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2015 DTM Manufacturers’ Championship Won by BMW in Heated Finish

The winner of the 2015 DTM Manufacturers’ Championship was decided by a difference of just 7 points this year, and the title was claimed by BMW ahead of Audi after 18 races. The final DTM stint took place in Hockenheim and saw the best-placed BMW driver cross the finish line in sixth place.
BMW M4 DTM 1 photo
Photo: BMW
The honor went to Maxime Martin, who was the fastest driver of the eight-member lined-up by the Bavarians, followed by Antonio Felix da Costa in seventh, Bruno Spengler in eighth and Martin Tomczyk in tenth. They were the only ones to win points in the last race of the season, but thanks to a team effort, it was enough to secure the title for BMW.

As for the rest of the drivers, things didn’t look all that great. Augusto Farfus came in 14th, Tom Blomqvist finished in 17th due to a drive-through penalty, while Timo Glock was 21st. Unfortunately, last year’s champion, Marco Wittmann, didn’t finish the race.

On the other hand, things were heated over in Audi’s camp, as they posted a one-two-three finish and were close to stealing the title from BMW. Unfortunately for them, they left this year’s DTM championship without a title to their name, since Pascal Wehrlein won the driver’s number one spot on Saturday, with his Mercedes-AMG team.

“We were determined to win the Manufacturers’ title, and we did it. Fantastic. I got off to an outstanding start and immediately fought my way up to third place. Unfortunately I was unable to match the pace of the Audis, but that is irrelevant now after this team result for BMW,” said the best-placed BMW driver in Sunday’s race, Maxime Martin.

This is the first title won by the new M4 DTM model in the German series, following in the footsteps of the M3 Coupe. During the 2015 season, the new car won five races, with each of the four DTM teams winning on at least one occasion.

During this year’s championship, the BMW drivers made 19 appearances on the podium and in Oschersleben the teams claimed 167 points out of a maximum possible of 196. It should also be noted that the company managed to rise from the ashes and win the manufacturers’ title after trailing behind by no less than 217 points initially.

This marks a rather successful comeback to the racing series since 2012. In this time, the BMW brand managed to win the Manufacturers’ title three times in four years, while in its first year back, the teams won all three titlesup for grabs: manufacturer, team, and driver.

Out of 12 possible titles, the blue and white roundel cars won 7 since their comeback with 20 wins, 20 pole positions, and 54 podiums. Last but not least, the ten victories of the BMW M4 DTM recorded this year are enough to proclaim it a worthy successor to the M3 Coupe in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.
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