PressClub United Kingdom · Article.
BMW wins the 2012 DTM title
Mon Oct 22 18:14:19 CEST 2012 Press Release
BMW caps dream comeback with three titles: Spengler wins DTM drivers’ title, BMW Team Schnitzer tops the team standings and BMW wins the manufacturers’ title.
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Chris Overall
BMW Group
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This is a 1:1 copy of a Munich press release. No adaptations
have been made to cater for UK media.
A dream come true: A fourth win of the season at the
wheel of the BMW Bank M3 DTM in the tenth and final DTM race of the
year saw Bruno Spengler (CA) win the drivers’ title and cap an
outstanding comeback season for BMW Motorsport. BMW also won the
manufacturers’ title in Hockenheim (DE), while BMW Team Schnitzer
ended the season at the top of the team standings after a dramatic
finale. Augusto Farfus (BR), who started from pole position, came home
in third to finish the season on the podium. Gary Paffett (GB,
Mercedes), who was leading the standings coming into the race, crossed
the finish line in second.
Alongside Spengler, Dirk Werner (DE, E-POSTBRIEF BMW M3 DTM) finished
fifth to score a further ten valuable points for Team Principal Charly
Lamm’s (DE) outfit. Andy Priaulx (GB, Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M3 DTM)
and Joey Hand (US, SAMSUNG BMW M3 DTM) also picked up points in
seventh and eighth respectively. In doing so, they played a big role
in BMW climbing from third to first in the manufacturers’ standings.
Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M3 DTM) came home in 14th
having suffered damage to his car in the opening phase of the race.
In a remarkable finale, Spengler was able to leapfrog Paffett at
the top of the overall standings. A magnificent start allowed the
Canadian to move into the lead on lap one, and he then set about
pulling away from the chasing pack– a task made far easier thanks to
the excellent pit stops performed by BMW Team Schnitzer. Paffett
closed the gap to Spengler consistently after the second round of pit
stops, but was unable to catch and overtake the champion, who showed
nerves of steel in a dramatic climax to the season. Spengler ends the
year on 149 points, just four more than Paffett in second. After
Volker Strycek (DE, 1984), Eric van de Poele (BE, 1987) and Roberto
Ravaglia (IT, 1989), Spengler is now the fourth driver to clinch the
DTM title in a BMW. BMW Team Schnitzer came through at the end of the
season to win the team competition with 178 points.
In the manufacturers’ competition, BMW ended its comeback season
in the DTM at the top of the championship on 346 points. Spengler,
Farfus, Werner, Priaulx and Hand all finished in the points in
Hockenheim – the first time five BMW drivers had come home in the top
ten. Together, they picked up 60 points – enough to clinch the
manufacturers’ title, despite BMW lining up with just six drivers,
while its two rivals fielded eight cars at each race.BMW Motorsport
can look back on a DTM season, in which the three teams and six
drivers exceeded all expectations with the BMW M3 DTM. As well as
Spengler, who had previously won at the Lausitzring (DE), Nürburgring
(DE) and in Oschersleben (DE), Farfus also joined the list of BMW DTM
winners in Valencia (ES). BMW also scored a further seven podiums,
five pole positions and three fastest laps. All six BMW drivers
finished in the points at least twice over the course of the season,
with all three teams achieving podium finishes. BMW Team Schnitzer
recorded six podiums, while BMW Team RMG and BMW Team RBM both claimed
three each.
Spengler was the most efficient driver of the season, scoring an
average of 18.6 points per race finished. With 57.7 points per race,
the six BMW drivers scored an average of sixteen points more than the
eight Mercedes and the eight Audi drivers.
In winning the 2012 title, the BMW M3 has once again proven that
it is at home in the DTM. To date, the most successful touring car of
all time has 46 DTM wins to its name. Like Spengler this season, van
de Poele 1987 and Ravaglia 1989 were also at the wheel of this BMW
model when they claimed their DTM titles.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport
Director):
“Sensational. Awesome. Unbelievable. I still
cannot believe what has just happened here. Massive congratulations to
Bruno Spengler and BMW Team Schnitzer on winning the Drivers’ and Team
titles. This is a big day for everyone at BMW Motorsport. We returned
to the DTM after an absence of almost 20 years and wanted to be
competitive as quickly as possible. Now we are here in Hockenheim, and
I am talking about winning three titles in our comeback season. BMW
Motorsport has written another chapter in motorsport history today. I
am unbelievably proud of my team. It is going to be a long night.”
Ends