Maxime Martin: When it effectively started
CRR: Could we say your Professional driver career effectively started in 2013 when you became a BMW factory driver, racing full-time in the American Le Mans Series for BMW Team RLL that season (also acting as BMW's DTM test and back-up driver)?
Maxime Martin: Yes and no, my racing career started earlier of course, my professional career started earlier also. It is just that from 2013 onwards when I signed with BMW, because of the amount of time and commitment for the brand, for all the races I did that year, the marketing operations and so on, the commitment it asked in terms of time and travel, I stopped working.
My professional career effectively started in 2010 when I signed with Marc VDS; we were doing GT3 and FIA GT1. It is at that moment that I started earning money and started living from it but still working.
In 2012, I signed with Alpina for the ADAC GT Masters.
From 2013, when I signed with BMW, I had to stop all the other work activities because of time.
CRR: Did the contract with Alpina connect you to BMW?
Maxime Martin: No link at all! I had the Alpina link because in 2009, I did a race for them in Oschersleben with Claudia Hürtgen, the last weekend of the season. We won both races that weekend. I kept contact with them but had a full-time commitment with Marc VDS driving in GT3 and FIA GT1 as well as developing cars and more from 2009 to 2011. It was in 2012 that I could sign with Alpina.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps 2010
In 2009 and 2010, Marc VDS were running with FORD GT and in 2011, they decided to buy a BMW Z4.
The first race we did was the 24 Hours of Spa. I did pole position, and we continued the 2011 and 2012 seasons with the Z4. That is how the link with BMW came … because we were racing a BMW, winning a lot of races. So that end of 2012, I signed with BMW.
CRR: Why did you start with them in the USA?
Maxime Martin: When I signed with BMW end of 2012, the plan was clearly to go for the DTM championship; that was my wish. But they didn’t have an available seat. It wasn’t the right moment. BMW wanted me to sign with them, but it became quickly clear that I could only run in DTM in 2014 with the new car, moreover that they were going from 6 to 8 cars in the championship.
So, I had a one-year gap and we decided that I would go to the USA for the full American Le Mans Series with BMW Team RLL. I was a reserve driver in DTM that year and I was still driving for Marc VDS. It was also a busy year.
CRR: 2013 was really an important milestone in your career as you became a full-time professional driver AND went to the US which is a total change.
Maxime Martin: Yes indeed, a big change because starting with a new team, competing in the US is a different way of racing, a different mentality. Being a reserve driver in DTM was also a big step for me because I was always in GT, usually, and still doing several GT races in Europe, I think I did 30 weekends that year, which was a lot.
CRR: The next step was to become a full time DTM driver for BMW. What are your best memories during that period?
Maxime Martin: For sure one of the best memories was to win the DTM race in Moscow, my first victory in DTM. I won after 5 races in the championship. It was definitively my best moment in DTM because it is the first victory, it came very quickly; I think not so many people were expecting me to succeed in DTM because I was coming from GT. DTM is totally different, it is high downforce, I had no formula experience. For sure it showed that I could be competitive in DTM, it came very quick, and it was the first one so for sure the first one is definitively the better one.
CRR: what made DTM so different? Why were people doubting about your potential success in the beginning?
Maxime Martin: As I said, it is a very downforce car, it is very different than GT, it is lighter, it goes a lot faster in corners, you have carbon brakes, a lot of things that are more related to a formula car or a LMP car, but at the end it showed that if you can drive you can drive well any car.
At that time GT was famous but not as popular as it is now. GT has become a lot bigger now, so that a lot more young drivers are going to GT instead of formula cars contrary to before, when people were asking: 'what are you going in GT'? The mentality has changed now but at that time, coming from GT to DTM, it almost never happened. People doubted but we demonstrated it was possible.
CRR: Physically it must also be tougher in DTM?
Maxime Martin: Yes definitively. In the beginning, as there were a lot of tests, I struggled strongly with my neck. I was just not used to it. But quickly your body gets used to it. I did some specific training for that part of the body but at the end, there is not so much you can do except driving. You can train your neck, but it’ll never be the same as driving.
CRR: That victory in Moscow was a tough one or you had pole and could keep P1 during the race.
Maxime Martin: Yes, I did pole position and from there I had a good start, could increase the gap until we had a safety car. We were a bit lucky as we pitted before the safety car, and we won with a good margin as we were very competitive, faster than everyone. It was definitively not an easy one because it is never easy to win but I didn’t have big fights. We were ahead and stayed ahead. Just being fastest helps! (smile).
CRR: Was Moscow a specific track you liked or had been training for?
Maxime Martin: NO, it was the second year of DTM in Moscow. The year before it was a shorter track. It was the first year with the long track. So, it was a new track for everyone which made it more equal because, when you have guys there for 15 years driving on the same track every year, they have so much experience that it is for sure helping them. Being a new track for everyone helped me somehow.
CRR: Any other moment in DTM that was special for you?
Maxime Martin: I won 3 races: Moscow, Nürburgring and Norisring. I won with two different teams which is awesome. I won with RMG and then with RBM which is a Belgian team. My second-best memory was the Norisring with RBM. It was the only victory with them. We were very strong during the whole weekend. I had been second and first during the same weekend. We could have won both races, but I fucked up at the start more or less and was quite far. I came back finishing second behind my teammate Bruno Spengler. It was a very good weekend with two podium’s (second and first). At that time, it was not common to be so competitive a full weekend.
Stay tuned. Part 2/4 of Maxime Martin Interview to be released Wednesday May 25th 2022.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ Nürburgring NLS3
