How Timo Glock’s DTM comeback took place

Former BMW star Timo Glock has defined how he secured a return to the DTM this yr after being out of motion for the final three seasons.

The German has been recruited by Dorr Motorsport to guide its sophomore marketing campaign within the DTM, the place it is going to area a pair of McLaren 720S GT3 Evos.

Glock made various makes an attempt to return to the collection he referred to as his dwelling between 2013-21, following his departure from Components 1, however solely went so far as making one visitor look at Imola in 2022 with Ceccato Motors.

However an impromptu journey to final yr’s Hockenheim finale in October set issues rolling, ultimately resulting in him getting the chance to exchange the departing Clemens Schmid in Dorr’s DTM line-up this yr.

“Probability performed its half once more. I used to be visiting my mother and father with my daughter on the weekend and I solely realised three days beforehand that the DTM finale was at Hockenheim,” Glock instructed Motorsport.com’s sister title Motorsport-Complete.com.

“So I drove previous my buddy [and track’s managing director] Jochen Nerpel, was there for 2 hours and ran into my former GP2 race engineer Richard Selwin on the grid.

“Selwin and I all the time stayed in contact and saved saying we wanted to do one thing collectively.”

Glock had beforehand labored along with Selwin throughout his title-winning season with iSport in GP2 (now Components 2) in 2007.

In the previous couple of years, Selwin acted as an engineer for the Undertaking 1 BMW workforce in each the DTM and the World Endurance Championship, gaining expertise of working GT equipment.

Undertaking 1 was speculated to run Dorr Motorsport’s new DTM programme final season, solely to go bankrupt and power Dorr to arrange its personal operation. This additionally opened the door for Selwin to instantly be part of Dorr’s workforce.

“I say: ‘Hey, what are you doing right here?'” Glock recalled.

“He replied: ‘I am right here for Rainer Dorr and I am wanting within the background at how the workforce is ready up as a result of we’d need to do one thing for this [new] season’.

“Then he requested me: ‘Would you wish to get behind the wheel once more?’ I mentioned: ‘Would I wish to? In fact! I already spoke to them final yr’.”

Glock failed to seek out Rainer Dorr on the Hockenheim grid, however was capable of pay money for him within the days following the occasion.

The five-time DTM race winner already knew the Dorr workforce proprietor, having beforehand spoken about becoming a member of his workforce for the 2024 season.

“I despatched him a message two days later saying that if he needed to speak once more about working collectively, we might discuss on the telephone,” mentioned Glock.

“We did that – after which issues went fairly rapidly. We each had clear concepts concerning the subject – he had his, I had mine.”

Following the dialog, Dorr organised a monitor day at Hockenheim at a brief discover to provide Glock an opportunity to check out the McLaren 720S GT3.

“We made good use of the take a look at day and on the finish he mentioned: ‘We’d like somebody who has expertise’. And for me it was essential that Richard Selwin was on board,” he mentioned.

The 2 events rapidly got here to an settlement, with the deal being made public earlier than Christmas in December. 

This might be Glock’s first full programme since he raced within the Italian GT collection in 2022. He was dropped from BMW’s manufacturing facility roster on the finish of the season and has solely accomplished in a handful of races since then, with a Nurburgring 24 Hour look with two-time DTM champion Timo Scheider, Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Jeroen Bleekemolen and Briton Peter Cate being the spotlight.

Clemens Schmid, Dörr Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 Evo

Photograph by: Alexander Trienitz