Having secured both the drivers’ and team titles in the DTM this year, BMW Motorsport will again field eight M4 DTM race cars for next year’s assault on the series, as they look for glory once again.
DTM Champion Marco Wittmann, whose car will don the #1 after taking the title in an impressive second year in the series, will lead the way for the Munich manufacturer.
2011 champion Martin Tomczyk, 2012 champion Bruno Spengler, Maxime Martin, Augusto Farfus, Timo Glock and António Félix da Costa will also battle their rivals in the Audi and Mercedes-Benz camps, but Joey Hand will be moving on after three seasons.
“We are already looking forward to the 2015 season,” said Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt at the annual Season Review in Maisach. He explained that BMW wants to carry on the success that the brand has had in the DTM since its return.
BMW Motorsport showed its strength over the past three years with the M3 and M4 DTM, which culminated in winning six overall titles out of a possible nine.
“Our driver line-up remains largely unchanged,” said Marquardt, who took over the role from Dr. Mario Theissen before BMW’s return the to the DTM after a two-decade absence. “Joey will go in search of new challenges in 2015. We would like to thank him for the great commitment he has shown to BMW in recent years, and wish him all the best for the future.”
Hand later confirmed that a ten-year association with the Munich brand was to come to an end via Twitter, which included racing with Team RLL in the American Le Mans Series before being given the chance in DTM:
“Thx for concerns, tough decision to leave BMW, been a great run with awesome teams but really excited about my new program and the future!”
The driver that will replace the easy-going and approachable Californian will be revealed in due course by BMW, after some new drivers were assessed ahead of the coming year, which included Alex Lynn, Sam Bird, Tom Blomqvist and Jack Harvey.
Wittmann, Tomczyk and Farfus will also take part in the Nürburgring 24 Hours next year, along with the likes of former-DTM driver Dirk Werner, Lucas Luhr, Alexander Sims and Jörg Müller, as the Z4 GT3 will spearhead the challenge towards the overall win around the punishing Nordschleife.
Spengler and Farfus will also head to the famed Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona next year, and will join the ranks of Team RLL in the GT Le Mans class for the season opener for the 2015 Tudor United Sports Car Championship. Graham Rahal’s outfit will field two brand new BMW Z4 GTLMs, which will also be driven by Werner, Luhr, Bill Auberleben and John Edwards.
As the DTM’s final winter test has been completed, the drivers will take a well-earned rest to charge the batteries, ready to double up for next year’s challenging season.
