Whether in the DTM, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship or in
countless other racing series: week after week, BMW teams and drivers
around the world do battle for points, victories and titles. Away from
the track too, members of the large BMW Motorsport family around the
world are also creating headlines. The “BMW Motorsport News” allows us
to provide you with a regular, compact and informative summary of all
the goings-on. This way, you are always up to speed.
DTM: Pre-season interview with Timo Glock.
When the new DTM season gets underway in Hockenheim (DE) on 7th May,
Bruno Spengler (CA), Marco Wittmann (DE), António Félix da Costa (PT),
Timo Glock (DE), Augusto Farfus (BR), Tom Blomqvist (GB), Maxime
Martin (BE) and Martin Tomczyk (DE) will take their seats in the eight
BMW M4 DTMs for BMW Motorsport. In the run-up to the opening round of
the season, we are taking the opportunity to introduce you to each of
our BMW DTM drivers in a series of interviews.
Part 2: Timo Glock, BMW Team RMG, number 16 DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM.
Timo, after three years with BMW Team MTEK you have now
switched to BMW Team RMG. What is your overwhelming emotion: a
feeling of nostalgia or anticipation ahead of the new challenge?
Timo Glock: “You always look ahead, rather than to the past.
Therefore, the overwhelming feeling is definitely one of anticipation.
There was obviously also a degree of sadness, as I had three great
years with BMW Team MTEK. However, I am now looking forward to the new
challenge. I actually know a few of the guys at BMW Team RMG from my
time in Formula One, and I have always been in contact with Stefan
Reinhold. This made it easy for me to make the switch. We had a team
event, at which we all got to know each other better. I had a long
chat with my race engineer and had a look round the company. After
that we had some fun karting. I already feel right at home with BMW
Team RMG.”
You and your new team-mate Marco Wittmann made your debuts
together with BMW Team MTEK in the team’s first season in the DTM in
2013. What memories do you have of that “year of the rookies”?
Glock: “That was an exciting year, as it was BMW Team MTEK’s first
season in the DTM – just as it was for Marco and me. However, this is
another aspect that made the switch to BMW Team RMG easier for me: I
know Marco, and know how he works. He has obviously come on in leaps
and bounds over the past two years, and I am looking forward to our
next season together.”
Could you tell back then that Marco could be a future DTM champion?
Glock: “It is obviously always difficult to predict who will be
champion in the DTM. However, he showed his potential in 2013. Back
then, he proved that he is quick with performances like the pole
position in Zandvoort. He had an incredible year in 2014. The signs
were there that something like that may happen, but the DTM is so
fiercely-competitive that you can never predict who will emerge as
champion. In 2014, I said after the first two tests that Marco would
be the man to beat. And that proved to be the case.”
After your second DTM victory in 2015, how close are you to
challenging for the title for the first time?
Glock: “I don’t believe I am there yet. I have been too inconsistent
for that in my first three years. I must still take this step. It is
difficult, and there are a lot of drivers in the same position, who
cannot quite explain why the consistency is there one minute, then
gone the next. It is nice to have won two races, and to have finished
on the podium four times. However, I am still a step away from
challenging for the championship. The important thing for me this
season is to finish in the points more consistently. That has to be my goal.”
The intensive preparations for the new DTM season began with
the tests in Monteblanco at the end of February. What did you focus on?
Glock: “My initial priority was obviously to familiarise myself with
the people and processes at BMW Team RMG. That happened seamlessly.
After that it was good to finally get back behind the wheel of the BMW
M4 DTM and brush off the cobwebs after the winter months.”
Oschersleben, the scene of your victory in 2015, is no longer
on the race calendar. It has been replaced by the Hungaroring. Which
track do you prefer?
Glock: “Both circuits seem to suit me. We were very strong in
Saturday’s race in Oschersleben in 2015, and were also well up there
on the Sunday. We were also very quick in Budapest in the one year we
drove there with the DTM. Back then I lined up on the front row of the
grid next to Marco. Unfortunately I left empty-handed, as I crashed
out. But the track suits me. I have always been fast there, whether in
Formula One, GP2 or the DTM. It is a great circuit, and I have a lot
of fans there. For this reason, I am pleased that we are racing in
Hungary again.”
You name Singapore as your favourite track. Would you like to
see more street races in the DTM?
Glock: “It would certainly be cool if we went to Singapore with the
DTM. And maybe for a night race? But seriously: Singapore is a very
special spectacle. The track has something about it, and I have always
enjoyed good results there. That is why it is one of my favourite
circuits. In principle, it would be nice if we had more street races.
However, you are always faced with the question of which street
circuits you can race on with the DTM cars.”
You are a passionate cyclist, and have taken part in the
24-hour cycle race on the Nordschleife. How tough is that?
Glock: “It is far easier in a car! That was one of the toughest races
I have ever entered. I completely underestimated the Nordschleife back
then, and never expected it to be so exhausting. You climb almost 800
metres in one lap. After the Bergwerk section, it is almost all
uphill. The toughest part is the Hohe Acht, which has a gradient of up
to 18 per cent. From Döttinger Höhe you think that it is just straight
ahead, but even there it climbs slightly towards the end. A lap of the
Nordschleife on a bicycle really hurts. However, it was also
incredible fun. Last year I almost took part again with the Deutsche
Post Speed Academy, but it did not work out due to a clash with the
24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps. My schedule is very full again this
year, so I am not sure whether I will manage it. But I would
definitely do the race again – even though it was so tough.”
You were at Laguna Seca for the launch of the new BMW M2 Coupé
at the end of February. Where would you rank the car in a list of
the best BMW road cars?
Glock: “In my eyes, it is one of the best BMW M cars I have ever
driven. The BMW M2 may not quite have the power of a BMW M4 or BMW M5,
but as far as the handling is concerned the BMW M2 Coupé was
incredible fun to drive. It is a triumph of a car.”
You and Augusto Farfus, who was there with you, shared some
spectacular drifting videos on Facebook. How is it that all racing
drivers are so good at drifting?
Glock: “Because we have learned how to play with a car at its limits.
We took a few nice photos – just as my actual drifting partner Martin
Tomczyk did a week later with António Félix da Costa. It was certainly
spectacular. We always want to put on a show for the fans, and I think
we did just that.”