DTM Final Race took place on 21 Oct 2012. As you might know, BMW took the first place in the race and overall winner for the season. This was the very first year for BMW after 20 year absence on the DTM scene, but they showed everybody who's the boss.
Early morning that day, four of ///M Flight members set off on a 1.5hr trip from Kaiserslautern to Hockenheim Ring. Present for the mission were myself, Hans Trower (///M Flight President), David Baker & Len Baker (Managing Directors of Pentagon Car Sales - son & father). We were debating on what vehicle or vehicles to take. First we were thinking about a convoy of the following: my E90 M3 Frozen Black, Hans' SSII E92 M3, David's Sakhir Orange F13 M6 and Len's Monte Carlo F10 M5 (all but Hans equipped with Akrapovic systems). However, we decided to take only Len's F10 M5 due to the convenience of one vehicle and less hassle with parking. It was a foggy morning, but it cleared up pretty quick and off we went. Drive there was without any major surprises, but when we were about few miles out of the Hockenheim track, we got stuck in some heavy traffic. It seemed like everyone and their mother in Germany were going there that day. Only other issue we ran into was that this M5 was still limited and we "only" reached 165mph (267km/h) whenever it was clear on the autobahn. It didn't take no time to get there either.
I should of mentioned, that our entire trip was a courtesy of Akrapovic. They have provided us with the VIP passes for the race, which included premium seating, access to all BMW stands, driver's pits, small gift bag and some other things.
When we got to our designated BMW parking, we had a nice 7 series shuttle waiting to take us to the BMW Guest Hospitality Area. Upon checking in, we were provided with a nice little gift bag that included an ///M Jacket, I /// Fan t-shirt, seating pad, Motorsport book, and ///M earplugs. Then we made our way upstairs to meet up with our friends from AKRAPOVIC, whom made this event a possibility for us ///M Flight members. Worth mentioning is the fact that Pentagon Car Sales is now authorized distributor of Akrapovic exhaust systems and David's F13 M6 was the first M6 in the world to receive the very first M6 Akra Evo system. It was also featured on the Paris Auto Show displayed by Akrapovic. Akrapovic crew is a group of very cool guys, that know their product and know what the customer wants. As a matter of fact, ///M Flight has been invited to visit their location in Slovenia. We are now planning a trip sometime next year to see where the Akrapovic product is being made. After nice chatting and exchanging of info with Akrapovic crew, we started making our way to the BMW Experience Area. On the way there we went by other less fortunate auto makers areas, looked at the BMW drivers pits and finally situated ourselves in our seats. The race itself took about 1hr 20 minutes, but it was a spectacle. BMW teams put up a great fight. They were trailed by Mercedes entire time, but Bruno never gave up. Go BMW!!!
As always with BMW, this was a first class event. Before the race we were able to enjoy some catered meals, deserts and drinks, see interviews with the drivers. Alex Zanardi was also one of the featured guests. Lots of ///M Division top execs were present to include the ///M Division CEO. Overall, very well put together show. Some say that DTM races are like NASCAR in the US, but there's a small difference. DTM has lots of turns and twists, and not just oval circles.
Thank you again to AKRAPOVIC for making this an enjoyable event. Your customer for life