BMW’s Bruno Spengler will mark a significant milestone at the Nürburgring as the Canadian starts his 100th race in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.
Spengler first appeared in the DTM in 2005 and spent his first seven years in the series driving for Mercedes-Benz, before signing up for BMW for the start of the 2012 season.
It proved to be a wise move for Spengler, as he went on to clinch the title for BMW Team Schnitzer in his first season with the marque.
Spengler has clocked up 14 wins in his time in the German series, taking 38 podium finishes and will become one of six current drivers to have passed the century mark, with Audi’s Jamie Green also joining the 100-race club this weekend.
Although Spengler is currently third overall in the 2014 championship, he finds himself a massive 53 points adrift of series leader Marco Wittmann with only four races remaining.
Spengler has won three times previously around the Nürburgring in the Eifel Mountains, tasting victory in 2006, 2010 and 2012. Along with the Norisring, it is Spengler’s most successful circuit.
“The Nürburgring is a fantastic circuit, and the race there is always one of the highlights of the season for me,” said Spengler. “The crowds are awesome – the people are really passionate about the DTM. I won there on the anniversary of BMW M in 2012 but last year I did not have such a great race.
“The key will be to find a good set-up in practice. The BMW Bank M4 DTM is usually really quick on tracks like this
“It is hard to believe that this will be my 100th DTM race. It doesn’t feel like it.”
BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt admits that the additional performance weight his cars must carry following their historic 1-2-3-4 result last time out in Austria may play an important role in deciding the result of this weekend’s seventh race of the season.
“We would obviously like to defend our leads in the Eifel Mountains, but the performance weight our teams must carry on board the cars will play a key role and will definitely make our life much more difficult,” said Marquardt. “Despite this, the layout of the Nürburgring ought really to suit our BMW M4 DTM.
“We are looking forward to the weekend and really hope that, despite the surrounding circumstances, Bruno Spengler can taste success on what is a landmark weekend for him.”
All eight BMW cars will be sporting a black ribbon this weekend in memory of Team Schnitzer’s Dieter Lamm, who died on Friday 8th August at the age of 59. Lamm was, along with twin brother Charly, the ‘heart and soul’ of Schnitzer for more than 30 years.