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20th
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Auto123.com is pleased to present you the latest column of Canadian Bruno Spengler, official driver for BMW and reigning champion of the DTM German touring car series.
He writes to you while preparing for pre-season testing in Barcelona, Spain.
Hello all,
Glad to be back for another column.
We're now just a month and a half away for the 2013 DTM season, which starts May 5th, in Hockenheim. And the waiting is killing me.
I miss the adrenaline of racing, the intense stress before qualifying, of the grid building up and of the race itself. I can't wait for the first red lights of the season to go off. Yet, the weeks separating me from that highly anticipated first race are going to zip by in a flash.
Since my last trip to Canada, where I spent the end of year celebrations with my friends and family, my agenda has been overflowing.
To start with, there was the ADAC celebration night in February (the ADAC is one of Germany's motorsport sanctioning body and a partner of the DTM championship). Then, in early March, I met with some of my most loyal fans in a Frankfurt restaurant, in Germany. For me, it was a way of saying thank you, and a chance to catch up with them - which is always hard to do properly on a race weekend. All in all a pleasant evening filled with good memories.
Right after that, I left for the Viareggio resort, in Northern Italy, for a week of training alongside my fellow BMW drivers. It was intense physical preparation, overseen by Dr. Ceccarelli his team at Formula Medicine, who are the best in the business of training race car drivers.
Despite the bad weather, we enjoyed a very good week that will go a long way during the season. It was great fun to hang with the other eighth drivers of the BMW DTM family. Even our boss Jens Marquardt, who is also good fun, spent a few days with us.
Over that week, I took a day off in Geneva to attend the auto show. There, I helped Karim Habib, BMW's chief designer, unveil the beautiful new 3-series GT.
I also visited our Leipzig factory, where the i3 and i8 models are assembled. Very interesting stuff indeed happening there! I got to look around and meet some of the staff, chat with them, sign a few autographs. Shortly afterwards, I had to travel to the Munich area, where an important BMW garage was celebrating its 30-year anniversary. I got to meet some more fans and do some more interviews.
In the coming weeks, the development of our M3 DTM ahead of the next season will kick into high gear. Lots of test days are lined up for us in Barcelona and Hockenheim. It's a opportunity to fine tune the car, even though what we can do is limited by the rules.
As you can see, I'm very busy. But I'm confident come the season-opener, we'll be 100% ready and even stronger than we were last year at the start of our first race. One way or another, I can't wait to get back to it! Did I mention I have the firm intention of keeping my title?
See you soon!
Bruno Spengler
www.brunospengler.com
He writes to you while preparing for pre-season testing in Barcelona, Spain.
Hello all,
Glad to be back for another column.
We're now just a month and a half away for the 2013 DTM season, which starts May 5th, in Hockenheim. And the waiting is killing me.
I miss the adrenaline of racing, the intense stress before qualifying, of the grid building up and of the race itself. I can't wait for the first red lights of the season to go off. Yet, the weeks separating me from that highly anticipated first race are going to zip by in a flash.
 |
| At the Geneva Motor Show. (Photo: WRi2) |
Since my last trip to Canada, where I spent the end of year celebrations with my friends and family, my agenda has been overflowing.
To start with, there was the ADAC celebration night in February (the ADAC is one of Germany's motorsport sanctioning body and a partner of the DTM championship). Then, in early March, I met with some of my most loyal fans in a Frankfurt restaurant, in Germany. For me, it was a way of saying thank you, and a chance to catch up with them - which is always hard to do properly on a race weekend. All in all a pleasant evening filled with good memories.
Right after that, I left for the Viareggio resort, in Northern Italy, for a week of training alongside my fellow BMW drivers. It was intense physical preparation, overseen by Dr. Ceccarelli his team at Formula Medicine, who are the best in the business of training race car drivers.
Despite the bad weather, we enjoyed a very good week that will go a long way during the season. It was great fun to hang with the other eighth drivers of the BMW DTM family. Even our boss Jens Marquardt, who is also good fun, spent a few days with us.
 |
| Training in Italy... (Photo: BMW) |
Over that week, I took a day off in Geneva to attend the auto show. There, I helped Karim Habib, BMW's chief designer, unveil the beautiful new 3-series GT.
I also visited our Leipzig factory, where the i3 and i8 models are assembled. Very interesting stuff indeed happening there! I got to look around and meet some of the staff, chat with them, sign a few autographs. Shortly afterwards, I had to travel to the Munich area, where an important BMW garage was celebrating its 30-year anniversary. I got to meet some more fans and do some more interviews.
In the coming weeks, the development of our M3 DTM ahead of the next season will kick into high gear. Lots of test days are lined up for us in Barcelona and Hockenheim. It's a opportunity to fine tune the car, even though what we can do is limited by the rules.
 |
| Team meeting at Schnitzer. (Photo: BMW) |
As you can see, I'm very busy. But I'm confident come the season-opener, we'll be 100% ready and even stronger than we were last year at the start of our first race. One way or another, I can't wait to get back to it! Did I mention I have the firm intention of keeping my title?
See you soon!
Bruno Spengler
www.brunospengler.com