When BMW returned to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters in 2012, Bruno Spengler won four races that season, enough to claim the title. He went on to participate in 122 DTM races, winning seven of them and occupying the podium 24 times. Beyond his DTM success, he earned podium finishes at important endurance races, including the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Last year, he won the Italian GT Sprint with the M4 GT3.
But as with everything in life, all good things eventually come to an end. After 13 years at BMW M Motorsport, the works driver is leaving. The Alsatian-born Canadian racing driver is not retiring, however, as he’s embarking on “new professional challenges.” The 41-year-old driver doesn’t go into details, only saying he’s “at a point in my career where a new challenge with a long-term perspective was important to me.”
Nicknamed “The Secret Canadian,” Bruno Spengler held other positions when he was not racing. For example, he was an ambassador for BMW M Motorsport Automotive Gaming. Before joining BMW in 2012, he raced for Mercedes in DTM between 2005 and late 2011, finishing in second place after the 2005 and 2006 seasons. He also grabbed the last spot on the podium in 2010 and 2011.
BMW’s racing boss, Andreas Roos, calls Bruno Spengler “a legend in the history of BMW M Motorsport.”
In related news, 38-year-old BMW M works driver Maxime Martin is also leaving. He joined the team in 2013 to compete in the American Le Mans Series. From 2014 until 2017, he raced in DTM, winning the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in 2016 on his home turf. From 2018 until 2022, he was with Aston Marting Racing before returning to BMW in 2023.
After returning, Maxime Martin triumphed at Misano, Italy, for the 2023 and 2024 races of the GT World Challenge Europe. This season, he took home two podium finishes in the LMGT3 class and drove the M Hybrid V8 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Source: BMW
First published by https://www.bmwblog.com
