By: BMW Motorsport
July 21 2016

Zandvoort, Netherlands – Marco Wittmann (DE) finished second and fourth in front of 38,000 spectators at the fifth race weekend of the DTM season at “Circuit Park Zandvoort” to defend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship. His BMW Team RMG team-mate Timo Glock (DE) and Tom Blomqvist (GB) also picked up points in Sunday’s race, coming home sixth and tenth respectively. Wittmann, António Félix da Costa (PT) and Maxime Martin (BE) finished in the top ten in race one on Saturday.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “Sunday’s race was as tough for us as we expected it to be. However, our drivers kept cool heads and fought hard to the very end. They were rewarded for their efforts with fourth, sixth and tenth. We are pleased with these points. I think we made the most of our opportunities this weekend. This is particularly true of Marco Wittmann. He has defended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship. I am very pleased for him. We have all earned a short break now, then we will travel fully focussed to the next race in Moscow.”

Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal, BMW Team RMG): “We had another very good weekend, on which we scored a lot of points. I would like to say a big thank you to our drivers and the team. Marco Wittmann is in the same kind of form as he was in 2014 – maybe even better. He overcomes difficult situations perfectly. Timo Glock is also extremely professional and is showing consistent and fine form. He is a great fit for us. Unfortunately, we did not analyse the problem with his car correctly at the first attempt on Saturday, otherwise he could have scored points in both races.”

Bart Mampaey (Team Principal, BMW Team RBM): “All in all, it was a disappointing weekend for us. We did pick up a point in each race, but that is too little. Maxime’s car was damaged in qualifying, and then it wasn’t okay in the race either. That prevented him from being able to attack. Tom had a decent qualifying, but a problem during the pit stop saw him drop back through the field. A hose had become looped around his mirror. I am glad that nothing more serious happened.”

Charly Lamm (Team Principal, BMW Team Schnitzer): “We actually had a good race with both drivers today. However, unlike yesterday, we were not rewarded with points, due to a number of incidents. Neither of our drivers could attack on the second set of tyres. We had more joy on Saturday, and produced a good race with António.”

Ernest Knoors (Team Principal, BMW Team MTEK): “Unfortunately, we had absolutely no luck this weekend – in fact, we were really unlucky. The guys worked hard to prepare the cars again each time. That was a lot of work, particularly with all the damage to Augusto’s car. The team did everything it could, but it was simply not our weekend.”

Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, Sun.: 4th place, Sat.: 2nd place): “I feel very positive about Sunday’s race, and the weekend in general. I think, in finishing second and fourth, we did as well as we possibly could have. We were obviously a little fortunate that our rivals had tyre issues on Sunday, but we are still very happy to take the points. I am still leading the Drivers’ Championship, but it remains extremely close and exciting.”

Timo Glock (BMW Team RMG, Sun.: 6th place, Sat.: 21st place): “Today we saw the real pace of our car here, after we had a technical issue yesterday. We were quick. I was able to go with Marco, particularly in the first stint. We lost some time during the pit stop, and then Nico Müller was able to overtake me. Despite this, sixth place is okay today.”

Tom Blomqvist (BMW Team RBM, Sun.: 10th place, Sat.: 16th place): “Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to the entire team, as we took a big step forward compared to yesterday. That gave me the opportunity to challenge for points today. Unfortunately, there was an incident during the pit stop, which cost us time. I then re-joined the race in traffic. That is a shame, as we could have done better.”

Martin Tomczyk (BMW Team Schnitzer, Sun.: 11th place, Sat.: 19th place): “My start was fantastic again, as were the opening laps. I gained a lot of positions and everything was running well until shortly after the pit stop. The car was superb, but then the tyres gave up on us and I simply didn’t have a chance. I fought like a lion at the end. There was simply nothing more I could have done.”

Augusto Farfus (BMW Team MTEK, Sun.: 13th place, Sat.: DNF): “Zandvoort is actually one of my favourite circuits. However, for various reasons, I was unable to put on the show we were hoping for this time. The good thing is that I had one of the fastest cars in Sunday’s race. However, we must definitely work on improving our pace in qualifying.”

Bruno Spengler (BMW Team MTEK, Sun.: 14th place, Sat.: 13th place): “We were very unlucky today. When I braked into the first corner of the race, the door opened – all on its own, for no apparent reason. As a result, I had to pull straight into the pits and so completed one pit stop more than everyone else. Despite that, I still fought back to finish 14th. The car was very good all race long, and we can learn something from that for the coming races. We could have picked up some points today. It was just unfortunate that the door opened.”

Saturday Race, 13th place: “I would sum up my race as so-so. Unfortunately, I only managed to qualify down in 16th place. To finish in the points from that position is almost impossible in Zandvoort, as it is hardly possible to overtake here. Having said that, my speed was actually good in the race. We must now see what we can improve for tomorrow, in order to secure a better grid position and make our pace even more consistent in the race.”

António Félix da Costa (BMW Team Schnitzer, Sun.: 17th place, Sat.: 6th place): “The first half of the race was actually quite okay. The start was good, and I made a bit of progress through the field. Unfortunately, I then made contact with Esteban Ocon. The car was damaged after that, and there was not a lot more that I could do.”

Maxime Martin (BMW Team RBM, Sun.: DNF, Sat.: 10th place): “I had a few contacts in the first part of the race, after which the car was damaged. That is why I came into the pits later on. Because of this, I come away with just the one point from Saturday. We will now analyse everything very carefully and hopefully come back stronger in Moscow.”

DTM Standings

Drivers’ Championship

Marco Wittmann (105 points), 2. Jamie Green (98), 3. Edoardo Mortara (88), 4. Robert Wickens (83), 5. Paul di Resta (74), 6. Maxime Martin (63), 7. Nico Müller (62), 8. Mattias Ekström (58), 9. Tom Blomqvist (53), 10. Gary Paffett (52), 11. Timo Glock (48), 12. Lucas Auer (43), 13. Christian Vietoris (42), 14. Augusto Farfus (32), 15. Bruno Spengler (28), 16. Miguel Molina (26), 17. António Félix da Costa (16), 18. Martin Tomczyk (13), 19. Adrien Tambay (10), 20. Mike Rockenfeller (5), 21. Maximilian Götz (4), 22. Daniel Juncadella (4), 23. Esteban Ocon (2), 24. Timo Scheider (1).

Team Championship

BMW Team RMG (153 points), 2. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (146 ), 3. BMW Team RBM (116), 4. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (108), 5. Audi Sport Team Abt (88), 6. SILBERPFEIL Energy/UBFS invest Mercedes-AMG (87), 7. BWT Mercedes-AMG (85), 8. Mercedes-AMG (78), 9. BMW Team MTEK (60), 10. EURONICS/FREEMEN`S WORLDMercedes-AMG (54), 11. BMW Team Schnitzer (29), 12. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (6).

Manufacturers’ Championship

BMW (358 Punkte), 2. Audi (348), 3. Mercedes-Benz (304)

Canadians In BOLD