Photo: Screenshot from Youtube
This year’s DTM Championship kicked off great for BMW, recording a win in the opening race on the Hockenheim. Marco Wittmann took his brand new M4 DTM car across the finish line first, after starting out on the second spot on the grid.
The second race was marked by a couple of unfortunate events but, in the end, the teams managed to score a couple of points, keeping them in the race for both the Manufacturer’s Title and the Driver’s.
A new technique might be a contributing factor to the good results, one that takes into consideration the role the temperatures play in motorsport, among a multitude of other factors, of course.
That’s why BMW is using infrared cameras to see exactly what kind of temperatures are reached both inside and outside the cockpit. Such images were released for the first time and you can watch them in the video below.
As you can see, the carbon brakes, for example, can reach temperatures of up to 800 degrees Celsius while thermal blankets tell you that tires and wheels can be fitted at temperatures in excess of 80 degrees during a pit stop.
Even inside the cabin things can get pretty hot and intense, the temperatures reaching 60 degrees Celsius, demanding a lot from the drivers, as Timo Glock admits: “I can confirm from personal experience that the temperatures in the cockpit of the BMW M4 DTM can sometimes be very high, which demands enormous fitness from us drivers.”
“I find it fascinating how well the thermal images illustrate the heat generation in our cars. Unfortunately the fans at the racetrack do not get to see what goes on under the surface of the BMW M4 DTM. Therefore, I am sure that they will really like these images and videos,” he added.
These new images are part of an extensive web special on the BMW M4 DTM that will be published in the next few weeks, focusing on details concerning the engine, cockpit, temperature check, aerodynamics and lightweight design. We’ll keep you posted with regular updates as they surface the web.
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