After the fourth round of the 2012 DTM season at Spielburg, defending series champion and current BMW works driver, Germany's Martyn Tomcyzk was busy relaxing with friends in Croatia, trying to recharge his batteries, so to speak, by spending his time there on the beach, before heading off to Lausitzring, to get back behind the wheel of his BMW Team RMG-run M3 DTM.
But after that, the 2011 Champion found himself going over to Malaga, and was chauffeuring journalists around the “Ascari Raceway” in the new M6 Coupe and Convertible road cars at the launch of both new vehicles, where the weather was scorching to say the least, as the hardened racer was able to complete a fair amount of laps in temperatures reaching 34 degrees Celsius. Fellow BMW driver, Canada's Bruno Spengler had been there as well, trying to scare the living daylights out of the motoring press.
The team mates ended up meeting in Pulheim, near Cologne, at the Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof, before Spengler himself had ventured to Malaga, with the Canadian having worked on his fitness with the Formula Medicine team near Florence, to fine-tune his training before coming to Germany. He met with Tomcyzk and BMW Brand Ambassador and golfer Martin Kaymer, who gave both DTM drivers a private golf lesson, before Bruno joined Kaymer for the Pro-Am Tournament, which happens on the eve of the BMW International Open.
Then Spengler made his way to BMW's Dingolfing Plant after his fun in Malaga with the new M6 variants, and production was halted there for 20 minutes to allow the employees to meet the driver, as well as a lucky 30 of them being a passenger to Spengler in the M3 DTM Safety Car for a special taxi ride they wouldn't forget, with local residents being treated to passenger rides with the Canadian ace round a specially-erected track that afternoon.
Dirk Werner, however, had sport in the forefront of his mind, with following the German national team's progress in the EURO 2012 championship, hitting the tarmac in his running shoes to help increase his stamina. But he also made sure he spent some time with his son, even though there was no holiday for the Werner family yet: “However, the weather meant I was able to take my little boy Henry to the outdoor pool for the first time.” But he too, also had a lot of PR commitments, which even included the weekend's pre-event press conference in Nürnberg, visited several newspapers, and some media-based events for BMW itself.
Joey Hand and Augusto Farfus both decided, on the other hand, to go back to their families, and enjoy warmer climates, as Hand ventured back to normal life in his home of Sacremento, California, where he and his family were able to enjoy life as a regular family do, such as enjoy family outings, going shopping, and having a Mexican meal in the evening, without being disturbed.
Farfus ventured back to his family in Curitiba, Brazil, as his racing normally doesn't allow him the time to see his wife, Liri, and his daughter, Victoria, since the 3rd round at Brands Hatch, but his return was well-timed, as the entire Farfus family celebrated Victoria's first birthday. So a trip worth such an occasion for all concerned, especially a proud father.
Last, but by no means least, we can't forget about long-serving BMW driver, Guernsey's Andy Priaulx, who is another devoted family man, spending all his time off the race track with his wife, son and daughter. And it looks as if the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree with regards to Andy's son Seb, who is a very competitive karter, having competed in Wales over a fortnight ago, with his dad being there for support and guidance.
“He fought his way to ninth place from 18th on the grid before another driver forced him off the track,” said the proud father himself. “It was a shame, because he had driven like a superstar up to that point.”
So, as it goes to show, time off the track is precious for all these drivers, and whatever time they have, is used to its full, however they can fit their lives around such busy schedules. Just because they are racing drivers, doesn't mean they have lives we rarely catch a glimpse of.
