Maxime Martin and BMW have gone their separate ways after five years.
Having driven their cars for private teams for two years prior, the 31-year-old has been a factory driver for the German marque in the DTM since 2014, finishing seventh or eighth in the championship every season. He won three races and stood on the podium a further seven times in 64 races, with 2017 being his most successful campaign.
He also drove for them in GT racing, winning a race in the Blancpain Sprint Cup in 2015 and also the prestigious Spa 24 Hours last year, following in his father’s footsteps by doing the latter. But his departure means he’ll take no more part in any of BMW’s activities, including their new WEC GT programme, having done initial testing with the M8.
Of his exit Martin said, “It has definitely been a wonderful time with BMW, being there for five years as official BMW works driver. You sometimes need new challenges and changes so I decided to leave for a new challenge. I am looking forward to what awaits me but it was a great time with BMW and I want to thank everybody involved in it.”
European F3 runner-up Joel Eriksson is the favourite to replace Martin, with BMW announcing their full line-up of drivers on 15th December.
Feature Image Credit – New challenge for Maxime Martin – BMW Motorsport wishes long-standing works driver all the best for the future.
