Timo Glock: “This result goes to my crew”

Timo Glock drove a strong race today in the DTM season opener at Hockenheim to become BMW Motorsport’s leading driver in the championship.

The German from Team RMG qualified fourth on the starting grid as best man for the Bavarian manufacturer. Glock drove a charging race to recover positions, finishing second after fighting for the victory with Lucas Auer.

The prospects, however, weren’t so good for Glock in the lead to Hockenheim: “The first thing I have to say is thank you to my team for preparing this car, the crew worked flat out for the last couple of weeks to have everything ready for Hockenheim. This year I’m in a new team and everything is new to me, even my number one mechanic. The car wasn’t finished in the factory until three weeks ago, we did its shakedown here yesterday, so I’m very happy to have a good result and be able to give something back to the guys.”

Glock started the race with the target of clocking fast laps in the beginning: “My plan was to get ahead in the early stages. I managed to overtake Edo and, a bit later, Gary. But Lucas took off and I couldn’t follow him, he was fast and deserved the victory.”

The main talking point at Hockenheim is the new slicks from Hankook and their effect on teams’ strategies. With six sets left after second free practice, tyre management has become key. “I must recognise I pushed too hard in the first few laps and maybe I paid for that later. When you are behind another car for four or five laps, the tyres start dropping quickly.”

Glock pitted on lap 18, and his BMW M4 DTM’s behaviour changed after that point. “When I came into the pits I knew I had to stay ahead of Edo if I wanted to win this race. I came out and was able to overtake him in the next couple of laps. I then gave everything I had, I tried all the tricks I had learned, but couldn’t get behind Lucas. He defended well, especially out of Turn 2, which was my main overtaking point”, said Timo Glock.

The race finished with the top five separated by just 4.2 seconds, with each manufacturer represented on the podium. Timo Glock was positive about the outcome of the race: “We had a good fight and I think this is good for all the fans and the spectators. We have made changes to the DTM to make the competition more exciting, and I think this shows the right decisions are being made.”

Timo Glock lies second in the drivers’ table with 18 points, 10 behind Mercedes’ Lucas Auer.