Martin Tomczyk has announced that he is calling time on his career as a professional racing driver.
The 40-year-old made his racing debut in the German Formula 3 championship in 2000, which marked the beginning of a 21-year career that was saw him aligned with German manufacturers Audi and BMW.
Tomczyk broke the news on his social media, where he also hinted at a new role with DTM, although he did not go into specifics.
“The time has come to start something new,” he wrote. “At the end of the year, I will end my 21-year professional career and return to the DTM.”
“In future, I will be working with Gerhard Berger and ITR in DTM and I am looking forward to giving something back to my sport in a different position!”
“I would like to thank everyone who has supported me all these years, who has encouraged me, who has cheered with me, suffered with me and celebrated my successes. Thank you.”
“I still love this sport and will continue to do my best, just not behind the wheel anymore.”
The vast majority of Tomczyk’s career was spent in the DTM, where he would make the first of 196 race starts with Abt Sportsline in 2001.
In 2011 he beat Mattias Ekström to the DTM title by scoring three victories, rounding out his total tally of wins in the series at eight.
The last five years of his DTM career took place at BMW, first with Team RMG and later with Team Schnitzer where he scored a final series podium in 2014.
After leaving DTM at the end of 2016 he moved into a role within BMW’s GT programme instead, competing in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, Intercontinental GT Challenge, FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
He secured one podium finish as part of BMW’s factory GTE Pro effort at the 1000 Miles of Sebring in 2019.
