Emotional end to the BMW Motorsport season – BMW Sports Trophy awards recognise the year’s main protagonists.

Munich (DE), 5th December 2014. BMW Motorsport hosted an entertaining programme on Friday as it looked back on a successful racing season at the traditional season review in Maisach (DE). The year’s main protagonists assembled at the BMW Driving Experience training site on the outskirts of Munich (DE) to spend an exciting evening with the rest of the BMW Motorsport family – and to honour the drivers and teams that made history and made the headlines in 2014.

For the first time, BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt handed over more than just the trophies for the most successful privateer BMW drivers and teams this year. BMW Sports Trophy awards were also presented in many other categories.

“When drawing up the programme for our BMW Motorsport Season Review, we took inspiration from the kind of award ceremonies we are familiar with from the entertainment industry,” said Marquardt, who hosted the evening alongside TV presenter Maren Braun (DE). “We have always placed great emphasis on paying special attention to our privateer BMW Sports Trophy drivers and teams at this event, and on thanking them for their commitment. At the same time, it was obviously also nice to be able to look back at the success we enjoyed with our works programme.”

The trophies for the most successful driver and the most successful team in the 2014 BMW Sports Trophy went to Markus Palttala (FI) and the Adrenalin Motorsport team. Its team principal, Matthias Unger (DE), also celebrated a second award, which it received for winning the new BMW M235i Racing Cup class. Adrenalin drivers Daniel Zils (DE), Norbert Fischer (DE) and Uwe Ebertz (DE) were the top drivers in this category.

DTM champion Marco Wittmann (DE), “Rookie of the Year” Maxime Martin (BE) and BMW Team RMG Team Principal Stefan Reinhold (DE) also received trophies from Marquardt for their title wins in the DTM. “This has been a fantastic end to a dream season,” said Wittmann after the award ceremony. “Some busy weeks are behind me – but I have thoroughly enjoyed every day as the DTM champion. Now we must focus on 2015. I can hardly wait until we get going again.”

Wittmann’s fellow DTM drivers Martin Tomczyk (DE) and Timo Glock (DE) also left the event with awards in their hands – for their spectacular synchronised drift, which they pulled off in the BMW M4 Coupé in Portimão (PT). Jens Klingmann (DE) received the trophy for the “Sporting Gesture of the Year”: the German driver immediately leapt out of his car and rushed to help other drivers out of their cockpits after a mass collision during the ADAC GT Masters race in Oschersleben (DE).

Jesse Krohn (FI) ended the inaugural season of the new BMW Motorsport Junior programme as the top driver. Marquardt had the honour of presenting two special BMW Sports Trophy awards as the BMW Motorsport Season Review reached its grand finale: Franz Engstler (DE), who bid farewell to the FIA World Touring Car Championship, received the BMW Sports Trophy Honorary Reward in recognition of his performances for BMW in this and many other series.

There were also standing ovations when BMW works driver Alessandro Zanardi (IT) entered the stage to receive the trophy for “Comeback of the Year”. Zanardi returned to motorsport with BMW in the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series and also caused quite a stir away from the track with more record-breaking performances, such as taking part in his first triathlon in Hawaii (US). Zanardi said: “This is a truly special award for me. It just shows how much my friends at BMW Motorsport who have supported over the years believe in me. On the track my comeback season could have gone better. But that’s exactly why I will compete again in 2015.”

An overview of the winners of the 2014 BMW Sports Trophy awards.

BMW Sports Trophy Driver of the Year:

Markus Palttala (FI)

BMW Sports Trophy Team of the Year:

Adrenalin Motorsport

DTM Driver of the Year:

Marco Wittmann (DE)

DTM Team of the Year:

BMW Team RMG

DTM Rookie of the Year:

Maxime Martin (BE)

Best Team in the BMW M235i Racing Cup:

Adrenalin Motorsport

Best Driver in the BMW M235i Racing Cup:

Daniel Zils (DE), Norbert Fischer (DE), Uwe Ebertz (DE)

BMW Motorsport Junior of the Year:

Jesse Krohn (FI)

Drift of the Year:

Martin Tomczyk (DE), Timo Glock (DE)

Sporting Gesture of the Year:

Jens Klingmann (DE)

BMW Sports Trophy Honorary Award:

Franz Engstler (DE)

Comeback of the Year:

Alessandro Zanardi (IT)