Munich. 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.