After a tough 2017 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters campaign, BMW Motorsport found themselves not picking up one of the three titles up for grabs this year, after Audi Sport took a clean sweep at the Hockenheim finale on Sunday.
Nevertheless, even with Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt saying that the final weekend of the 18-race season finished as it should, including Marco Wittmann hitting the top step on the final race podium of the year, he still credited the sterling efforts of all the teams representing the Munich brand.
“We once again had three drivers in the points in the final race, and we have now had four wins this season,” admitted Marquardt, whose outfit narrowly missed out on the runner-up spot in the manufacturers’ title to Mercedes-AMG Motorsport by just eight points.
“Although this is the first time since our DTM comeback in 2012 that we have come away without a title, I would like to say a big thank you to the whole team. It has been a hard year, but everybody gave it their all, right down to the final lap.”
Two of the wins came at Norisring earlier this year, as both Bruno Spengler and Maxime Martin helped BMW to showcase their performance along the streets by the Dutzendteich, along with Timo Glock securing the victory in the first race at Circuit Park Zandvoort.
But the manufacturer will have to regroup for next season, ahead of further battles with their Stuttgart and Ingolstadt counterparts.
However, with BMW’s commitment towards the DTM’s future, Marquardt is looking forward to working out solutions to ensure its continuation, ahead of Mercedes’ withdrawal at the end of the 2018 season.
“All in all, the DTM event here at Hockenheim has once again shown what makes this series so special: close battles, fantastic drivers, and passionate fans,” he admitted, praising the hard work by rights holders ITR and chairman Gerhard Berger, who have helped the DTM move forward in the right way.
“Race weekends like these are the reason we will offer the ITR our full support, as it works to shape the future of this race series over the coming weeks and months.”