Hockenheim (DE), 16th October 2016. The race for the title in the DTM
Drivers’ Championship is over: Marco Wittmann (DE) of BMW Team RMG is
the new DTM champion. Fourth place in the final race of the year at
the Hockenheimring (DE) was enough for the 26-year-old at the wheel of
the Red Bull BMW M4 DTM to win the title. Wittmann has 206 points to
his name and a four-point lead over Edoardo Mortara (IT, Audi), who
won the race on Sunday. Starting from fifth on the grid, Wittmann
produced another flawless race to wrap up the title.
Wittmann is the first BMW driver ever to win the DTM Drivers’
Championship twice, having previously been crowned champion in 2014.
Volker Strycek (DE, 1984), Eric van de Poele (BE, 1987), Roberto
Ravaglia (IT, 1989) and Bruno Spengler (CA, 2012) had each previously
won the DTM title once for BMW. Never before has a driver won the
title for the second time in only his fourth year in the DTM. This
success sees Wittmann establish himself as one of the most successful
DTM drivers ever: only Bernd Schneider (5) and Klaus Ludwig (3) have
won more drivers’ titles than him. Wittmann’s latest triumph means
that BMW has won at least one DTM title every year since returning to
the series in 2012, including three of a possible five Drivers’
Championship titles.
It was at the Hockenheimring that Wittmann lifted the trophy for
winning the Drivers’ Championship in 2014. Wittmann picked up three
wins, six podium positions and three pole positions this season. At
the age of 26 years and 327 days, he is the youngest double DTM
champion of all time. In the team standings, BMW Team RMG ended the
season in second place with 290 points and a deficit of 29 points. BMW
is also in second place in the manufacturers’ standings, with a total
of 647 points.
Behind the new champion a further four BMW M4 DTMs finished in the
points. Timo Glock (DE) came fifth in the DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM,
Maxime Martin (BE) finished sixth in the SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM. Tom
Blomqvist (GB) finished in seventh place in the Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM,
while Martin Tomczyk (DE) picked up one point for tenth place at the
wheel of the BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM in the final DTM race of
his career.
António Félix da Costa (PT, BMW M4 DTM) started from pole position as
he did on Saturday, but, after a collision that was no fault of his
own while leading the race, was pushed to the back of the field. He
was unable to finish his final DTM race. Augusto Farfus (BR, Shell BMW
M4 DTM) also retired from the race. Bruno Spengler (CA, BMW Bank M4
DTM) narrowly missed out on the points in 12th place.
Reactions
to the 18th DTM race of the 2016 season, and Marco Wittmann’s
title win.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):
“That was absolutely mega, Marco! Today’s race was an excellent
reflection of the entire season. Marco was flawless and got the very
best out of the Red Bull BMW M4 DTM. With the packages so evenly
matched this DTM season, it was Marco that made the crucial
difference. His top speed, nerves of steel and consistency are what
have made Marco a worthy champion in 2016. In the current DTM, he is
the benchmark for all the other drivers in the field. He can be very
proud of his performance. We certainly are. Marco is the first BMW
driver in the history of the DTM to win the Drivers’ Championship
twice – and in only his fourth year in this high-class series. No
other DTM driver has ever won two titles in such a short time. With
this success, Marco is already assured of a place in the history books
of the DTM and BMW Motorsport. He is an extraordinary racing driver
and we are delighted that he is part of the BMW family.
Congratulations also to the other BMW drivers who finished in the
points. This applies to Martin Tomczyk in particular, who finished in
the points one last time in his final DTM race. It’s unfortunate that
an unnecessary collision denied António Félix da Costa the chance of
an outstanding result at his DTM farewell race after his fantastic
performance. His two pole positions at the season finale were
impressive. We can now proudly say that we have won at least one title
every year since returning to the DTM in 2012. What a fantastic
record! There is certainly some celebrating to be done tonight.
Everyone in the team has deserved that after this season. Everyone
made a contribution to this success. I would like to thank everyone
involved for their efforts.”
Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, 2016 DTM champion):
“What a feeling! Being crowned DTM Champion for the second time in
four years is incredible. It was a difficult season, but now the
emotions are indescribable. We fought right down to the wire and had
no idea that we would finish at the top before the season started.
We’ve done it now. Crazy. Massive thanks go to my team, BMW Motorsport
and everyone involved. And I have huge respect for Edoardo Mortara. He
had a great season. In the end we did enough. Now it’s time to celebrate.”
Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal BMW Team RMG):
“I’m speechless. Huge thanks go to everyone who contributed to this
success. Marco is a mega champion – and my team is simply sensational.
And, of course, thanks to BMW Motorsport for the fantastic support.
The season was extremely demanding, but everyone here really did their
bit. It was another real masterpiece after 2014.”
Facts and figures.
Circuit/length/duration:
Hockenheimring, 4.574 kilometres, 60 minutes plus one lap
Conditions:
Sunny, 22 degrees Celsius
BMW Motorsport results:
#11 Marco Wittmann (DE), BMW Team RMG, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM – 4th place
#16 Timo Glock (DE), BMW Team RMG, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM – 5th place
#36 Maxime Martin (BE), BMW Team RBM, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM – 6th place
#31 Tom Blomqvist (GB), BMW Team RBM, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM – 7th place
#100 Martin Tomczyk (DE), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M Performance Parts
M4 DTM – 10th place
#7 Bruno Spengler (CA), BMW Team MTEK, BMW Bank M4 DTM – 12th place
#18 Augusto Farfus (BR), BMW Team MTEK, Shell BMW M4 DTM – DNF
#13 António Félix da Costa (PT), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M4 DTM – DNF
Useful information:
A total of 142,000 spectators were at the track following the DTM
season finale in Hockenheim.
Martin Tomczyk ended his DTM career after 177 races. His record: one
Drivers’ Championship, seven wins, 28 podium positions, eight pole
positions and eight fastest race laps.
While leading the race, António Félix da Costa was pushed off the
track by Gary Paffett (GB, Mercedes), which saw him drop right down
the field.
Félix da Costa’s DTM career ended after 46 races. He celebrated one
win, four podium positions, three pole positions and two fastest race laps.
Félix da Costa started both races at the final DTM weekend of his
career from pole position.
More information.
You can find the latest BMW Motorsport media information, the
DTM Press Kit, and copyright-free images for editorial purposes online
at www.press.bmwgroup.com/global.
BMW Motorsport on the web.
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