Following final week’s announcement of his departure from BMW for a second time, adorned sportscar racer Maxime Martin’s transfer to Mercedes-AMG was introduced over the weekend.
“I’m extraordinarily completely happy to begin an entire new chapter of my racing historical past along with the Mercedes AMG Motorsport household,” the Belgian wrote on social media.
“Becoming a member of the workforce as #MercedesAMG Efficiency Driver from 2025 will probably be thrilling and I’m positive that collectively we will obtain nice issues. The journey forward will probably be filled with challenges, however I’m prepared and desperate to face them.
“Can’t wait to get to work to contribute to the workforce’s successes and be a part of forces to realize our targets, constructing nice moments on monitor.”
Martin’s possible first outing in his new surroundings will come on the Daytona 24 Hours in January, after buyer squad Getspeed introduced that he can be a part of its GTD Professional line-up alongside Anthony Bartone, Luca Stolz and Fabian Schiller.
#2 M-AMG Staff GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO: Jules Gounon, Fabian Schiller, Luca Stolz
Photograph by: Eric Le Galliot
For the 2016 Spa 24 Hours conqueror and 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Professional class winner throughout a stint at Aston Martin, becoming a member of Mercedes-AMG for a programme that may embrace racing for brand spanking new companion squad Iron Lynx within the World Endurance Championship is an intriguing transfer that bucks a notable development.
The final time a BMW driver joined Mercedes-AMG was Lucas Auer in 2021, the Austrian rejoining the model after only one season when the DTM’s Class 1 period collapsed and it grew to become obvious there have been no seats on the desk for him to proceed into its GT3 period.
Maybe extra considerably, though Mercedes-AMG is returning to Le Mans for the primary time since 1999 subsequent yr with its Iron Lynx LMGT3 class entry, it at present does not have a Hypercar programme.
BMW is among the many rising variety of manufacturers that do, and Martin was a part of the Bavarian marque’s endurance line-up within the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2024, contesting Daytona, the Sebring 12 Hours and Petit Le Mans with its RLL-run GTP workforce.
Though Jules Gounon stays contracted to Mercedes-AMG, his announcement as a part of Alpine’s full-season WEC roster for subsequent yr follows the development of drivers in search of alternatives to go for outright victory within the greatest endurance races.
That additionally goes some method to explaining why Raffaele Marciello departed the Mercedes fold on the finish of 2023 to affix BMW.
Beneath the management of Andreas Roos, BMW has turn into a hotbed of expertise lately, with Kevin Magnussen its newest high-profile signing after departing the Haas Components 1 workforce.
From a crowded scene at BMW, the place he spent the final two years in GT World Problem Europe Dash alongside Valentino Rossi, Martin’s expertise suggests he’s set to occupy a central function in Mercedes-AMG buyer racing boss Stefan Wendl’s plans.
#25 BMW Staff RLL BMW M Hybrid V8: Maxime Martin
Photograph by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Photographs
The 38-year-old, whose first stint at BMW counted three DTM wins between 2014 and 2017, is certain to be an asset because the producer devises a successor for its present GT3, which began life in 2016, by means of the newly established Affalterbach Racing GmbH firm.
Alongside Gounon, Martin can be amongst a minority of Mercedes drivers with Hypercar expertise, which might play in his favour ought to its LMGT3 entry flip into one thing extra within the years to return.
Mercedes has acknowledged {that a} provisional roster of 10 drivers “will regularly be prolonged”. Maro Engel, Maxi Gotz, Ralf Aron, Philip Ellis and Mikael Grenier have been formally retained, together with Gounon, Stolz and Schiller, whereas Australian younger gun Jayden Ojeda has signed as a junior driver.
Motorsport.com’s sister title Motorsport-Complete understands that Auer has not but signed his contract and has subsequently not been formally introduced as a Mercedes-AMG works driver for 2025. However as issues stand, it’s assumed that the 2024 GT World Problem Europe Dash Cup champion alongside Engel will keep.
Martin’s team-mates at Iron Lynx within the WEC have but to be introduced.
“I’ve at all times held Maxime in very excessive regard,” mentioned workforce principal Andrea Piccini.
“We now have a pleasant relationship, and we additionally had the prospect to race collectively in 2013, ending second within the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring. He is a extremely sturdy driver, extraordinarily fast, and notably capable of grasp difficult situations.
“I’ve seen him do distinctive issues all through the years with none errors, which makes him a high contender, particularly in long-distance races. If we add his expertise and team-player capacity, I truthfully suppose he is top-of-the-line alternatives for any workforce, and I am proud to welcome him to Iron Lynx for the 2025 season.”
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In the meantime, one other BMW departure introduced in latest days is Bruno Spengler, who gained the DTM title for the model in 2012.
The Canadian 41-year-old, who joined BMW from Mercedes, had been introduced as the pinnacle of its new junior programme final month.
“It was not a straightforward choice for me to go away the BMW M Motorsport household, however I’m at a degree in my profession the place a brand new problem with a long-term perspective was necessary to me,” he mentioned. “That is why I made a decision to take this step.”
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James Newbold
GT
WEC
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