BMW confirms 2012 DTM entry

[BelperJim]

BMW has finally confirmed that it will return to the DTM in 2012, ending months of speculation.

The German manufacturer announced its intent to re-join the series in April this year, but has been in negotiations with DTM chiefs, Audi and Mercedes during the summer over the series' future regulations before fully committing.

BMW announced today that it will return to the DTM grid in 2012, 18 years after it departed the championship.

Dr Klaus Draeger, BMW AG board member, said: "The return of BMW to the DTM is a fundamental part of the restructuring of our motorsport activities. With its increased commitment to production car racing, BMW is returning to its roots.

"The race track is the perfect place to demonstrate the impressive sporting characteristics of our vehicles against our core competitors in a high-powered environment. The DTM is the ideal stage on which to do this."

BMW Motorsport boss Mario Theissen says he is pleased to be able to finally confirm that the brand will return to the DTM.

"The entire team at BMW Motorsport is approaching this exciting project with absolute commitment," he said. "We began making technical preparations following our declaration of intent in April, and established parameters for a high-performance vehicle concept for deployment in the DTM. The positive decision of the BMW board of management means we can now shift up a gear and give the green light for development."

BMW also confirmed its intention to use the M3 model as the base car for its DTM challenger.

DTM boss Hans Werner Aufrecht welcomed the arrival of BMW to the series alongside Mercedes and Audi.

"We welcome the decision by BMW to enter the DTM from 2012," he said. "This is a further milestone for the future of our popular racing series and proves our efforts over the past few years have paid off.

"We laid the foundation for this in conjunction with the DMSB [German motorsport body] and the existing DTM manufacturers, namely Audi and Mercedes-Benz. Therefore I would like to heartily thank all parties.

"I am personally looking forward to again seeing the three premium brands of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz competing against each other on the race track. Our fans have waited a long time for this."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/87470

[chevronb37]

This seems far more appropriate for BMW than being beaten by diesel Seats in WTCC somehow...Awesome news and should add to the spectacle during the annual trip to Brands. Will be good to see Muller (J) and Priaulx driving something powerful again.

[cragswinter]

Wouldn't it be nice if one of the regulations became that they had to homologate the cars they were going to race by selling 1000 units to the public?
That would really get your m3 back to it's roots Herr Thiessen.....

[llewop]

cragswinter said:

Wouldn't it be nice if one of the regulations became that they had to homologate the cars they were going to race by selling 1000 units to the public?
That would really get your m3 back to it's roots Herr Thiessen.....

and get rid of the hundreds of stupid little winglets that they have on the DTM cars

Edited by llewop on Saturday 16th October 10:06

[Gun]

This is good news, now all we need is for Alfa Romeo to come back, I loved that 155 DTM car!

[mycool]

Good for the championship to have some new cars but from the article sounds like they have moaned already to get the rules in their favour, much like they did in WTCC !

[F1GTRUeno]

Alfa, Opel and someone else and it'll be absolutely perfect.

Would rather they stayed with saloons than coupes though, makes it more of a touring car series in my eyes.

[chevronb37]

Opel do sound interested though. Would be good to see them back as well. Not heard any rumours about Alfa but a 159 DTM car would be stunning. Saw one of the ex Auto Delta 156 WTCC machines at Donington yesterday and reminded me how stunning that car was.