Priaulx says Tomczyk and Spengler will be a boost for BMW's DTM return

BMW has managed to poach the top driver from the Audi and Mercedes camps in 2011 to lead its squad this year.

And former World Touring Car champion Priaulx is looking forward to seeing what they bring to the project.

"Their input will be very very important to make sure we've got everything right," Priaulx said on the main stage at AUTOSPORT International. "From the buttons on the steering wheel, to the pitstops, and getting the race weekends together, that's where they are going to be very valuable.

"The nice thing about having Spengler and Tomczyk is that we know they can win in the DTM. So the other drivers will know we are doing well if we're beating them, and if they're not winning then we've got to improve our package."

The Briton pointed out that because of the new cars being introduced for 2012, the veterans will not be able to bring much information that can help BMW develop its cars.

"It's going to be hard for them to bring data for us - we're starting with a clean sheet of paper," he said. "But we started our development programme in June last year, and now we're getting good feedback from the other drivers.

"The car feels good and it's performing, so we've got to take a lot of confidence from that."

Priaulx added that he doesn't expect any of the three manufacturers to show their true pace in pre-season testing.

"We've been good in testing, but we're not going to see the real performance of these manufacturers until the first race. I think it's just a question of putting your head down, working hard and making sure you're improving your own performance."