Norisring, 1st July 2012. A dramatic race at the Norisring (DE) saw Martin Tomczyk (DE) and Bruno Spengler (CA) celebrate another two podium finishes for BMW in the 2012 DTM season. In front of the very enthusiastic fans who numbered 135,000 over the weekend, Tomczyk crossed the finish line after 78 laps and the maximum race time of 75 minutes as runner-up his BMW M Performance Parts M3 DTM, just 0.687 seconds behind winning Mercedes driver Jamie Green (GB). Spengler followed in third place at the wheel of the BMW Bank M3 DTM. This is the second time this season BMW has had two of its drivers on the podium, with the first being the race at the Lausitzring (DE). Tomczyk repeated his excellent result from Spielberg (AT), where he finished second four weeks ago.
 
Rain started to fall heavily just before the start of the race. The surface did dry out for a while before another shower soaked it again shortly before the halfway mark. Tomczyk led the fifth race of the season on a wet track right until the final lap. However, the reigning DTM champion was ultimately unable to hold off the challenge of Green, who had moved into second place by overtaking Spengler on lap 76. Green launched the decisive attack on Tomczyk in the Dutzendteich corner on the 78th lap and secured victory just metres from the finish. Although the two BMW drivers narrowly missed out on the second triumph for BMW this year, they were able to increase the number of podium finishes claimed by the BMW teams to six.
 
Andy Priaulx (GB, Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M3 DTM) and Dirk Werner (DE, E-POSTBRIEF BMW M3 DTM) also enjoyed a successful race, despite the difficult conditions on the iconic circuit in Nürnberg (DE): Priaulx finished seventh to pick up his first points since the season-opener in Hockenheim (DE). Werner was pleased to score his first point in the DTM having crossed the line in tenth. Four BMW drivers finished in the points for the first time since the manufacturer’s return to the series.
 
Joey Hand (US, SAMSUNG BMW M3 DTM) finished 14th in BMW’s first appearance at the Norisring for 20 years. Augusto Farfus (BR), who started the race from third on the grid in his Castrol EDGE BMW M3 DTM, had to retire after just 15 laps following a collision shortly after the start.

Bruno Spengler (car number 7, BMW Team Schnitzer, 3rd): “It was a long and tough race. After qualifying seventh I am very happy with third place in the race. On the other side, it is obviously bitterly disappointing to miss out on a BMW one-two on the final lap. As early as the warm-up I noticed we could also be very quick in the rain. The track conditions were extreme. The fans created a great atmosphere. For them it was exciting – for us drivers it was also very tiring. Overall we have produced another fantastic result that we can be proud of for BMW this weekend.”

Photo: BMW