By Jamie O'Leary Thursday, November 10th 2011, 10:40 GMT
Joey Hand BMW ALMS 2011
Joey Hand will test BMW's new DTM car at Monteblanco next week, while new signing Bruno Spengler will also have his first run-out for the manufacturer.
Hand, 32, won the ALMS GT crown for BMW this year and was the star driver in the BMW-engined Riley that won the Daytona 24 Hours for Chip Ganassi Racing. He has now been given the chance to test the M3 DTM by the manufacturer's motorsport director Jens Marquardt.
"We are looking forward to the feedback from Joey Hand, who has enjoyed a superb ALMS season together with [co-champion] Dirk Muller, although Dirk has already had various opportunities of testing the BMW M3 DTM," Marquardt said.
"Joey's test also proves how tightly our various motorsport campaigns mesh together."
Marquardt said that Spengler's ability to test for BMW was only made possible due to Mercedes - for which he has spent all his DTM career to date - releasing him early from his contract.
"We would like to thank Bruno's current employer Mercedes most sincerely for releasing him early for the tests. We appreciate this sporting gesture, which goes to show how well we co-operate behind the scenes.
"Now we can look forward to his first laps with our BMW M3 DTM, and his initial impressions of the car."
Dirk Werner and Augusto Farfus, each of whom have tested the car on numerous occasions already, will also drive.
