Four young talents in the cockpit of the BMW M4 DTM
At the DTM Young Driver Test held this week in Jerez de la Frontera (ES), BMW Motorsport offered four young drivers the opportunity to gain a first experience with the BMW M4 DTM. The three-day test took place from Tuesday to Thursday.
On this occasion, the two BMW Motorsport Juniors Jesse Krohn (FI) and Louis Delétraz (CH), as well as BMW works driver Alexander Sims (GB) and talented British driver George Russell, were in action at the wheel of the BMW M Performance Parts BMW M4 DTM.
Krohn was crowned “BMW Motorsport Junior of the Year” in 2014. In the past 2015 season he raced the BMW Z4 GT3 in the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring (DE), and competed in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) with the BMW Z4 GTE.
Delétraz participated in the BMW Motorsport Junior Programme this year. Sims is also in action in GT racing and contested the British GT Championship and the Blancpain Endurance Series with Ecurie Ecosse in 2015. Seventeen-year-old Russell drove his debut season in the Formula 3 European Championship this year, and finished sixth overall.
With sunshine and mild temperatures, the four young drivers had good weather conditions for their first laps in the BMW M4 DTM. The reference laps, which serve for comparisons at the DTM Young Driver Test, were completed by BMW DTM driver Tom Blomqvist (GB).
In addition, BMW Motorsport continued the test programme with the BMW M6 GT3 at Jerez. The newly developed GT race car was driven by BMW works drivers Dirk Werner (DE) and Jens Klingmann (DE).
Quotes after the DTM Young Driver Test in Jerez.
Jesse Krohn:
“The test in the BMW M4 DTM was a dream come true for me. The DTM is the pinnacle of tin-top-racing; it is the highest class you can reach in a car with a roof over you. It was amazing – just as good as I expected, probably even better. The downforce was just amazing, as was the way you are able to enter all the quick corners flat without the car moving. That was mind blowing. This test was an awesome experience for me and the perfect ending to my best season so far in racing.”
Louis Delétraz:
“It was really amazing to drive the BMW M4 DTM. I really enjoyed it. It has a lot of downforce, a lot of power and also the braking is impressive. To be honest, my expectations have even been exceeded. I was surprised how quick it went into the corners – that was awesome. I am really happy that BMW Motorsport offered me this opportunity. It was a great end to the year.”
Alexander Sims:
“It was pretty awesome. I have heard a lot of good things about the BMW M4 DTM and it was fantastic to experience it myself. The car has a lot of aerodynamic downforce. It means that when you are braking and going into a corner you have to be very precise with the amount of braking pressure, and also the steering input. That is different to the GT car and it took some time to adapt to, but in the end it was pretty good. Also the amount of power the car has is awesome – as is the braking. With carbon brakes it slows down very quickly, and that was very impressive. Overall, it was a fantastic test.”
George Russell:
“It was the first time that I had driven such a car with such pace and it was a great experience. The test went really well and I enjoyed driving the BMW M4 DTM. It was the first time I had experienced a tin-top with this much grip. It was just incredible and being able to be on the limit was great. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I especially liked the downforce – it was a great feeling being in such a big car, weighing so much and having this much grip. There are many similarities between a Formula 3 car and a DTM car. They both have a lot of downforce and impressive horse power, so for me as a Formula 3 driver it did not take long to adapt. Overall it has been a great experience to test the BMW M4 DTM.”
