Timo Glock makes his return to the BMW Motorsport family, after leaving the Marussia F1 Team just recently, and now completes the full line up of 8 drivers that Munich will unleash onto the grid for its title defence this season, with the 10 round championship set to get underway at Hockenheim in the first week of May.
The test in Valencia gave the 30-year-old German the opportunity to experience and familiarize himself with the M3 DTM, and he was impressive from the first moment he got on track. Glock is excited at being reunited with the manufacturer for his chance at competing in the most internationally-recognized touring car series in the world, and still looks fondly back at his time in F1: “I had a fantastic time in Formula One, but am now looking forward to battling for victories again with my old friends at BMW Motorsport. That is the approach I shall be taking to the challenge of the DTM.”
He knows that the DTM is not the easiest series to get to grips with, and understands that he may not find his feet straightaway, like a lot of former Formula One drivers have done, when they make the transition from single seaters, but looks forward to what BMW has to offer: “But I am using precisely that as my motivation. After winning the title in such impressive fashion last year, there can be absolutely no question that the BMW M3 DTM has everything it needs to allow us to compete at the front of the field again in 2013.”
Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt welcomed back Timo to the BMW Family, where he started his racing career in the Formula BMW junior programme, winning the BMW ADAC Formula Junior Cup in 2000 and the Formula BMW ADAC title the year after. The former Toyota F1 Team boss, who was in charge when Glock raced for them with Jarno Trulli, before the Japanese manufacturer left F1, stated that Timo has proven his worth multiple times to the teams he has raced for, and is delighted that the relationship between the two parties has been re-established: “The fact that he is now returning to the BMW family six years after leaving his role as test driver for the BMW Sauber F1 Team makes this appointment all the more pleasing. I am confident Timo will take no time at all to find his feet in the DTM and will give the fans a lot of pleasure.”
Over the coming months, Glock and the rest of the team, which includes reigning DTM Champion Bruno Spengler and 3-time WTCC Champion Andy Priaulx, will be working hard to optimize the absolute maximum out of the M3 DTM, as the regulations have been frozen for the year, which could change when we go into 2014. However, the fact is, is that the teams are only concentrating on the season ahead, which looks exciting, as Audi Sport and Mercedes-Benz have yet to unveil their complete line-ups.
