Timo Glock claims maiden DTM victory at the season finale – BMW defends Manufacturers’ title

Timo Glock (DE) was the big winner of the rain-dominated thriller that played out in the final race of the DTM season in Hockenheim (DE). Starting from fourth on the grid, the BMW Team MTEK driver produced a strong race in difficult conditions, crossing the line first after 41 laps in the DEUTSCHE POST BMW M3 DTM. In doing so, former Formula One driver Glock presented BMW Team MTEK with its maiden victory in only the team’s tenth race in the DTM.

Bruno Spengler (CA) finished third in the BMW Bank M3 DTM to join Glock on the podium. Andy Priaulx (GB, Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M3 DTM) and Dirk Werner (DE, SAMSUNG BMW M3 DTM) came home sixth and eighth to score valuable points, which ultimately propelled BMW to the top of the Manufacturers’ Championship to successfully defend the title it won on its return to the DTM in 2012. BMW ended the season with 369 points, ahead of Audi with 347. Mercedes finished third on 266 points.

Augusto Farfus (BR) was the victim of misfortune: a collision saw the BMW Team RBM driver spin on lap one, dropping him well back down the field. Despite an impressive fightback, he had to settle for 11th in the Castrol EDGE BMW M3 DTM, and so narrowly missed out on a points finish. His team-mate Joey Hand (US) crossed the finish line in 20th in his BMW M3 DTM. With both its drivers leaving Hockenheim empty-handed, BMW Team RBM ended the season second in the Team competition with 148 points. Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M3 DTM) and Marco Wittmann (DE, Ice-Watch BMW M3 DTM) finished 19th and 21st after a difficult race.

Mike Rockenfeller (DE, Audi) had already been crowned 2013 DTM champion ahead of the final race. Farfus finished runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship with 116 points, while Spengler climbed into third (82 points) after his third place at the finale. With 49 points to his name, Wittmann ended the season as the best rookie in eighth. BMW Team Schnitzer comfortably won the competition for the fastest pit stops over the course of the season.

BMW Motorsport can look back on five race wins in its second season since returning to the DTM – more than any other manufacturer. Farfus stood on the top step of the podium on three occasions (Hockenheim I, Oschersleben, Zandvoort), while Spengler (Spielberg) and Glock (Hockenheim II) both triumphed once. The four pole positions were claimed by Spengler (Spielberg, Hockenheim II), Farfus (Nürburgring) and Wittmann (Zandvoort). BMW also set four fastest race laps, courtesy of Wittmann (Spielberg, Zandvoort), Farfus (Hockenheim I) and Hand (Oschersleben). Over the course of the season’s ten races, BMW was represented on the podium on 12 occasions.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):

“That was an incredibly exciting finale to the season, with a fantastic outcome for us. We witnessed a sensational race from Timo Glock and BMW Team MTEK – it was hard to beat in terms of excitement. Timo showed his strong nerves to claim his first win and second podium of the year in his tenth DTM race: all in all it has been a great debut year for Timo. Bruno Spengler and Andy Priaulx also drove a great race, while Dirk Werner also finished in the points. Thanks to the good team performance, we also managed to win the Manufacturers’ Championship. That is a great conclusion to what has, at times, not been a particularly easy season for us. In the end we have five wins and four pole positions to our name, and have also won the Manufacturers’ Championship and finished second in the Team competition, as well as picking up the unofficial ‘Rookie of the Year’ title and the award for the fastest pit crew with BMW Team Schnitzer – we can certainly be happy with that. Furthermore, we were able to bid farewell to the BMW M3 from the DTM with the car’s 51st victory in front of a great backdrop. Despite the poor weather, there were still a lot of spectators at the track. That was very nice to see. Congratulations again to ‘Rocky’, Audi and the Phoenix team on winning the Drivers’ Championship and Team competition.”

Facts and figures from Hockenheim:

Standings after 10 of 10 races.  

Drivers’ standings.
1. Mike Rockenfeller (142 points), 2. Augusto Farfus (116), 3. Bruno Spengler (82), 4. Christian Vietoris (77), 5. Robert Wickens (70), 6. Gary Paffett (69), 7. Mattias Ekström (68), 8. Marco Wittmann (49), 9. Timo Glock (40), 10. Timo Scheider (37), 11. Jamie Green (35), 12. Joey Hand (32), 13. Dirk Werner (30), 14. Adrien Tambay (30), 15. Roberto Merhi (26), 16. Daniel Juncadella (21), 17. Miguel Molina (19), 18. Filipe Albuquerque (16), 19. Martin Tomczyk (10), 20. Andy Priaulx (10), 21. Edoardo Mortara (3), 22. Pascal Wehrlein (3). 

Team standings.
1. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (161 points), 2. BMW Team RBM (148), 3. STIHL / AMG Mercedes (147), 4. BMW Team Schnitzer (112), 5. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (103), 6. EURONICS / THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG (95), 7. BMW Team MTEK (89), 8. Audi Sport Team Abt (67), 9. stern / AMG Mercedes (24), 10. BMW Team RMG (20), 11. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (19). 

Manufacturers’ standings.
1. BMW (369 points), 1. Audi (347), 3. Mercedes-Benz (266). 

2013 calendar:
5th May – Hockenheim (DE), 19th May – Brands Hatch (GB), 2nd June – Spielberg (AT), 16th June – Lausitzring (DE), 14th July – Norisring (DE), 4th August – Moscow (RU), 18th August – Nürburgring (DE), 15th September – Oschersleben (DE), 29th September – Zandvoort (NL), 20th October – Hockenheim (DE).