Martin Tomczyk’s debut year in the WEC
Exactly 12 months ago a new and exciting chapter in BMW’s sportscar history began as the M8 GTE made its public debut at Spa-Francorchamps.
In the incredibly competitive LMGTE Pro category the new BMWs have been developed and progressed to become genuine class contenders.
Among the new faces a year ago was 2011 DTM champion Martin Tomczyk who joined the series with the BMW Team MTEK squad.
At the 1000 Miles of Sebring in March, Tomczyk along with team-mates Nicky Catsburg and Alexander Sims scored their best result of the Super Season so far with second position.
“In general, with the result in Sebring it shows that the car can get good results and be a big threat,” said Tomczyk. “Things have been up and down this season, although the team have worked hard and there has been progress but there is always room for improvement. The aim will be to get a podium and a first victory.”
Tomczyk thinks that the LMGTE Pro class, which uses a new automatic Balance of Performance [BoP] system, took some time to get used to but has clearly shown that it is now helping to create even greater racing.
He explained: “The Aston Martin had a new car too at the start of the Super Season and with the auto BoP system it worked out quite well for us because we had big breaks between the races and the BoP affects races after such as Shanghai where it rained. I think we saw in Sebring that it all worked well and we were running very close together.”
The German driver said he is enjoying his first WEC season and has pinpointed the challenge of learning and exploring new tracks.
Tomczyk concluded: “Personally I have really enjoyed it because there have been many new tracks like Fuji, Shanghai and also Le Mans. It is always nice as a race driver to come to new surroundings and compete against new drivers.”
You can follow Tomczyk as he competes at the TOTAL 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps by downloading the free FIA WEC app or check the latest TV listings HERE.
