It was a top-four result for the Munich brand, since positions two to four were also taken by BMW drivers: Udo Schneider, Volker Strycek and Leopold Prince of Bavaria. In an interview, Grohs looks back at his historic win in the first DTM race, he remembers the initial phase of the touring car series and talks about the development of the DTM from back then to the new turbo era.

Harald Grohs: “I must say that I was jolly glad to bring home the win in the face of strong competition. But then the rude awakening came an hour and a half after the race. I was disqualified due to a technical insignificance. I was granted the win but denied the points for the championship standings. And unfortunately it was by exactly that number of points that I lost the overall win to Volker Strycek at the end of the season.”

Grohs: “A great deal, but I didn’t just celebrate that win in the DTM. I won every opening race with all four cars that BMW developed and built for various categories such as the DRM or DTM. That makes me proud and happy.”

Grohs: “We arrived on Friday, had a free practice session on Saturday morning and had a lot of time overall to take a really good look around the paddock. Then there was a qualifying session in the afternoon and we raced on Sunday. It was very relaxed. We also didn’t have a lot of media or much PR work to do. And you weren’t as under the microscope as you are today.”

Grohs: “That car was relatively easy to drive in both wet and dry conditions. However, driving it at the limit was a real challenge for us all due to the high steering forces and pedal forces of 90 kilos for the brake and 80 kilos for the clutch.”

Grohs: “It is simply fantastic. I have to say that how the BMW guys drove at Hockenheim, even in adverse circumstances, and how cool Marco Wittmann brought home the first win of the new era really deserves respect.”