Maxime Martin to Miss COTA Round

Photo: John Dagys

Maxime Martin will miss the next round of the American Le Mans Series at the Circuit of The Americas, as the BMW factory driver chases a championship in the Blancpain Endurance Series.

The 27-year-old Belgian, who has driven the No. 55 BMW Team RLL BMW Z4 GTE since the start of the ALMS season, will instead take part in the Nurburgring 1000km on Sept. 22 for the BMW-supported Marc VDS Racing squad.

Martin, along with co-drivers Yelmer Buurman and Bas Leinders currently sit just three points behind in the drivers’ championship heading into the Blancpain Endurance Series season finale.

“I’ve done the whole season with [Marc VDS] and though I would normally have been in Austin for the American Le Mans Series with BMW Motorsport, between myself, Jens Marquardt and Marc VDS, we came to this decision,” Martin said.

“I’m not in a position to win the ALMS title and after Spa we are in a strong position in the Blancpain Endurance Series. It was natural to race in Germany.”

No word has been given on Martin’s replacement for COTA, although it’s understood John Edwards will again team with Dirk Mueller in BMW Team RLL’s championship-contenting No. 56 entry.

Martin and ALMS co-driver Bill Auberlen currently sit 5th in the drivers’ championship with a class win at Long Beach to their credit.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John