Jonathan Aberdein in the #27 M4 DTM was the best BMW finisher in both races at Hockenheim on the last-ever DTM race weekend for the series’ Class 1 cars. Audi finished the season dominating both races, just as it had for most of the year.
Aberdein finished fifth in race one, won by Audi’s Nico Müller. Three additional M4 DTMs finished in the points; they were the cars of privateer Robert Kubica in eighth and factory racers Phillipp Eng and Sheldon van der Linde in ninth and tenth.
Aberdein finished seventh in race two, ahead of Timo Glock in eighth, Eng in ninth, and van der Linde in tenth. The winner of both the race and the DTM drivers’ championship was Audi’s René Rast. It was his third DTM title. Timo Glock was the best BMW finisher in drivers’ points, coming in fifth for the season.
The Hockenheim event was the last for the Class 1 cars, silhouette racers that resembled their street counterparts on the surface, but were purpose-built race cars through and through. Audi and BMW were the only two manufacturers remaining in DTM in 2020. Earlier in the year, Audi had announced its departure from the series at the end of the season, following Mercedes, who had left at the end of 2018, and Aston Martin, who ran a single year in the series in 2019. DTM will become a series for privateer GT3 cars in 2021.
BMW ran in DTM from 1984 through 1992 and again from 2012 to 2020. In its final release of the season BMW Motorsport said that “BMW competed in a total of 339 DTM races, recording 89 wins, 307 podiums and 75 pole positions. A BMW driver claimed the drivers’ title six times: Volker Strycek in 1984, Eric van de Poele in 1987, Roberto Ravaglia in 1989, Bruno Spengler in 2012, and Marco Wittmann in 2014 and 2016. Since the DTM comeback in 2012, BMW has completed 140 races and celebrated more than 40 wins. The manufacturers’ title went to Munich in 2012, 2013, and 2015.”
BMW’s Jens Marquardt said, “We are all getting a bit nostalgic after the final race of the Class 1 era in the DTM. Since our DTM comeback in 2012, we have enjoyed some fantastic times at BMW Motorsport, celebrating numerous titles and wins together. Unfortunately, the 2020 season did not go as we had hoped—and the two final races at Hockenheim did nothing to change that. Nonetheless, I would like to thank the entire team for their tireless effort, the pure passion and readiness to battle right to the end and constantly give their all—after wins and defeats, this mentality is always what drives us on at BMW and allows us to overcome every situation. I would also like to express our appreciation for our DTM partners of many years’ standing and thank them for their loyalty and support, and the great collaboration in recent years. Personally, I will continue to follow future races as a fan of BMW Motorsport. Congratulations to René Rast on his third DTM championship title. He has made his made his mark on the racing series over recent years.”—Brian Morgan
[Photo courtesy BMW Motorsport.]
