Toyota Gazoo Racing LMP1 star Kamui Kobayashi will race for BMW Motorsport in November’s ‘SUPER GT x DTM Dream Race‘ at the Fuji Speedway in November.
Kobayashi is the second driver out of three to be confirmed by BMW, after the announcement of Alex Zanardi‘s participation last Wednesday.
With Audi Sport also revealing its lineup of Mike Rockenfeller, Loïc Duval, Benoît Tréluyer and 2019 DTM Series champion René Rast last Friday, BMW’s third and final seat is the last DTM cockpit to be filled for the joint race – with the R-Motorsport/Aston Martin squad pulling out of the merger last month to focus its attentions on the ’20 season.
The Japanese driver has no previous DTM experience, but competed in the ’17 and ’18 SUPER GT championships with Lexus – achieving one win in eight races.
In a statement released on Wednesday morning, the ex-Formula 1 driver thanked BMW for the opportunity to race one of its M4 DTM models.
“First of all, I would like to thank BMW Motorsport for the offer to race in one of their BMW M4 DTM cars at the ‘Dream Race’ at Fuji,” Kobayashi said.
“And also, I want to say thank you to Toyota for letting me take this opportunity.
“Fuji will be my first time driving the M4 DTM, but BMW Motorsport gave me the opportunity to prepare a little bit and get an idea of the car.
“I will do my best to give the fans a good show.”
BMW’s motorsport director Jens Marquardt added that the signing of Kobayashi will hopefully draw in more home interest to the event and said that the final driver will be announced in due course.
“Like Alessandro Zanardi, our second driver for the Dream Race is another real gem,” said Marquardt.
“Kamui Kobayashi will make his race debut for BMW Motorsport and is sure to attract plenty of interest in the ‘Dream Race’ from many of his Japanese compatriots and fans.
“Kamui has shown his class and versatility in Formula 1, Le Mans, and the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. He is sure to be fast in the BMW M4 DTM too.
“We will reveal the third driver in our ‘Dream Team’ for Fuji shortly.”
