diff --git a/cpu/mpc512x/i2c.c b/cpu/mpc512x/i2c.c
index 97bda0d84ec3bb4330080126a76c51c45bd49225..e2d909751ef3afc972f02e713b4813064944b709 100644
--- a/cpu/mpc512x/i2c.c
+++ b/cpu/mpc512x/i2c.c
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ DECLARE_GLOBAL_DATA_PTR;
 #include <i2c.h>
 
 /* by default set I2C bus 0 active */
-static unsigned int bus_num = 0;
+static unsigned int bus_num __attribute__ ((section (".data"))) = 0;
 
 #define I2C_TIMEOUT	100
 #define I2C_RETRIES	3