Misano. First DTM win in his 14th race: Former BMW
Motorsport Junior Joel Eriksson (SWE, BMW M4 DTM) was rewarded for
taking risks in the rain-drenched lottery of Misano (ITA) and topped
the podium for the first time in his rookie season. Eriksson was the
only driver to start on slicks despite the changeable weather and
the strategy paid off as he became
the youngest BMW victor in the history of the DTM and the
second-youngest DTM winner of all time. Only Pascal Wehrlein (GER,
Mercedes) had claimed his first triumph at a younger age than the
20-year-old. Alessandro Zanardi (ITA, BMW M4 DTM) caused a similar
sensation. The guest driver stayed calm when the rain came, while
most of the established drivers had to change tyres several times.
Zanardi crossed the line in an outstanding fifth place.
The other BMW drivers missed out on the top ten. Bruno Spengler (CAN,
BMW Bank M4 DTM) finished in eleventh and will receive one point in
the drivers’ championship, as Zanardi was racing outside the
championship. Marco Wittmann (GER, BMW Driving Experience M4 DTM) and
Timo Glock (GER, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM) were involved in early
collisions and had to be content with finishing in 13th and
15th positions. Philipp Eng (AUT, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM)
claimed 16th place while Augusto Farfus (BRA, Shell BMW M4
DTM) retired after an accident.
Reactions after Sunday’s DTM race at Misano.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):
“I am
unbelievably proud of Joel. Congratulations on the first DTM win! At
just 20 years of age, he is the second-youngest DTM winner of all
time. We’re going to celebrate that now. For Alex Zanardi, a
51-year-old, to finish the same race in fifth is just incredible. He
did a great job throughout the whole weekend. We were not rewarded for
our brave strategy yesterday but today we had that little bit of luck
on our side. It wasn’t supposed to rain at all during the race but the
forecast was well off the mark. That made it a pretty chaotic race –
and it ended well for us. It’s a shame that more of our drivers were
unable to follow Joel and Alex into the top ten. Nonetheless, we will
try to take this momentum with us to the Nürburgring.”
Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal BMW Team
RMG):
“I am delighted for Bart Mampaey and the guys from
BMW Team RBM. Congratulations on the win! It simply wasn’t a good
weekend for us. All of our drivers were involved in incidents today
and we had no luck with our strategy. We pitted early today to make
sure we’d be OK in case of an early safety car period but that tactic
did not pay off.”
Marco Wittmann (#11 BMW Driving Experience M4 DTM, BMW Team
RMG – qualifying result: 6th place, race result:
13th place, points: 112):
“I had a fantastic start and I was in second place when Loic Duval
came from behind and drove into the side of my car. That caused some
tyre damage and ruined my race early on. We did change tyres at the
right time when the rain started but I was already too far behind.
Congratulations to Joel on the win! He can throw a party now.”
Augusto Farfus (#15 Shell BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG –
qualifying result: 14th place, race result: DNF, points: 40):
“That was another crazy race. It was actually going OK for me but
then there was a bit of contact with another car from behind. It
wasn’t hard, but in the slippery conditions it was enough to spin me.
That’s how the accident happened.”
Timo Glock (#16 DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR –
qualifying result: 9th place, race result:
15th place, points: 107):
“I actually had a very good start and got to fourth place but we made
the wrong strategic decision by coming in too early and changing to
slicks. The race was over for us after that.”
Bart Mampaey (Team Principal BMW Team RBM):
“Joel is the only one who started on slicks. That meant he was
lapping really slowly early on. The weather kept changing, yesterday
and today. That is why we used a different strategy for each of the
three cars. The engineers and mechanics did a fantastic job. Joel did
great to keep the car on the track and claim the victory. Thanks to
the whole team, and to BMW.”
Bruno Spengler (#7 BMW Bank M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM – qualifying
result: 18th place, race result: 11th place,
points: 44):
“Unfortunately, I had a bit of bad luck
with the rain in both races. The strategy was right on Saturday but
the safety car came out at the wrong time. I switched to slicks very
early today and had to come in again when the rain came back. All in
all, eleventh place and one point in the drivers’ championship is OK
if you consider that I started from 18th. Congratulations to Alex on
his great result today – and to Joel on his first DTM win, of course.”
Philipp Eng (#25 SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR – qualifying
result: 16th place, race result: 16th place,
points: 87):
“We were a bit fortunate yesterday but didn’t have the luck with the
strategy today. The result shows that. Now I hope that it goes a bit
better next time.”
Joel Eriksson (#47 BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM – qualifying
result: 12th place, race result: 1st place,
points: 52):
“I am simply speechless. I have been dreaming of a DTM win since I
was a kid. Now I am topping the podium and don’t know what to say. It
all feels unreal. We took a risk with our strategy and it was really
tough to keep the car on the track when it started to rain again. But
today was just our day. It was written in the stars that I would
celebrate my first DTM win here. It’s unbelievable.”
Alessandro Zanardi (#12 BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR – qualifying
result: 19th place, race result: 5th place):
“Fifth place is the payoff for the whole weekend. I am very happy
with this result and at my age, I won’t get too many more
opportunities to celebrate racing successes like this. I had a very
good racing speed and wasn’t sure what to do when slower drivers kept
appearing in front of me” he joked. “Seriously, I am very grateful to
have been given this opportunity by BMW Motorsport. They always
believed that I could do it. This trust is a great gift – and I am
happy that I was able to vindicate that. Many thanks to the DTM family
too, for welcoming me with open arms. I will always have a place in my
heart for this weekend. It has taken me 51 years to experience it –
but at least I got that chance.”