The Italian GT Sprint Championship closed out its 2022 season this weekend at the Mugello circuit, which also marked the end of Timo Glock’s ten-year career as a BMW M Motorsport works driver. Going into the weekend, Glock and co-driver Jens Klingmann were third in the points and still had a shot at the championship, despite balance of performance adjustments that have made it difficult for the duo to win races.
The weekend started out well for the Ceccato Racing BMW team, as Glock put the #50 M4 GT3 into fourth in qualifying. Glock and Klingmann then finished second in the first race behind a Lamborghini, which still put them in a position to win the championship in race two. Klingmann qualified in fifth for race two, but the car had an issue that led to retirement shortly before the end of the race. The duo ended up second in the championship.
Glock was hired by BMW as a DTM works driver for the 2013 season and he competed in that series up through 2020. Through those years, he scored fifteen podiums and five wins. He also competed in the 24 Hours of Spa, Rolex 24 at Daytona and 12 Hours of Bathurst races, as well as in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. Prior to joining BMW in 2013, Glock was primarily an open-wheeler driver, competing in Formula 1, ChampCar (now Indy Car) and the GP2 series. His first experience with BMW was when he won championships in Formula BMW in 2000-2001.
Glock is only 40 years old, so it is likely he’ll continue to race, though there’s no indication yet on where or when he will race again. “Thank you, BMW Motorsport, for spending ten years together around the world on the best tracks you can dream of,” said Glock on social media. “I really enjoyed the intense time in DTM with those wonderful Class 1 cars and great wins and podiums. One of the highlights for sure was the 24-hour race at Spa with Alex Zanardi! One of those races I will never forget.” Ceccato Racing has already announced that they will be back in 2023 with a pair of M4 GT3s. —David Haueter
[Photos courtesy BMW]