Manthey Racing suspects BMW of being able to access additional power in the M4 GT3 Evo during the DTM finale at Hockenheim, with Abt also supporting its claim.
With works BMW driver Rene Rast missing out on the 2025 DTM title after retiring following a a fierce duel with eventual champion Ayhancan Guven in Hockenheim, tensions are running high between BMW and top Porsche team Manthey.
The controversy, which first surfaced at the Nurburgring with claims that the BMW could suddenly deliver more power in certain situations, has flared up once again.
“What happened in the hairpin, I have to say, I can’t understand, because this is not the way we want to race in the last race of the championship,” said BMW Motorsport Director Andreas Roos, annoyed by Guven’s manoeuvre.
After losing the drag race to Rast, Guven braked particularly late on the inside of the corner, which meant that Rast was unable to turn in and became the victim of a chain reaction.
“It was nice to see so many cars in the title game,” said Roos. “Unfortunately, we are out, and I’m really sorry, but to be honest, it’s not what I like to see in the first lap and especially in this corner.”
‘I see extreme, surprising acceleration from the BMW’
Nicolas Raeder, Manthey Racing
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
But how does Manthey Managing Director Nicolas Raeder respond to the criticism from BMW Motorsport Director?
“We don’t want to race like this,” he said in an interview with Autosport’s sister title Motorsport-Total.com. “For me, it was once again an extremely surprising acceleration from the BMW, just like at the Nurburgring when they overtook us.”
His driver Guven was not to blame for Rast’s retirement.
“‘Can’ did a very good job, letting him stay on the outside,” said Raeder of the controversial duel. “It was just bad luck that he was then taken out.”
What does Raeder mean by the acceleration capability of the M4 GT3 Evo?
“You’ll have to ask BMW,” he said, without going into detail. But one thing is certain for him: “Rene would have won easily.”
Accusations against BMW already at the 24-hour race
This is not the first time that such accusations have come from the Manthey camp: Porsche works driver Kevin Estre already made a clear statement at the press conference after this year’s 24-hour race at the Nurburgring, where the Rowe BMW shot past the ‘Grello’ on the Dottinger Hohe at significantly higher speed.
“We saw some very strange power distribution. They suddenly had a lot of power and then none at the end,” said the Frenchman, who missed out on the “Grello” victory due to a time penalty, calling for a detailed analysis of the data during technical inspection. This was because he had noticed “some very very high top speed at some point [and] very high acceleration.”
Daniel Abt detects ‘magic mapping’ at BMW
Marco Wittmann, Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
It is interesting to note that others also became suspicious of BMW after the DTM finale.
“I think Guven already knew at that point how important this overtaking manoeuvre was,” said former driver Daniel Abt, who now heads up the marketing department at Abt. Like Raeder, he is convinced that Rast would have won the race.
“Firstly, because he knows how to compete in a final race like this. And secondly, because the BMW – and I find this frightening – still has a magic mapping sometimes, in my opinion,” he said.
Engine maps make it possible to specifically influence engine performance. However, in a series such as the DTM, where the different vehicle concepts are artificially balanced with the help of a Balance of Performance (BoP) system, this is problematic, especially since numerous parameters, such as ignition angle, are already specified by homologation.
“The way Wittmann was flying: he’s a good driver – no question about it – but we saw at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring that BMW is capable of conjuring up some magical pace at times,” said Abt, drawing parallels between the controversial Eifel triumph and Marco Wittmann’s comeback from 17th to second place.
‘Something wasn’t right’: BMW responds to Manthey’s suspicions
But how does BMW respond to Raeder’s statement that he has once again noticed ‘extremely surprising acceleration capability’ in the M4 GT3 Evo?
“I don’t know what he’s referring to,” Roos told Motorsport-Total.com. “The way Guven braked, he would normally have torpedoed Gilles Magnus. But he was long gone. That means something wasn’t right.”
Andreas Roos, BMW M Motorsportchef
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
What Roos means by this is that, given polesitter Magnus’s lead in the Aston Martin at the end of the full-throttle section, “we can assume that Guven’s exit wasn’t so good and that’s why Rene was able to pass him”.
In fact, TV footage shows that Magnus already had a lead of several car lengths over Rast and Guven when braking for the hairpin bend. However, due to the BoP for Hockenheim conditions, the Aston Martin was also running with particularly high boost pressure.
Porsche data shows no driver error by Guven
Apart from that, the data does not indicate any driver error on Guven’s part. Although the Porsche driver had a slightly less favourable entry angle into the Parabolica, the 911 GT3 R is also more manoeuvrable than the M4 GT3 Evo. Rast’s acceleration curve looks a little cleaner, but there is no evidence of a mistake.
The vehicle data recorded and available to DTM officials shows a top speed difference of 6km/h between Guven and Rast in the first lap before braking for the hairpin. As the race progressed, the difference between BMW and Porsche at this point ranged between 6-8km/h. Acceleration data, which would be more meaningful in this regard, is currently not available.
Fastest lap for Guven: BMW exonerated?
However, what at first glance speaks against Manthey’s suspicion is that the fastest lap in Sunday’s race at Hockenheim was not set by Wittmann, but by Guven. And that, despite the fact that the 911 GT3 R had a restrictor that was two millimetres smaller than on Saturday, plus 20 kilograms more ballast on board.
The Porsche driver clocked a time of 1m37.529s, which was 0.035 seconds faster than the Schubert BMW driver who set the second-fastest lap.
However, if you line up the best sector times, the picture looks different: BMW driver Wittmann set the theoretical quickest time of 1m37.357s. This means he was 0.172 seconds faster than the 2025 champion, who completed his three best sector times in one lap. No one else achieved a better theoretical lap time.
According to information from Motorsport-Total.com, the technical officials found no irregularities in the cars after the season finale. “Without torque sensors, however, this is difficult in such a case,” said one insider. Unlike some other series that use GT3 machinery, the DTM doesn’t use torque sensors to equalise the performance of different cars.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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