Munich, Germnay – The 2015 DTM season draws to a close with races 17 and 18 this Saturday and Sunday. The stage is set for a thrilling finale: for the first time since BMW won the Drivers’, Team and Manufacturers’ titles on its return to the touring car series, all three championships will be decided at the Hockenheimring (DE), which traditionally hosts the season finale.

Maxime Martin’s (BE) home win for BMW Team RMG, a podium for Bruno Spengler (CA), and more top-ten finishes at the recent race weekend at the Nürburgring (DE) have put BMW in an excellent position in the battle for the Manufacturers’ title. Coming into the final two races in Hockenheim, BMW heads the Manufacturers’ Championship with 554 points and a lead of 51 points over Mercedes. Therefore, the goal is to get as many cars in the points as possible, in order to win the Manufacturers’ Championship for the third time in four years.

Five months ago, BMW Motorsport was in Hockenheim for the opening round of the DTM. The season has now come full circle: after five race wins – including the historic top-seven lock-out in Zandvoort (NL) – the BMW teams and drivers return to the circuit near Heidelberg on 17th and 18th October. The 4.574-kilometre track has proven to be a happy stomping ground for BMW in the past. Since returning to the DTM in 2012, BMW drivers have claimed four wins – half of the races – at the Hockenheimring.

The four BMW teams will receive prominent support at the grand finale of the 2015 DTM season: BMW works driver Alessandro Zanardi (IT), who took part in the toughest triathlon in the world in Hawaii (US) on Saturday, will be at the circuit to cheer on the eight BMW drivers. He will also take to the track himself in a BMW M4 DTM Race Taxi, which has been specially modified to meet his needs.

Quotes ahead of the ninth race weekend of 2015 in Hockenheim.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):

“I am really looking forward to the finale in Hockenheim. The fans can look forward to a fantastic spectacle, with all three DTM titles still up for grabs. It could hardly be set up for a more exciting final race weekend. After problems early on in the season, we have shown passion and team spirit to fight our way back into the thick of things. The big milestones on this journey were obviously our five victories in Zandvoort, Oschersleben and at the Nürburgring. 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.”

Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal, BMW Team RMG):

“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.”

Charly Lamm (Team Principal, BMW Team Schnitzer):

“Hockenheim is the DTM classic par excellence – and the fans can once again look forward to a thrilling finale. Although we have celebrated one win and three podium finishes, it has definitely not been an easy year for us. We are determined to end the season with a top result, in order to boost our confidence going into the winter break. We also want to help BMW to win the Manufacturers’ Championship again. We showed at the season-opener that we like the Hockenheimring. Martin Tomczyk was the best-placed BMW driver in the rain on Sunday, and only narrowly missed out on a place on the podium. I hope we put on a good show again at the finale.”

Bart Mampaey (Team Principal, BMW Team RBM):

“We all share one goal in Hockenheim: to win the Manufacturers’ title for BMW. My team will do its bit by scoring as many points as possible. We have improved our results enormously over the course of the season. Tom Blomqvist can also end the year as the best rookie, and we want to help him achieve that goal. With his outstanding victory in Oschersleben and four top-ten finishes so far this season, Tom has proven he would be a worthy winner of that title. After Augusto Farfus in 2012, he could become the second RBM driver to earn this accolade.”

Ernest Knoors (Team Principal, BMW Team MTEK):

“Our third year in the DTM has also been our best. No other team has had more appearances on the podium than we have. We have also claimed one win and two pole positions. I am proud of my mechanics, engineers and drivers, who have done a highly-professional job and shown great fighting spirit in every race. We will now give it our all again in Hockenheim – then we will see where we end up in the overall standings.”

Marco Wittmann (car number 1, BMW Team RMG):

“The races at the Hockenheimring are always great fun. The circuit has a lot of variety to it. There are many high-speed corners, but also a lot of tight bends, in which it is possible to overtake. 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.”

Maxime Martin (car number 36, BMW Team RMG):

“It is a shame that the final race weekend of the season is already upon us. I am really looking forward to Hockenheim, as I have always done very well at this circuit in the past. Everybody always tries to do something a bit special in the final races, and to head into the winter break with a positive feeling. We obviously still have something to race for, as we can help BMW win the title in the Manufacturers’ Championship. I will do everything I can to make that possible.”

Martin Tomczyk (car number 77, BMW Team Schnitzer):

“As they are every year, the final races of the season in Hockenheim are very special for the fans and us drivers. A tiring and nerve-wracking season, in which I had a lot of bad luck and struggled with a number of problems, is drawing to a close. Despite this, I will push hard again at the finale. Hockenheim is a fantastic track, which boasts everything you need to set a racing driver’s pulse racing.”

António Félix da Costa (car number 13, BMW Team Schnitzer):

“I think the lap times will once again be very close in Hockenheim, just as they have been in the previous races. That obviously does not make it easy to qualify towards the front of the grid. Everything has to come together perfectly. The title race in the Manufacturers’ Championship is very close. We will do our utmost to ensure that we are still at the top of the standings after the finale in Hockenheim.”

Augusto Farfus (car number 18, BMW Team RBM):

“Unfortunately we did not perform as we had expected at the season-opener at the Hockenheimring. Despite this, I am confident going into the finale this weekend, as we have looked very good in recent races. I think we should be able to score plenty of points again in Hockenheim.”

Tom Blomqvist (car number 31, BMW Team RBM):

“It is great to compete in Hockenheim again this year. Unfortunately, the first race of the season came to a premature end for me. I had to settle for 17th place in Sunday’s race. I now return to Hockenheim with a lot more experience and confidence. I now know that I can hold my own. I showed that with my win in Oschersleben.”

Bruno Spengler (car number 7, BMW Team MTEK):

“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.”

Timo Glock (car number 16, BMW Team MTEK):

“It is hard to believe that the final DTM weekend of 2015 is just around the corner. We are all pleased to be returning to Hockenheim. There is an extraordinary atmosphere there. I hope we can be at our best again, and that it will be a successful weekend for BMW Motorsport. We want to put on another great show for the fans.”

Hockenheimring Statistics:
Length: 4.574 km
2014 winner: Mattias Ekström, Audi
2014 pole time: 1:33.316 minutes (Miguel Molina, Audi)
Top BMW in 2014: Marco Wittmann, 5th place
DTM debut: 1984
BMW wins: 14
BMW pole positions: 6
BMW fastest laps: 17
BMW podiums: 34

2015 DTM Calendar:

1st-3rd May – Hockenheim (DE), 29th-31st May – Lausitzring (DE), 26th-28th June – Norisring (DE), 10th-12th July – Zandvoort (NL), 31st July-2nd August – Spielberg (AT), 28th-30th August – Moscow (RU), 11th-13th September – Oschersleben (DE), 25th-27th September – Nürburgring (DE), 16th-18th October – Hockenheim (DE)

Drivers’ Championship:

Pascal Wehrlein (165 points), 2. Edoardo Mortara (128), 3. Mattias Ekström (127), 4. Bruno Spengler (119), 5. Jamie Green (107), 6. Marco Wittmann (104), 7. Gary Paffett (87), 8. Augusto Farfus (77), 9. António Félix da Costa (73), 10. Mike Rockenfeller (73), 11. Maxime Martin (71), 12. Paul di Resta (66), 13. Robert Wickens (61), 14. Timo Glock (56), 15. Christian Vietoris (56), 16. Miguel Molina (54), 17. Tom Blomqvist (53), 18. Martin Tomczyk (26), 19. Daniel Juncadella (26), 20. Nico Müller (26), 21. Maximilian Götz (24), 22. Lucas Auer (18), 23. Timo Scheider (16), 24. Adrien Tambay (3)

Team Championship:

gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG (221 points), 2. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (181), 3. BMW Team RMG (175), 4. BMW Team MTEK (175), 5. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (133), 6. Audi Sport Team Abt (131), 7. BMW Team RBM (130), 8. SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG (127), 9. EURONICS/BWT Mercedes-AMG (105), 10. BMW Team Schnitzer (99), 11. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (89), 12. PETRONAS Mercedes-AMG (50)

Manufacturers’ Championship:

BMW (554 points), 2. Mercedes-Benz (503), 3. Audi (472)

BMW Motorsport online:
Website: www.bmw-motorsport.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bmwmotorsport
YouTube: www.youtube.com/bmwmotorsport
Twitter: www.twitter.com/bmwmotorsport
Google+: www.plus.google.com/+bmwmotorsport

About the DTM:

The German Touring Car Masters – DTM for short – is the most popular touring car series in the world. The series sees the three premium automobile manufacturers BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz go head to head on the racetrack. BMW was first involved in the DTM with a works team between 1984 and 1992, during which time it won 49 races and three Drivers’ Championships (1984, 1987 and 1989). The manufacturer returned to the DTM in 2012 with the BMW M3 DTM, three teams and six drivers, winning five races and topping the Drivers’, Team and Manufacturers’ Championships at the first attempt. In 2013, BMW successfully defended its title in the Manufacturers’ Championship with four teams and eight drivers. Last season BMW Motorsport competed with the new BMW M4 DTM for the first time. By the end of the ten-race season, the Bavarian manufacturer had five race wins, 11 podiums, four pole positions and four fastest laps to its name, while Marco Wittmann became the youngest German DTM champion ever. Wittmann’s BMW Team RMG was victorious in the Team competition.

Eighteen races spread over nine weekends await the teams and drivers in 2015. For the first time since the 2000 season, each event consists of two races, each with the same points format. The season kicked off on 2nd/3rd May with two races in Hockenheim. This is followed by a further four rounds in Germany – at the Lausitzring, Norisring, Nürburgring and in Oschersleben – before the series returns to Hockenheim for the season finale on 17th/18th October. Zandvoort, Spielberg and Moscow host the three international rounds of the DTM. The ARD is broadcasting every race live. Tickets to all DTM races are available here: https://tickets.bmw-motorsport.com/index.html