Manufacturers’ title is the target for BMW at Hockenheim

BMW Motorsport travels to Hockenheim, host of the ninth and final round of the 2015 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season, looking to win their third Manufacturers’ title since their return to the series back in 2012.

BMW didn’t have the best start of the season, first struggling to adapt to the new standard tyres, then lacking pace and development in most areas in the M4 DTM. With the homologation freeze, their prospects of achieving good results looked grim by Norisring.

The huge influence of the performance weights this season allowed BMW to get their best result to date in Zandvoort, and the M4 DTM improved significantly after the two-day test in Spielberg, just after the half way mark in the season.

With rivals Audi and Mercedes hit by the performance weights and a number of race incidents, BMW has managed to climb their way back, heading to Hockenheim in a position hardly foreseeable five months ago. The Bavarian manufacturer leads the standings with 554 points, 51 more than Mercedes AMG and 82 over Audi Sport.

Team MTEK’s Bruno Spengler remains the only BMW driver with mathematical possibilities, albeit far-fetched, of getting the drivers’ title. The Canadian is 46 points behind Mercedes’ Pascal Wehrlein in the standings, having had a very regular season, but with no victories to date. Spengler vows to fight until the end: “Hockenheim is one of my very favourite circuits. The atmosphere at this year’s season-opener was fantastic. It is obviously impossible to predict what this weekend has in store for us. We still have a very slender mathematical chance of winning the Drivers’ Championship. Even though this is extremely unlikely, one thing is certain: we will do our best to give one big final push at the end of the season.”

Outgoing champion Marco Wittmann reaches Hockenheim out of contention for the title, after a season with many ups and downs. The Team RMG driver keeps focussed in doing whatever BMW needs to get their third collective crown: “It will be a very special weekend. Our main goal is obviously to defend first place in the Manufacturers’ championship and bring the title back to Munich.”

Team RMG is no stranger to success. After winning the Teams’ title last year, and despite a difficult season, the formation is still in the race to renew their crown. Despite this, Team Principal Stefan Reinhold remains focussed on BMW’s needs: “It has been an incredibly intense year for us, in which both our drivers have managed to again win races. We are also the BMW team with the most top-ten finishes. That shows how consistent we have been. My personal highlight was obviously Maxime Martin’s victory at our home round at the Nürburgring. I would be delighted if we could round off the season with another good result in Hockenheim and win the Manufacturers’ championship together with a performance of 100 percent. That is no less than our drivers and the entire crew deserve.”

The cards are on the table and, with the Performance Weights unchanged from Nürburgring, BMW knows they have a competitive package and a real advantage to be in the fighting position to remain ahead. Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt is respectful of his rivals and warns that BMW has done their homework for the season finale: “We are now well-placed to win the Manufacturers’ championship for the third time since our comeback in 2012. We currently top the standings, and will do everything in our power to ensure we remain in first place after the final race of the season and take the trophy for the best manufacturer back to Munich again. However, we have a great fight ahead of us. The opposition is within striking distance. We must all pull together again for one final push to get good results in both races. We are certainly well-prepared for the finale. The atmosphere in Hockenheim will definitely be fantastic again.”

On track action at Hockenheim starts on Friday at 15:25 for the first free practice session.