Robert Kubica will race an M4 DTM entered by French privateer team ART Grand Prix in the 2020 DTM series.
The ride marks a return to BMW for Kubica, who drove for BMW Sauber in Formula One from 2006–2009. He raced for Williams in the 2019 F1 season.
Kubica had tested the M4 DTM in December along with BMW works driver Nick Yelloly. There had been speculation that he would get the last open factory DTM seat, but BMW awarded it to Jonathan Aberdein earlier this month.
BMW motorsport director Jens Marquardt said, “This is really great news for the DTM. We are delighted to welcome ART Grand Prix to the DTM as a private customer team. It has always been our goal to make the DTM field even larger and more attractive with privately-run BMW M4 DTMs. There were several options and we have held many discussions with potential teams in recent months. Considering all the aspects, we opted for the package provided by ART Grand Prix. After the test in Spain last December, Robert Kubica made no secret of the fact that he could imagine a future in the DTM. It is great that ART Grand Prix is now allowing him the opportunity to contest the 2020 season in a BMW M4 DTM. Robert showed during the test that is very good in a DTM car. He is a real asset to the series. We have our fingers crossed for ART Grand Prix and Robert, and hope they have a successful DTM season.”
The addition of the ART M4 DTM raises BMW’s car count in the series to seven, and, along with eight cars from Audi, boosts the total grid to fifteen. The four-car R-Motorsport Aston Martin team is not returning to the series in 2020.
In additional DTM news, BMW Motorsport announced this week that Walkenhorst Motorsport, the team that runs two IGTC M6 GT3s, will enter a pair of M4 GT4s in the new DTM Trophy Series for GT cars that has been added for 2020. The cars will run two thirty-minute races on six DTM weekends over the course of the season.—Brian S. Morgan
[Photo courtesy BMW Motorsport.]
