Racing in DTM, the pinnacle of touring car racing, is certainly a great experience on many levels for me.
The professionalism and investment made by BMW, Audi and Mercedes in the cars, the teams, the series coupled with the high caliber of professional drivers, makes this possibly the most competitive championship in the world and one that, in my third year, I feel I am getting on top of. The transatlantic trips have become easier and I am now returning to cities and circuits for the second or third time, so I am really starting to know my way around Europe more like a local.
The difficulty is having to leave my wife, Natalie, and our children behind me in California for weeks at a time, without them really understanding, other than a flag on a map at home that Natalie positions, where I am in the world and exactly what I’m doing. Thank goodness for technology, as I am not sure without text and Skype just how easy this would be, as contact with my family is not just important to me, but imperative to my success for us all when I am on the road all the time.
Natalie and I have just returned from our mini-tour of Europe, known as #MamaHandEuroTour, which included my DTM race at Norisring, so that she has more idea of where I’m travelling and what I’m experiencing on a day to day basis. It was more of a wrench for us than for Chase and Kaylee, who were very happy to exchange their parents for grandparents, and spend two weeks camping. Our tour was anchored at my IHG partner's hotels, which has made the experience as stress free as possible.
First stop London - we based ourselves at the Crowne Plaza, Kensington hotel, which is a great, central location to see London on foot or by Tube, as there is a London Underground station just across the street.
The famous ‘Red Bus’ tour is the perfect way to see all the major tourist destinations like Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the River Thames and Tower Bridge. In the evenings we enjoyed two different local restaurants just around the corner from the hotel, but loved the back patio at the hotel for food and drinks in the afternoon, as it felt like being in our own back yard with the comfy furniture and tents.
Next stop Paris via the Eurostar train where we stayed at the iconic InterContinental Paris Le Grand, a super impressive place, located next door to the Paris Opera House, and within walking distance of so many great sites to see. From the Club Lounge you can see the opera house and a lot of the city, including the Iron Lady aka the Eiffel Tower. This lounge was a spectacular and romantic place to watch the sun set.
Munich was our penultimate destination, and is the home of BMW. Natalie and I really enjoyed staying at the Holiday Inn Munich as this hotel is so close to the City Center with such easy access to the large park, known as the English Garden. We took a really nice morning run from the hotel to the center and the park and back. We also used the U-Bahn as much as possible, which was very easy as there is a station just below the hotel.
BMW makes up a large part of the city and its industry with many offices. The centre of this is the Four Cylinder Building as the head office and beside that is the BMW Welt (BMW World), which is where your European Delivery happens. The BMW Welt has all the models, technology, interiors and exteriors as well as BMW history and innovation backgrounds. We spent a lot of time here and Natalie got to try out an i8, that I’ve been chatting endlessly about. Next door is the magnificent BMW Museum which tells BMW’s journey from 1923 engine builds through motorbikes, and houses their entire car collection. So many racecars, and I even found an ALMS M3 with my name on it, which had made its way into the place for a short term display.
Finally I got back in my road BMW, a matte black M550d Wagon. It always feels good to slide back into the seat of this car. It’s crazy how many heads turn when you drive this car around Europe. My team houses this car for me at their race shop in Belgium. The roads in Europe are awesome to drive whether you're opening it up on the autobahn or the country and mountain roads. I just enjoy how fun and super comfy my ride feels. Then, of course, when I get to the track my new M4 DTM racecar is even more awesome, but we will save track stories for another article. So watch Roundel Weekly…
Our Final stop was a short hop across Germany to Frankfurt. The InterContinental Frankfurt is one of my favorite hotels and I stay here a lot as it is close to Hockenheim and an international airport hub. I have fond memories of this hotel as is actually the first hotel Natalie and I stayed in when she came to Europe in 2012 to see DTM. I love good food and this hotel always impresses me in that department. They have the best omelet and chicken club sandwich I have ever had. On top of that, the view of the Main River is great; especially from the InterContinental lounge on the 21st floor!
Destination Cali: Travelling may seem glamorous, but in actuality it is never easy and rarely goes exactly to plan. Sadly we had a long and very delayed return to the States, and with a diversion due to storms ended up at the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare for the night. This actually proved really very convenient as it is only a five minute ride from the airport on their 24-hour shuttle and what a stunning yet sustainable hotel. We had a really nice contemporary suite with not one but two flat screen TVs and a couch. I could catch up on sport and news at the same time. This hotel has many features including a proper art gallery with local art exhibitions in the lobby area, but I really liked the rainfall style showerhead in the top of the glass shower in our room.
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter (@joeyhandracing), you will notice I often get excited by the quirky stuff I find on my travels, as well as what I find in cars. And, as I said, I love my food, and even though we were sitting wide awake in our room at 3am after 24 hours of travelling, they still had great room service with super tasty food, right on the button for us. I will always remember this one when I’m in this area next.
Back in Sacramento, with our children, and back in my own comfy bed, we have many photos to show and experiences to share to inspire our friends.
Thanks BMW, Thanks IHG – you helped me make Mama Hand’s European Tour one Natalie and I will never forget.—Joey Hand
