In the run up to this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, Mika has been joined by Nico Rosberg and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster. Despite the obvious staging of their conversation, the insights are worthwhile reading and do a pretty good job of whetting our appetite for the race ahead.

* * *

It’s a scene that happens hundreds of thousands of times a day around the world: two people meet in a lift, greet each other and begin to chat about work and life. The twist in this particular story, though, is that the elevator is in Monte-Carlo; the two men are resident in the same apartment building, separated by little more than a few floors; and both have written their own chapters in the very exclusive grand prix racing history of Mercedes-Benz.

Mika Häkkinen was the first Mercedes-Benz world champion of the modern era, and a two-time title winner in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren Mercedes; Nico Rosberg is the first man to win a Grand Prix at the wheel of a Silver Arrow since the great Juan Manuel Fangio, in the third season of the return of the Silver Arrows. On the eve of the race around their home streets, the two men met to discuss their experiences as part of one of the most spectacular events in world sport.

The histories of Mika Häkkinen and Nico Rosberg have been intertwined for more than twenty years, when Nico was just a young boy and Mika worked with Keke Rosberg, who led his management team.

“I don’t remember when we first met – maybe Mika does!” laughs Nico when the question comes.

“Well, I started working with Keke at the end of 1987,” recalls Mika. “I think the first time we met must have been down here in Monaco in the early ‘90s. I was visiting Keke, and you were playing in your room! It’s possible I was his first sponsor in karting – do you remember that?”

“Yeah, sure,” laughs Nico. “It was 1997, I was 11 years old and competing in the French go-karting championship. I had a poster in my room with all my sponsors on there, and one of them was you!”

“My son is eleven now,” says Mika, picking up the thread. “I’m sure I did a contract with Keke that one day, when Nico will win races and be world champion, he has to start supporting my son Hugo!”

If the early stages of Nico’s career were supported by Mika – who today himself is a partner with Didier Coton in Aces Management and has, among others, young Finn Valtteri Bottas under his wing – the parallels between the two have only grown stronger as time has passed. Both Mika and Nico had to wait until their seventh Formula One season before climbing the top step of the podium – Mika after 96 races, at the 1997 European Grand Prix in Jerez; Nico in his 111th start, at this year’s Chinese Grand Prix. And both in their third seasons driving Mercedes-Benz-powered cars.

“Your first victory in Formula One always feels like it is a long time coming,” explains Mika. “And especially in my case – but when it arrives, the feeling is just amazing. But problems are part of life, and winning or losing, they don’t disappear. You need to keep understanding the cause of disappointments and where you and the team can improve.

“There is no point having your face upside down for one week – it’s better to pick up the phone, travel, see people, talk, organise yourself. Then you know that at the next event, you will be stronger – and if not the car, then yourself; you can always be better. Because the day when you have a car to win, you have to be ready. If not, it’s too late. I knew that one day I was going to win, it just took a long time.”

“I had exactly the same feeling – Ross, all the guys, kept telling me that the win would come, I just needed to stay patient and take my opportunity,” agrees Nico. “Of course, you get frustrated if it doesn’t go perfectly, but time takes that away and you keep going, follow the development, communicate constantly with the team.”

“Nico did a perfect weekend in China and deserves full credit for that win,” emphasises Mika. “It was not depending on circumstances or luck, but purely on his hard work. As a Mercedes-Benz ambassador, it was great not only to watch his achievements, but to enjoy seeing Mercedes-Benz back on the top step of the podium.”

Inevitably, the conversation soon turns to the unique challenge of racing around the Monegasque streets, which have been home to both of them for more than 20 years. For Nico, the tunnel was once the route to school, in the passenger seat next to his Mum or on the school bus. And that ‘local’ feel is one that Mika says remains throughout the weekend.

“I had some great victories in my career, but Monaco was something special,” remembers Mika. “I have lived here for 20 years and the thing you realise is that the people who work on the race track are also the people who live and work in Monaco – the police, the pompiers. In everyday life, these are the guys you see in the street and they say ‘hi’ as you walk past. To win in Monaco is like winning in your home streets, and you recognise faces all through the weekend.”

“It’s home for me too, of course,” picks up Nico. “I’ve grown up here, all my friends are here and my family, I know everybody and it’s very special to race here. Mentally, it’s quite a demanding weekend. You have a lot going on, a lot of PR events and appointments. Plus on track, too, it’s a bit more intense – but not so much. You need to be super concentrated at every circuit.”

“That’s true. But what changed for me was that, when I got a car that I would win races with, Monaco became more important for some reason. When you are hunting pole position in Monaco, your mind changes; you put yourself in a higher power, even though you think you are doing it already. When you are fighting for P11 or P12, you always think you are doing your maximum.

“But when I started fighting for pole, it just happened that I was working even harder to reach my goal – but not purposely. And of course, we changed the car, too: the steering lock, and the seating position to sit higher in the car, because the aero was not so important and we wanted to see the Armco properly.”

“That’s interesting, because we definitely make changes, too,” says Nico. “But I don’t think it’s common practice, even today.”

With that, the two men are off to inspect the circuit at the wheel of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster. Over the years, Mercedes-Benz has been synonymous with success in Monaco – from the three consecutive victories in 1935, 36 and 37 for Fagioli, Caracciola and von Brauchitsch respectively; to the seven Formula One victories for Mercedes-Benz power, including three of the last five.

And the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team will be working hard to add a new milestone to the company’s heritage this weekend.

Credit: words and pictures, Mercedes-Benz

Gallery

To mark the beginning of the 2012 DTM series at Hockenheimring next weekend, two special guests will be joining the Hockenheim opener – Michael Schumacher and Chinese Grand Prix winner Nico Rosberg.

To thank his German fans for their incredible support, Rosberg will be performing demonstration laps in the race-winning Silver Arrow driven by Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1955 F1 season.

Team mate Michael Schumacher will also entertain the crowd, but this time in the more modern 2011 Formula 1 Silver Arrow.

Michael said, “After a busy start to the Formula 1 season (with four flyaway races in succession), it will be nice to come back to Germany for the DTM season opener at Hockenheim on Sunday. I’m especially looking forward to the chance to give the fans a taste of a Formula 1 Silver Arrow in action.

“This will be my first visit to a DTM race in 20 years, and I hope that my brother and his fellow Mercedes-Benz drivers will get their season off to a great start.”

“I’m also looking forward to the first race for the newly formed Mercedes-Benz Junior Team, and its drivers Christian Vietoris, Robert Wickens and Roberto Merhi.

“Just like I did at the start of my career, these young drivers have the benefit of being supported by Mercedes-Benz as they make the step to top-flight motor racing.”

Michael will become a mentor to the junior team drivers, just as Jochen Mass was when the junior team comprised Schumacher, Wendlinger and Frentzen.

Nico has a more recent experience of DTM, volunteered his services at the Hockenheim season opener last year, as a DTM ‘taxi driver’.

“I have great memories of the DTM. The earliest date back to when my father was still racing”, said Nico. “Then I started competing in the various junior classes that are staged as part of the DTM race weekend as I started out on my own motorsport career. A lot has happened in the meantime, and the highlight so far was obviously my win in China one week ago.”

The Mercedes Junior Team (c.1991) – Fritz Kreuzpointner (23), Karl Wendlinger (22) and Michael Schumacher (22).

Gallery

Somewhat surprisingly, there’s no mention of Fernando Alonso, who won the grand prix and now leads the drivers’ championship.

* * *

Anyway, here is what he said:

Double world champion and Lotus Ambassador Emerson Fittipaldi gives us his thoughts on last weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix..

Lotus: This season is shaping up to be a classic. Have you been on the edge of your seat too?

Fittipaldi: The racing is better than last year and it’s good to see the teams closing in and in some cases being even faster than the Red Bulls. Of course it’s a great field with six world champions and a lot of new talent.

Lotus: Just two races in, and Kimi Raikkonen looks like he’s lost none of his speed. Are you surprised how quickly he’s got back to grips with F1?

Fittipaldi: I am surprised that it has taken no time for Kimi to be back at the top of his form. Michael Schumacher is on form this year too, but it took him two years to get back in the groove. Kimi was on it from the very first test.

Lotus: Romain Grosjean once again qualified strongly but ended in the gravel within four laps. What advice would you give him?

Fittipaldi: The same advice I’d give any driver, especially a young one: first you have to finish, then you can finish first.

Lotus: As a driver pairing, how good a partnership do you think Kimi and Romain make compared to the teams around them?

Fittipaldi: There are good pairings all around, and Lotus is no exception. With Kimi racing so well and Romain showing a lot of speed the pair will keep each other honest and the results will come.

Lotus: We had a red flag period for nearly an hour due to rain. How difficult is it for a driver psychologically when a race is suspended?

Fittipaldi: I’m totally in favour of stopping the race in critical aquaplaning conditions. There is nothing the driver can do to defend himself in these conditions. I actually believe the red flag period in this case to be beneficial to the drivers, they can enter again and re-start the race at their best.

Lotus: Lotus once again proved they are quick, but due to Kimi’s gearbox penalty they perhaps don’t have the optimum result. How do you think the E20 ranks compared to the McLaren, the Red Bull, the Mercedes and the Ferrari?

Fittipaldi: Lotus has made the most progress of any team. I am happy to celebrate the 40th anniversary of my 1972 World Championship with Lotus and see the marque becoming a serious contender in F1 again. I know so many of the people involved I am sure that they will get the job done. I have a lot of respect for the new management and especially for my friend Eric Boullier.

Lotus: In mixed-weather conditions, experience usually comes to the fore. How impressed were you with Sergio Perez, in just his second season, challenging for the lead like he did?

Fittipaldi: I have known Sergio since he was in karting, and he’s always been fast. He is Mexico’s new hope in F1, and this is great news. His strategy was perfect and he drove like a veteran, turning in the fast laps when it mattered and making everybody follow.

Lotus: You achieved success in F1 at an incredibly early age. What do you think is going through Sergio’s head right now? And how much is he daydreaming about Ferrari?

Fittipaldi: I think that he is taking things one at a time, and trying to do his best this season. Today he showed again that he is very focused, so I wouldn’t say he’s daydreaming just dealing with the present.

He’s also inclined towards making the odd spoof of himself, this time with the help of actor and comedian Nick Swardson.

The purpose of the video is to reveal Ken’s brand-new livery for 2012 and schedule of appearances – this is Part 1, whilst Part 2 will appear next Monday (20th Feb.).

Block’s 2012 program brings forth not only a new look for the Master Hoonigan, but also a new focus and more varied direction moving into the 2012 race season, which includes campaigning a full season in the highly-anticipated Global RallyCross Championship, while continuing to compete in the World Rally Championship.

“I’m super stoked to be able to run such a diverse schedule this year,” said Block. “Global RallyCross is shaping up to be a very exciting and new championship here in the United States and I’m looking forward to the new challenges that will bring. I’m also thrilled that despite committing to the full GRC season, I’m still going to be able to fit three WRC events into my schedule, as well as a handful of Rally America and Canadian Rally races.

“I don’t think there’s another driver out there that gets to compete in so many different series, as well as gets to do awesome side projects like Gymkhana FIVE and my Gymkhana World Tour. I’m truly a lucky bastard because this is going to be an amazing year!”

Three different Ford Fiestas will aid Block in his 19-event attack this year. Each cloaked in a fresh, new graphic scheme, which also carries over to an entirely new line of team gear available from DC.

The Hybrid Function Hoon Vehicle (H.F.H.V.) will take on the lion’s share of events, competing in all the GRC rounds and X Games, plus select Rally America and Canadian rallies. It will also return to star in Gymkhana FIVE, which will debut mid 2012.

While the M-Sport prepared Ford Fiesta RS WRC will be used at Rally Mexico, Rally New Zealand and Rally Finland. Leaving the Olsberg MSE-built four-door Fiesta on the road for the 5 stops of the Gymkhana World Tour.

“We really went all-out for our launch this year,” said Block. “I phoned in favors to two great friends to assist in our launch videos. My buddy, actor and comedian Nick Swardson, came out in a huge way and took my place to give some ridiculous answers to questions during the first part of our season launch program in our 2012 Q&A video.

“Also, my long-time friend and fellow DC athlete, skateboarder, Steve Berra came out to lend his video skills on the second part of our season launch program, our schedule and livery reveal video. They both absolutely killed it and I’m beyond stoked with the results.”

Created in 1988 by former rally driver Michèle Mouton, the only female WRC event winner, and Fredrik Johnsson, the Race of Champions has become the most eagerly-anticipated after party of the motorsport season. This year’s event, run on the 3rd and 4th December, returned to Dusseldorf’s ESPRIT Arena, the venue where relative newcomer Felipe Albuquerque took the overall ‘Champion of Champions’ cup in 2010.

Taking part this year were seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher, the reigning 2011 F1 title-holder Sebastian Vettel and a selection of the biggest names on two and four wheels including, Moto-X rider and rallycross driver Travis Pastrana, 2011 DTM champion Martin Tomczyk, Britain’s Jenson Button and Andy Priaulx, F1 drivers Vitaly Petrov, Timo Glock and Romain Grosjean and of course last year’s RoC Champion of Champions, the Portugese DTM driver Felipe Albuquerque.

Neil Cole interviews the irrepressible Travis Pastrana.

For the first time in ages, multiple WRC champion Sebastien Loeb was absent from the field, but in his place were three rising stars of rallying; Sébastien Ogier (Loeb’s Citroen WRC team mate in 2011), Jan Kopecký (2011 IRC runner-up for Skoda) and Juho Hänninen (Super 2000 WRC champion in 2011).

Naturally, the bookies’ favourite was Sebastian Vettel, the man who could do no wrong in F1 during 2011, clinching his second successive drivers title, but the field was more than adequately blessed with champions, including three F1 world champions, together with champions of DTM, X-Games, WTCC and Le Mans.

If you haven’t already seen the highlights, then I’ll not spoil the surprise by telling you who wins, but you can get up to speed by watching the official review video fronted by well-known TV presenter, Neil Cole.

In fact, that’s the real reason for this post, to draw your attention to Neil’s first column in ROAD magazine, appropriately named “Cole Position”.

Neil has been a familiar face on our TV screens during recent years, presenting the official WRC coverage on DAVE and live interviews at Race of Champion events. This time he provides an exclusive insight for ROAD readers into what it really feels like to muck around off-camera with the finest drivers in the world.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you.

Neil has an on-camera chat with Michael Schumacher.

Race Of Champions 2011

I am standing in an underground car-park, shoulder to shoulder with Jenson Button, Andy Priaulx and Travis Pastrana – three men at the very top of their individual trees.

We are watching the live TV output of a race… a race taking place about 40 feet and several thousand tonnes of concrete, grass, metal and tarmac above our heads.

The camera cuts to an onboard shot of Tom Kristensen’s face – clearly visible in HD & an open-face helmet – wide-eyed, gurning and snarling as he fights a KTM X-Bow around a tight 1.2km parallel circuit. All four of us burst out laughing at the Le Mans’ legend’s extreme facial expressions.

“TK – you’re an ANIMAL!” says JB. (Initials are the usual abbreviation, just ask DC) and everybody laughs again.

This is the spirit of Race Of Champions. It has the feel of a millionaire’s stag weekend: yes, all the drivers are there to WIN, and to represent their sponsors and charities, but ultimately it is the closest we get to the Good Old Days of Motorsport where gentlemen drivers would walk out of the pub, stub out a cigarette, jump in the cockpit, spit on their hands and RACE.

Read the remainder of Neil’s article in ROAD 22: “Motorsport Monsters”.

Keep up to speed with Neil on Twitter – @neilcole and Facebook.

DC Shoes’ Gymkhana 4 – The Hollywood Megamercial, reached 2nd place in this year’s chart, but unlike Volkswagen’s Super Bowl ad released in February, Gymkhana 4 has only been out for just 3 months. We were interested in speaking with the Hoonigan himself, finding out what motivates him to be so successful and what he’s got in store for us in 2012.

Over the course of an enjoyable hour with Ken Block, I got to know the businessman, motorsport fan and driver, during which time I learned how little of the enormous success of Gymkhana had gone to his head. We also explored whether his two seasons in WRC had made him a better driver, his attitude to driving stunts on the public road and his reflections on competing against Kimi Raikkonen in rallying.

We covered a lot of ground, so bear with me as I try to relay the conversation, which was squeezed into his busy schedule whilst testing his H.F.H.V. Ford Fiesta at the Dirtfish Rally School, east of Seattle.

Let’s start with the commercial side of his life, namely his behind-the-scenes role as Chief Brand Officer of DC Shoes.

DC Shoes and the Gymkhana videos

If you don’t already know, 44-year old Block co-founded DC Shoes together with Damon Way back in 1993, before selling to surf clothing giant Quiksilver Inc. for $87 million in 2003. Back in 2003/2004 DC Shoes was generating nearly $100 million in revenue which has since grown to around $500 million (in 2010), so if you’d pictured Block as a fun loving daredevil without any work ethic, think again.

DC Shoes was one of the first skateboard shoe companies to make extensive use of professional endorsements, and in Block’s role as Chief Brand Officer he joined Travis Pastrana in 2006 to compete for Subaru Rally Team USA. After competing successfully in the 2006 Rally America National Championship (finishing 2nd overall), Block embraced the world of X Games – finishing 3rd in the very first event.

The original Gymkhana video appeared in September 2008, but like all the best viral marketing success stories, Block really didn’t plan to create his own Internet meme. Earlier in the year with plans to enter himself in a local Gymkhana event in Southern California, Block invited California-based Crawford Performance to build him a 530hp Subaru Impreza STi, but when the competition was cancelled Block decided to put his car to use and filmed the 4:25 minute video ‘Ken Block Gymkhana Practice’. He’d basically built a car, but had nothing else to do with it.

Since then the original Gymkhana video has clocked up 11.2 million views on YouTube, so that’s over 22 million views at his first attempt.

Ken Block takes to the streets of Los Angeles to test out Ford’s new SYNC system in his H.F.H.V. Ford Fiesta race car.

I then asked Ken what effect has Gymkhana, as a series from 1 to 4, had on the DC Shoes brand and on the personality of the brand in the way that they are able to convey what it is about DC Shoes that people should engage with?

“Whilst DC has always spent its marketing dollars selling product to the core skateboarders, snowboarders and surfers, we needed a way to reach people who shop in the larger mall chains such as Pacific Sunwear here in the States, so that’s where this Gymkhana series has really been successful for us – getting the name and product in front of the kids that go shop at those more mainstream outlets.”

“For us it’s been a huge success in that way, doing exactly what viral marketing is supposed to do – you put something out there that’s great eye-candy that people enjoy watching and that in turn ends up being a way to promote and sell those products.”

SD:  But obviously it’s more than just eye-candy, isn’t it Ken? Because people wouldn’t carry on being engaged with the Gymkhana series if they didn’t identify with the videos, either because they aspire to be like you, or they recognise something in you that they see in themselves.

SD:  I am sure you are aware that Gymkhana 2 wasn’t initially as successful as your first video when it came out, mainly because the marketing message was more prominent. Are you conscious of that feedback and have you then adjusted your approach to better meet the expectations of the audience?

SD:  This week we’ve been celebrating the Viral Video Chart’s Top 20 branded videos of all time in which Gymkhana 4 is the 5th most viral with 2.1 million shares, whilst Gymkhana 3 is 2nd with 2.7 million shared (incidentally top is Volkswagen’s ‘The Force’ with 4.7 million shares).

Visit Unruly Media’s Viral Video Chart for more information and to read the article, “Darth Vader can’t Gymkhana”.

Whilst Volkswagen’s ad has been viewed 46 million times and shared socially an incredible 4.71 million times, Gymkhana 4 has so far received 12.9 million views in the 3 months since it was launched. That’s a share/view rate of 16.3% compared to 10.2% for the pocket-sized Vader meme, and compares against 6.3% for Gymkhana 3. All in all, Gymkhana is on target to have clocked up 150 million views since its inception in 2008. That makes it the most successful series of branded videos of all time.

Naturally I asked Block, why he believed the series has been so successful, and what he can do to top this again with Gymkhana 5?

Some words of advice for other marketeers

SD:  Without giving away any trade secrets, what would be your advice to other marketers seeking to connect with their audiences and emulate your success with their own campaigns?

You watch the videos. Then you buy the shoes. Capiche?

SD:  I think what a lot of brands haven’t got their heads around yet is that social media marketing is all about truth, and integrity and engaging with an audience on real values – not because it’s a more honourable medium, but there’s no hiding place, so the brands that succeed are the ones who allow their customers to come inside and engage with them on an equal level.

And it plays to those brands who are able to speak from a personal, rather than corporate, level and that’s very much what Gymkhana enables DC Shoes to do.

SD:  And there’s also you as a personality. A lot of brands don’t have a person that people can connect to, nor do they express much in the way of a personality for the brand as a whole. Consumers need to connect with a brand at this personal level in order for social marketing to work.

Combining his love of design and creativity with driving

SD:  You started out designing silk-screen T-shirts, do you still enjoy creative design and how much of your input goes into the Gymkhana videos?

Before he allows me to move on, Ken then asks me a question about the appetite of audiences for feature-length videos.

SD:  Not really. Several years ago we were one of the first content provoiders to produce videos longer than 10-minutes and found that if the content was rich and engaging enough, then people would sit through 10 or even 20 minutes of automotive content with very little drop off – in fact 80% or more would watch these videos from beginning to end.

On our branded content platform, SkiddPlayer, we regularly see the longer-form version of adverts (2 mins or more) outperforming the 15 or 30 second spots and as more people view these videos from portable devices such as iPads, the time people are prepared to spend will most likely increase. Online viewers are now so used to watching Top Gear and other TV programs online (on Hulu or BBC iPlayer), that they’re often looking for something with a story which provides good entertainment. You simply cannot achieve that within 30 seconds or even 1 minute.

Whilst the average time spent online is still half of that spent watching TV, it is growing and will soon be 3 hours per day for adults. So it’s getting easier to find room for 7-minutes of self-indulgent automotive hoonery.

The Gymkhana World Tour

SD:  This year’s 3-stop Gymkhana World Tour was hugely successful – tell us more about your plans to make the tour “bigger and better” in 2012.

Partnering with other brands

SD:  Since choosing to drive with Ford (Focus & Fiesta) your promotional connection with the car you drive has become more prominent (i.e. 43 Fiestas campaign) – how do you balance the interests of each brand? (Monster Energy, Ford, DC Shoes, Mobil 1 etc)

SD:  I then mention the DiRT3 launch at Battersea, London earlier this year which I joined.

The meaning of #43

SD:  Ken, there’s one thing I’ve always wanted to ask you, what’s the significance of your trademark No.43 race number?

Yo Australia! Please hoon responsibly.

SD:  When at the Melbourne leg of the Gymkhana World Tour you spent time appealing to your fans to hoon ‘responsibly’ – are you concerned about fans trying to copy your stunts on the road?

SD:  Are you involved in any road safety programs yourself?

The World Rally Championship (WRC)

SD:  How have you found your first 2 seasons in WRC?

SD:  How did you feel being the sole American in a mainly European-dominated championship?

SD:  Has it helped you become a better driver?

SD:  What do you think is the main difference between you and the more experienced competitors such as Hirvonen, Loeb and Solberg?

SD:  Rallying is much closer to the Gymkhana style of driving, but do you have an interest in circuit racing as well?

SD:  Ok, we’re on the home straight – last few thoughts now. Colin McRae would have loved Gymkhana wouldn’t he?

SD:  You’ve raced against Kimi Raikkonen in WRC and he’s now heading back to F1 in 2012. How do you rate him?

SD:  Would you expect Kimi to be a better driver than when he was last in F1?

SD:  Would you like to drive Formula 1 yourself?

SD:  Finally, last weekend was the annual Race of Champions event in Dusseldorf. We would love to see you take part, have you been asked?

SD:  Ken, thanks very much for your time. We are very impressed with what you have achieved in your business and in your sport, so keep doing what you do so well and we’ll keep watching.

Images: Kindly provided by DC Shoes and Ken Block Racing.

BMW will be represented in the DTM by three factory teams, BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW Team RBM and BMW Team RMG. Each team will enter two of BMW’s M3 DTM cars, shown for the first time in its BMW M Performance livery at last weekend’s season finale in Hockenheim.

Spengler made his debut in the DTM in 2005, and has made a solid impression on the series. The 28-year-old has been on the top step of the podium nine times in 74 starts. In addition, the French-Canadian has claimed 11 pole positions and set 12 fastest laps to date. Twice – in 2006 and 2007 – Spengler narrowly missed out on the DTM title, ending up second in the drivers’ classification on each occasion. In 2011 he finished third overall for Mercedes-Benz.

“In recent weeks we have not only been developing the BMW M3 DTM, but have also been working on the driver line-up for our return to the DTM,” says BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt.

“Outside our current line-up, Bruno Spengler was one of our top choices. Despite his youth he has a lot of DTM experience, which will greatly assist us during our development phase and on race weekends. For this reason, we did not hesitate when the opportunity to sign Bruno up arose. We have yet to decide which of our three teams he will drive for. That will be announced at a later stage.”

Spengler initially made his name in Formula Renault and Formula 3 before making his debut in the DTM in 2005. He scored his first points with a sixth place at the Lausitzring (DE) and went on to claim his first win at the Norisring (DE) a year later. He followed up that victory with his first pole position at the Nürburgring (DE). He has since developed into one of the top drivers in this series.

BMW works driver Dirk Werner completed two laps of the Hockenheim track in the “BMW M Performance Accessories M3 DTM”, with eight-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen joining him in the new 2012 Audi A5 DTM.

Audi’s Hans-Jürgen Abt spoke about his enthusiasm for the 2012 season, “I’m already looking forward to a new era in the DTM. Continuing with the new cars for Audi and meeting with BMW as another competitor is a huge challenge. For the team as well it’s a huge task. It has to sort itself anew with the new technology.

2012 Audi A5 DTM driven by Tom Kristensen

I know that I’ve got a tremendous squad. I look forward to us taking on the competition. That has always been our strength, particularly at the beginning of such a new era. We’ll let ourselves be surprised.”

BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt said: “This event was something very special for us. Since the early morning there have been clusters of people around our car, and it was simply breathtaking to be able to present our car in front of such a crowd.

The reactions to our car were all positive. Today gave us all a lot of extra motivation to present ourselves in top form in half a year’s time at the same venue.”

Fitted with a powerful new V8 engine generating approximately 480 bhp, the M3 DTM accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in a little over three seconds and has a theoretical top speed of nearly 190 mph.

BMW works driver Dirk Werner commented: “It was a great experience to be able to do today’s demonstration laps. Obviously I drove the BMW M3 DTM at the recent tests – but a stage like this really is something special. You could feel the spine tingling atmosphere even in the car.”

2012 BMW M3 DTM which was driven by Dirk Werner at Hockenheim today

The new “BMW M Performance Accessories” livery of the BMW M3 DTM had been presented to a few members of the public at the BMW Autohaus Krauth in Heidelberg (DE) on Friday.

Around three months earlier, on July 15th, the BMW M3 DTM concept car was officially presented at the BMW Welt in Munich (DE). From 2012 on, BMW will compete in the DTM with three strong teams, the BMW Team Schnitzer, the BMW Team RBM and the BMW Team RMG. The BMW works drivers Andy Priaulx (GB) and Augusto Farfus (BR) have already been confirmed as drivers for the 2012 season.

The DTM finale takes place this coming weekend (October 23rd) at the Hockenheimring and with the regulations changing for 2012, Mercedes has chosen to remind us of their rich and illustrious history in the series, by sharing some images below.

Since 2000, when the DTM series was revived, Mercedes-Benz have won 18 out of the 25 races staged at Hockenheim, which is a win rate of over 70 percent. But Audi’s A4 DTM is none too shabby either – 43 pole positions, 31 fastest race laps, 34 victories and five champion’s titles since its debut in April 2004 at Hockenheim.

Spengler said, “The Hockenheimring is one of my favourite tracks, and the season opener in May went really well for us – it was the second win in my career at the circuit. I especially like the combination of fast corners and slow sections such as the hairpin. This course is technically very demanding and you need good brakes and impressive top speed. It’s a lot of fun racing here. As this is the last race for the DTM AMG Mercedes C-Class, we’re aiming to send our fans home happy with a victory and to win the team championship.”

Audi Sport driver Mattias Ekström spoke of his thoughts before the weekend, “It’s always nice to travel to Hockenheim. It will conclude the season. This time I’m arriving there completely relaxed and will try to deliver a solid performance. I want to clinch another good result before we can look forward to the winter break and the tests with the new A5 DTM.”

So, the gloves are off for what should be a stunning season finale, which will be made even more special by the first display of all 2012 championship contenders on track at the same time – the Audi A5 DTM, the BMW M3 DTM and the DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé will all take to the racetrack for some demonstration laps, providing fans with their first taste of what to expect in 2012.

Without further ado, I’ll let you absorb the latest images from Mercedes-Benz showcasing the history of the C-Class DTM.

Paul di Resta, 2010 DTM Champion.

Klaus Ludwig, Champion, 1994 DTM Champion.

MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One car next to a THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Class at the DTM Festival in Munich, 2011.

Bernd Schneider, 2006 DTM Champion.

Bernd Schneider, 1995 DTM Champion.

2004 DTM pre-season test in Barcelona.

Gary Paffett, 2005 DTM Champion at Hockenheim.

Bernd Schneider 1995 & 2000 DTM Champion with the AMG Mercedes CLK and C-Class.

The team completed two productive days of testing with three newly developed BMW M3 DTM cars. BMW works drivers Andy Priaulx (GB), Augusto Farfus (BR), Jörg Müller (DE) and Dirk Müller (DE) were all in action on Monday and Tuesday at the first joint test for all manufacturers represented in the 2012 DTM season, gaining more valuable experience with the car and making another step towards the DTM comeback of BMW next year.

“We can look back positively on the test at the Lausitzring,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt. ”Our four drivers got a lot of kilometres under their belts at the Lausitzring and collected a lot of data. It was interesting to test together with our rivals for the first time, although it is still too early to make any real comparisons between the manufacturers.

Congratulations to Audi and Mercedes-Benz. They will also be lining up with really beautiful and impressive cars. I think the fans can look forward to a great season with the BMW M3 DTM, the Audi A5 DTM and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupé.”

BMW Motorsport headed to the Lausitzring with its three teams – BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW Team RBM and BMW Team RMG – to continue the development work with the BMW M3 DTM. The drivers assessed different set-up variations and completed extensive tyre tests. In addition, the Lausitzring provided a perfect opportunity to test the efficiency of many new components out on the track.

Dirk Müller and Jörg Müller, who both took to the track in the BMW M3 DTM for the first time, were impressed by the new car. “Monday’s test was great fun,” said Dirk Müller. “It reminded me of my time in single-seater racing. The BMW M3 DTM also generates a lot of downforce. I felt comfortable with the car from the word go.”

Jörg Müller added: “As a driver, you obviously have to get used to a car like this. The BMW M3 DTM is very responsive and is unbelievably good turning into corners. You can feel the immense downforce in the fast corners. We spent a lot of time on the track on Tuesday and learned a lot.”

The next test with the BMW M3 DTM is scheduled for 21st/22nd September 2011 at the Hungaroring near Budapest (HU). Dirk Müller and Dirk Werner (DE) will continue the BMW Motorsport testing programme alongside Priaulx and Farfus.