BMW shuffles their DTM teams for 2015

BMW Motorsport has made public the driver pairings for their 2015 season in the Deutsche Tourewagen Masters. Only reigning champions BMW Team RMG will keep their structure from last year, with all others presenting new partnerships for the forthcoming season.

The Bavarian manufacturer announced their eighth and last driver just four days ago, with Tom Blomqvist becoming the only rookie at BMW this year.

The remaining outfits, BMW Teams Schnitzer, RBM and MTEK present variations, breaking some long partnerships in order to reinforce their structure for 2015.

Current champions BMW Team RMG’s line up will remain unchanged, featuring Marco Wittmann and Belgian Maxime Martin. Stefan Reinhold, team principal at RMG, is confident that keeping a successful line up is the best approach: “The expression ‘never change a winning team’ definitely applies in motorsport. We are very pleased to be lining up for the 2015 DTM season with the same drivers, with whom we enjoyed such great success last year. The atmosphere in the team is fantastic.”

Bruno Spengler will leave BMW Team Schnitzer after three seasons, heading for MTEK, where he will be partnered by Timo Glock. Ernest Knoors, team principal, welcomed the former champion in his ranks: “Bruno is an institution in this series. And he also sets the bar extremely high when it comes to speed.”

Spengler’s vacant spot at Schnitzer will be filled by António Félix Da Costa, partnering former champion Martin Tomczyk. Charly Lamm, team principal, is looking forward to the new season: “We will now be going all out to challenge at the front of the 2015 DTM field with the new driver line-up.”

Lastly, Brazilian Augusto Farfus will remain at Team RBM, welcoming rookie Tom Blomqvist on board this season. Bart Mampaey relishes the challenge ahead: “Augusto Farfus has gained a lot of experience in the DTM over the past three years, and has shown that he is capable of winning races and putting himself in contention for the title. In Tom Blomqvist, we welcome on board a fast young driver, who has everything he needs to find his feet quickly in the DTM. I am very much looking forward to working with these two drivers in 2015.”

BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt is confident the new mix will reinforce the manufacturer’s campaign this year: “We have a good mix of young and experienced drivers, who are all capable of making their mark on the series. At the end of every season we analyse whether and how we can make any minor changes to tease a little more out of the overall set-up. We remain true to our philosophy that we can only enjoy long-term success in the DTM with four teams of equal strength.”

The 2015 DTM season will start on the 2nd and 3rd of May, featuring a new weekend format with two races per event.