The future of DTM on display at Hockenheim

Last weekend BMW unveiled the final version of its new M3 DTM racecar. Also on hand for the category’s season finale in Hockenheim were Audi (A5 DTM) and Mercedes-Benz (DTM AMG C-Coupé) with their 2012 challengers on display.

2012 marks a return to DTM racing for BMW, a series they have been absent from since 1994.

Here, then, is a small gallery of images showing the new cars completing their parade laps. There’s also a few extra bits and pieces. For some reason Mercedes didn’t come up with any material from the Hockenheim weekend, so we’ve included a few pics from the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Audi Motorsport Newsletter 32/2011: Audi A5 DTM in front of large crowd

Ingolstadt, October 23, 2011 – Tom Kristensen opened Audi’s touring car future with the new Audi A5 DTM at the DTM finale. The brand with the four rings skillfully played to the crowd with a number of other activities as well.

Premiere: For the first time the DTM audience experienced the new Audi A5 DTM on track. Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen at the wheel of the new DTM race car for 2012 drove demo laps immediately before and after the DTM finale at Hockenheim together with the new DTM vehicles from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Prior to the demo drive the fans had the opportunity to view the spectacular coupe in front of the Audi Lounge.

 

BMW M Performance Accessories M3 DTM presented in Heidelberg.

Munich/Heidelberg, 21st October 2011. “Sneak Preview” in Heidelberg: the BMW M Performance Accessories M3 DTM was presented to selected members of the public, consisting of BMW customers and guests, in Autohaus Krauth in Heidelberg this evening. Two days before the car makes an appearance as part of the season-ending DTM event at the neighbouring Hockenheimring, selected members of the public were given a glimpse of the new livery and traditional M colours.

“Old-school DTM fans will recognise from the typical BMW M stripes that the appearance is based on the original BMW M3 cars from the ‘old DTM’. We are very proud of this design. It is both traditional and modern in equal measures. It shows our roots, but in a contemporary style,” said BMW Motorsport Director, Jens Marquardt, at the unveiling of the BMW M Performance Accessories M3 DTM. Marquardt continued: “The car’s aerodynamics were developed in close collaboration with the engineers from series production. The BMW Group boasts impressive resources in this field and the wind tunnels are ultra-modern. This – and the Title Partner BMW M Performance Accessories – shows that the entire company is behind the 2012 DTM project and is working hard towards it.”

Host of the evening at the Heidelberg branch of the BMW and MINI Krauth Group was the Krauth family. The Krauth sisters and Marc-Stefan Tepe, Managing Director of the Heidelberg business, are all looking forward to the incoming year. Tepe said: “It is great how the BMW M3 DTM bears such an obvious resemblance to its brother in the production series. That is what is so nice about the DTM: the fans can recognise their car on the racetrack. This link to production is obviously also important for us BMW dealers, as is the partnership with BMW M Performance Accessories. Motorsport is quite simply in the genes of BMW, and that allows the customers to bring that motorsport feel to their BMW car.” The BMW M Performance Accessories range provides numerous possibilities of enhancing the already superb dynamics and fascinating aesthetics of BMW models. The DTM provides the optimum environment for sporty BMW M Performance Accessories, and represents a transfer of know-how in accessories development.

Together with the other two manufacturers involved in the series, BMW will complete demonstration laps with its new cars directly before and after the final race of the 2011 DTM season.

The BMW M3 DTM was revealed to the public for the first time at the DTM event in Munich on 15th July. Since then, BMW Motorsport has completed numerous successful test sessions with the newly developed car. BMW will be represented by three teams in the DTM in 2012, each running two BMW M3 DTM cars: BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW Team RBM and BMW Team RMG. Two BMW drivers have already been confirmed for 2012, in the form of Andy Priaulx (GB) and Augusto Farfus (BR).

BMW M3 DTM excites Fans in Hockenheim.

Hockenheim, 23rd October 2011. The BMW M3 DTM excited tens of thousands of fans at the DTM season finale at Hockenheim (DE). Dirk Werner (DE) completed two laps on the Hockenheim track in the “BMW M Performance Accessories M3 DTM”, one immediately before the DTM race and one immediately afterwards, together with one Audi and one Mercedes-Benz. The three premium constructors that are involved in the series in future gave the fans on the grandstands and in front of their televisions a first taste of the coming year.

BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt said: “This event was something very special for us. Since the early morning there have been clusters of people around our car, and it was simply breathtaking to be able to present our car in front of such a crowd. The reactions to our car were all positive. Today gave us all a lot of extra motivation to present ourselves in top form in half a year’s time at the same venue.”

BMW works driver Dirk Werner commented: “It was a great experience to be able to do today’s demonstration laps. Obviously I drove the BMW M3 DTM at the recent tests – but a stage like this really is something special. You could feel the spine tingling atmosphere even in the car.”

The new “BMW M Performance Accessories” livery of the BMW M3 DTM had been presented to a few members of the public at the BMW Autohaus Krauth in Heidelberg (DE) on Friday. Around three months earlier, on July 15th, the BMW M3 DTM concept car was officially presented at the BMW Welt in Munich (DE). From 2012 on, BMW will compete in the DTM with three strong teams, the BMW Team Schnitzer, the BMW Team RBM and the BMW Team RMG. The BMW works drivers Andy Priaulx (GB) and Augusto Farfus (BR) have already been confirmed as drivers for the 2012 season.