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.
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
Statistics for the BMW DTM drivers.
| Driver | WIT | MAR | TOM | DAC | FAR | BLO | SPE | GLO |
| Nationality | DE | BE | DE | PT | BR | UK | CA | DE |
| Number | 1 | 36 | 77 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 7 | 16 |
| Age | 25 | 29 | 33 | 24 | 32 | 21 | 32 | 33 |
| DTM debut | 2013 | 2014 | 2001 | 2014 | 2012 | 2015 | 2005 | 2013 |
| Team | RMG | RMG | Schnitzer | Schnitzer | RBM | RBM | MTEK | MTEK |
| Races | 36 | 26 | 157 | 26 | 46 | 16 | 119 | 36 |
| Wins | 5 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 2 |
| Podiums | 9 | 3 | 28 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 44 | 4 |
| Poles | 5 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 5 | – | 17 | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 5 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 2 |
| Laps led | 216 | 71 | 248 | 31 | 123 | 34 | 516 | 53 |
| Points | 309 | 118 | 473 | 79 | 301 | 53 | 703 | 129 |
