BMW says, “Plans for next year foresee that BMW Team MTEK will complete a comprehensive test and development program in preparation for the WEC entry of BMW.”
BMW will continue to work with the Schubert Motorsport and Rowe Racing customer teams in 2017.
BMW motorsport director Jens Marquardt says, “I am convinced that this is the best team structure to help us prepare for our new tasks. We have always been sure that we wanted to continue the successful cooperation with all our teams. We had to adjust our structures due to the changes in the DTM, and new possibilities and areas of operation opened up for us in our newly-reorganized motorsport program. The new structure is tailored perfectly to this.”—Brian S. Morgan
