BMW have dropped American Joey Hand from its driver line-up for the 2015 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) season whilst retaining seven of their eight drivers who raced in 2014.
Hand has been dropped after three seasons of racing for BMW in the German series. The 35-year-old failed to achieve the results of his team-mates, scoring a best result of fifth at Brands Hatch in 2013. The American finished 12th that year, and has since failed to improve his form, having been classified 20th out of 23 drivers in 2014.
BMW appear to be parting ways with Hand after a partnership that dates back over ten years in the USA.
BMW have not yet confirmed who will take over the Americans seat, but have been testing a number of young drivers recently including a quartet of British hopefuls.
The Munich marque will thus retain the services of Marco Wittmann, Martin Tomczyk, Maxime Martin, Bruno Spengler, Augusto Farfus, Timo Glock and António Félix da Costa in 2015.
“We are already looking forward to the 2015 season, in which BMW Motorsport will once again thrill fans around the world with another extensive programme,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt. “In the DTM we will once again field eight BMW M4 DTMs, with which we obviously want to follow on from the great success we have enjoyed in recent years.
“Our driver line-up remains largely unchanged. Seven of our eight DTM drivers from last season will also be on track in the BMW M4 DTM in 2015. Joey Hand will go in search of new challenges in 2015. We would like to thank him for the great commitment he has shown to BMW in recent years, and wish him all the best for the future.”