MB Partners driver Tom Blomqvist celebrated becoming the unofficial DTM “Rookie of the Year” this weekend after finishing P7 and P17 for his BMW Team RBM in the ninth and final round of the championship in Hockenheim this weekend.
Tom Blomqvist, driving the #31 BMW M4 DTM, qualified with a time of 1:32.808 minutes starting from the fourth row of the grid in P8. Tom finished the race in P7. He commented: “I got off to a very good start and made up a lot of places. I struggled at first after the safety car phase, but then found my rhythm again and was able to hang on to seventh place and pick up some valuable points for BMW.”
For race two, Tom was 12th fastest in qualifying with a time of 1:33.056 minutes round the 4.574 kilometres track. He came home 17th after a drive-through penalty, for a collision with Robert Wickens (CA) on lap 12.
The weekends results completed Tom’s debut season and the 21-year-old claimed the unofficial title of “Rookie of the Year” finishing 14th in the driver standings with 59 points. He qualified in the top ten on nine occasions and finished in the points six times. He is the fourth BMW driver in a row to win the crown, following in the footsteps of Augusto Farfus (2012), Marco Wittmann (2013) and Maxime Martin (2014). Picking up his maiden win in Oschersleben, mean that all eight BMW DTM drivers have now won at least one DTM race in their careers. He is also the second youngest driver to win a DTM race.
BMW defended its lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship in the 18th and final race of the 2015 DTM season to claim the title for the third time in four years, taking first place with 602 points. BMW also picked up 167 of a possible 196 points the weekend of Tom’s maiden win in Oschersleben – more than any other manufacturer scored in one single race weekend.
Tom Blomqvist commented on the manufacturer’s win: “Congratulations to BMW on this title. We fought hard all year and made the most of our chances. I was unlucky at the start on Sunday, and was then given a drive-through penalty following a collision. Fortunately, my fellow BMW drivers scored enough points to win the title. Today is a very good day for BMW.”
Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director, added: “It is fantastic to end the 2015 DTM season as the champion manufacturer. This title is always proof of an outstanding team effort over the course of a season. It belongs to every one of us in the team – whether driver, engineer or mechanic, and was primarily possible thanks to the fighting spirit shown by every single one of us. After a difficult start, we improved over the course of the season. When presented with the opportunity to get good results, we took full advantage – such as with our top-seven lock-out in Zandvoort. Five different race winners in the BMW M4 DTM also shows that we achieved our goal for 2015, which was to be more competitive across the board. I am very proud of that. Congratulations to Pascal Wehrlein and Mercedes on winning the Drivers’ title.”
This is the latest chapter in the Bavarian manufacturer’s success story in the most fiercely-contested touring car series in the world.
In association with MBP
