Bruno Spengler (CAN) will swap the BMW M4 DTM for a BMW M8 GTE next season, when he will race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. This move sees Spengler bring the curtain down on a dazzling DTM career, which has spanned 15 years and 195 races and produced a host of highlights. The Canadian’s greatest success came in 2012, when he won the Drivers’ Championship in the BMW Bank M3 DTM.
Spengler’s first race as a regular driver for BMW Team RLL in the BMW M8 GTE is just around the corner. He will compete in the 24 Hours of Daytona (USA) at the end of January. Spengler will also remain a reserve and test driver for BMW i Andretti Motorsport in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship.
“Very few drivers have had as big an influence on the DTM as Bruno Spengler has in the past 15 years,” said BMW Group Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt. “In winning the title in his first season for BMW in 2012, he achieved something that nobody believed possible at the time. In doing so, he earned a permanent place in the history of BMW Motorsport. Of the 122 DTM races he has contested for us, he won seven. His latest victory at the Norisring last season was another very emotional one. The fact that he broke the 1000-point mark in his 15th season in 2019 underlines the outstanding status that Bruno has earned for himself in the DTM. Nevertheless, we were of the opinion that 2020 is the right time to head in a new direction together for the coming years. This decision was not an easy one for us. However, as we do at the end of every season, we took a very close look at our squad of drivers and are confident that Bruno, with all his experience, can help us make progress in the IMSA series. He will also be used as a reserve and test driver in Formula E. I am happy that we are able to keep Bruno as a valuable member of the BMW family. We will ensure that he can bid a worthy farewell to BMW fans in the DTM next year.”
“Firstly, I am obviously disappointed that I will no longer be racing in the DTM in 2020,” said Spengler. “I had a fantastic time for 15 years, during which time the DTM became part of my family. I have been racing in the DTM for almost half of my life. In my 195 races, I have enjoyed some fantastic success – above all, of course, my title win with BMW at Hockenheim in 2012. This title win will forever be very closely linked to Charly Lamm for me. As a sportsman, I would obviously have liked to have stuck around for a few more years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my mechanics and engineers who I have worked with all these years, and with whom I have celebrated so many successes. Even though it has come as something of a surprise to me that I won’t be contesting my 16th DTM season, I’m looking ahead. I feel right at home in the BMW family, am about to face a new challenge, and am ready to write a new chapter in my career. I know the BMW M8 GTE, BMW Team RLL and some of the circuits in North America. As such, I think I will find my feet quickly there. For me as a Canadian, it will certainly be a highlight to line up at a genuine home race for the first time in a long time, at the race at Mosport in the summer. I will really miss the DTM fans. I am looking forward to saying ‘goodbye’ to them in 2020.”
Spengler initially drove for Mercedes in the DTM between 2005 and 2011, during which time he twice finished runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship. When BMW returned to the series in 2012, he switched manufacturer and promptly won the title at the first attempt in a dramatic season. During his DTM career, Spengler won 16 races, secured pole position 18 times, and made it onto the podium 51 times. In total, he amassed 1,024 points.
Source. BMW
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