Spengler braced for ‘rookie’ Phillip Island test
DTM star Bruno Spengler says he is bracing himself for a tough initiation to the Australian GT Championship at Phillip Island this weekend.
Bruno Spengler, BMW Team MTEK BMW M4 DTM
XPB Images
The French-Canadian is making a flying visit down under between DTM rounds to team up with Morgan Haber in the brand new MARC GT BMW M6 GT3 at this weekend’s going Australian GT Championship/Australian Endurance Championship.
But despite being a DTM champion and having already raced an M6 at this year’s Daytona 24 Hours, Spengler isn’t expecting it to be an easy weekend at Phillip Island. In fact, between not knowing the circuit and the increasingly strong AGT field, he says he feels like a rookie.
“It won’t be that easy, because we only have two half hour practices,” said Spengler.
“So I will have to learn the track quickly. And there are a few drivers out there who know the track well, and a lot of good drivers. So it’s going to be a challenge for me.
“I’m a bit of a rookie, a newcomer. I’m ready for it, but I think it will be tough. We’ll see; I’m just going to give my best. We’ll try for a good result.”
Sims to offer advice
Spengler is the second BMW factory to make the trek out to Australia recently, with GT driver Alex Sims having recently completed a day of testing at Phillip Island with BMW Team SRM, and two days at Queensland Raceway with MARC GT.
That’s something that Spengler is hoping to take advantage of, with plans to make contact with Sims ahead of the weekend to get some tips on the tricky Island circuit.
“I’ve seen some videos on YouTube, and I’ve seen a data screenshot, stuff like that,” he said. “So I know the gears, I know the corners.
“I wanted to get in touch with Alex today, actually, to get a few tips about the track. I think it’s a quite tricky track, you have to learn it. It takes a bit of time.
“There are a lot of fast corners, and I think there are a few tricks you have to know to be fast around there.”
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments