How Timo Glock, who returns to the DTM in Imola with Ravaglia’s Ceccato team, is faring in the Italian GT Championship and how Jens Klingmann is experiencing the partner
BMW works driver Timo Glock, who has been relegated to the Italian GT Championship by the Munich-based team after nine years in the DTM, will make a DTM comeback as a guest starter at the upcoming DTM weekend in Imola. And he will do so with Roberto Ravaglia’s Ceccato team, with whom he also competes in Italy.
But how has the 40-year-old, who had a tough DTM year last year after switching to GT3 with Rowe, settled in there? “Things are going super well with Timo – even after the difficult year in the DTM,” says BMW works driver colleague Jens Klingmann, who shares the BMW M4 GT3 with Glock and took victory with him straight away at the Monza opener of the sprint series.
“I’m sure he enjoyed driving before too, but now you can tell he’s really enjoying competing for wins again,” “He’s really up for it – and after his first win he’s even more motivated than before. “
Glock at halfway with Klingmann in the lead
And the duo, who are currently tied for the championship lead with Leonardo Moncini and Jacopo Guidetti in the Honda NSX, have every chance of winning the title in the four-weekend, eight-race sprint series. And according to Glock, he is more comfortable with the M4 GT3 than with the M6 GT3.
In Misano, Glock finished the second race from seventh on the grid in third place after a spectacular overtaking manoeuvre, after a collision in the first race had knocked them out of the points. But the starting situation had been difficult anyway, because in the series you have to serve additional time in the pits instead of success ballast. In the first race, that was a whopping 15 seconds.
“I’d rather have ten or 15 kilos, because getting a 15-second lead is pretty tough when the race only lasts 50 minutes plus one lap,” Klingmann said. Nevertheless, the atmosphere internally is quite excellent, which is also due to Glock.
Klingmann: Openness with Glock the key
“Timo laughs a lot and is in a very good mood,” says Klingmann. “And when success comes, it’s always twice as much fun.” He also feels the “commitment” of touring car legend Ravaglia’s team. “You can tell that they absolutely want to race for the championship – especially with two works drivers. And that’s why everyone is highly motivated. “
The collaboration between Glock and Klingmann, who are always the butt of jokes on social media, was also key, he said. “We said straight away at the beginning: ‘Let’s be completely open with each other – if you know something, then tell me.’ And if I know something, I’ll tell you in the same way,'” says Klingmann, who completed most of the test work with the new M4 GT3 together with Augusto Farfus.
“There is only one BMW in the field – and either we are successful together or neither of us is. Timo didn’t know that from the DTM and Formula 1 that you share a car with a team-mate. He hadn’t done much ‘driver change practice’ either, but the cooperation is going very well.”
Glock also sometimes approaches him and asks: “You know the car really well, do you have a tip?”, Klingmann reveals. “And sometimes I see that he is faster in a sector. We’re pretty much on a par there. And it’s really fun when you can trust the other person. “