Spielberg (AT), 21st May 2016. Marco Wittmann (DE) and Tom Blomqvist
(GB) celebrated a one-two result for BMW in Spielberg (AT) in the
third race of the DTM season. In addition to the two drivers, a
further four BMW drivers finished in the points. Timo Glock (DE),
Martin Tomczyk (DE), Maxime Martin (BE) and Augusto Farfus (BR)
finished fourth, fifth, sixth and ninth.
Read here what BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt, BMW Team RMG
team principal Stefan Reinhold and the eight BMW DTM drivers had to
say after the race.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “Thank you
very much for this fantastic belated birthday present. It was an
outstanding team performance by BMW, I am proud of the guys. After we
put in a very good performance in qualifying, we were also able to
achieve a superb result in the race. I am very proud of Marco and Tom,
who brought the one-two result home, despite Edoardo Mortara keeping
up the pressure right down to the final lap. And our guys behind them
also drove a fantastic race. That was by no means as easy as it might
have looked.”
Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal BMW Team RMG): “After
our difficult opening weekend, we worked hard to deliver a better
performance here. Naturally we wanted to show that we belong at the
top. The whole team did a super job. Everything went well today – with
both drivers. Marco was once again ‘mega’ at the top. Now we will go
on the attack for the second time here in Spielberg tomorrow.”
Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, 1st place): “The Red
Bull Ring seems to suit me very well. It really does treat me well.
With the pole position and the good start, I laid the foundation for
the win. Nevertheless, it was not easy to maintain the lead since my
rivals were able to use the DRS. I’m very happy that it was enough to
get the win – particularly for the team. They earned this success.”
Tom Blomqvist (BMW Team RBM, 2nd place): “It is
fantastic to be on the podium so early in the season. Our car has been
incredibly fast so far this weekend. We ended up getting the result we
deserved, and overall things went well for BMW too. I am happy – and
naturally I will go on the attack again tomorrow.”
Timo Glock (BMW Team RMG, 4th place): “The race was
okay. I had a good start, but after a few laps I noticed that the
balance wasn’t perfect. I damaged the front splitter slightly during
qualifying. I suspect that was the reason. This meant that I wasn’t
quite able to keep up with the pace at the front. Nevertheless, we are
satisfied. Congratulations to Marco, BMW Team RMG and BMW. That is a
fantastic result.”
Martin Tomczyk (BMW Team Schnitzer, 5th place): “I am
very happy. Going into the race, I said fifth place was a realistic
goal. Which is what we achieved. My start was the deciding factor, and
the first lap was also good. Then I just drove my race behind Timo.
Thanks go to my team, since we worked long and hard to get such a good car.”
Maxime Martin (BMW Team RBM, 6th place): “It was a
good race. It was very close at the start and my car was slightly
damaged. Despite that, things went really well afterwards. It is
always a great feeling to pick up points.”
Augusto Farfus (BMW Team MTEK, 9th place): “I am
happy that I got the car to the finish line intact today. We couldn’t
have done any better than ninth place. The important thing is that we
picked up points. Now we need to go forward step by step.”
Bruno Spengler (BMW Team MTEK, 13th place): “Firstly,
I’d like to congratulate Marco and Tom on the one-two result. That is
a sensational result for BMW. Our problem today was definitely the
qualifying pace. We just didn’t have the right pace. And then when you
start so far down the field, it is difficult in the DTM. Now our focus
is on improving the car for qualifying tomorrow.”
António Félix da Costa (BMW Team Schnitzer, 22nd place):
“The weekend started with seventh place in qualifying. Then
my penalty meant that I started the race from tenth. Everything looked
to be going well until I was awarded another penalty. I don’t really
agree with it right now. From my perspective, the driver in front of
me made a mistake going into the yellow flag area and I drove past him
on my line. But it is what it is. My race was over after the
drive-through penalty.”
DTM standings.
Drivers’ Championship.
- Paul di Resta (43 points), 2. Edoardo Mortara (40), 3. Marco
Wittmann (29), 4. Robert Wickens (28), 5. Maxime Martin (27), 6. Tom
Blomqvist (26), 7. Nico Müller (22), 8. Augusto Farfus (20), 9. Gary
Paffett (12), 10. Timo Glock (12), 11. Martin Tomczyk (12), 12.
Christian Vietoris (10), 13. Bruno Spengler (8), 14. António Félix
da Costa (6), 15. Adrien Tambay (4), 16. Mattias Ekström (2), 17.
Mike Rockenfeller (1), 18. Miguel Molina (1), 19. Maximilian Götz
(0), 20. Jamie Green (0), 21. Lucas Auer (0), 22. Daniel Juncadella
(0), 23. Timo Scheider (0), 24. Esteban Ocon (0).
Team Championship.
- BMW Team RBM (53 points), 2. Mercedes-AMG (43), 3. Audi Sport Team
Abt Sportsline (42), 4. BMW Team RMG (41), 5. SILBERPFEIL
Energy/UBFS invest Mercedes-AMG (28), 6. BMW Team MTEK (28), 7. Audi
Sport Team Abt (23), 8. BMW Team Schnitzer (18), 9.
EURONICS/FREEMEN`S WORLDMercedes-AMG (12), 10. BWT Mercedes-AMG
(10), 11. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (4), 12. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (1).
Manufacturers’ Championship.
- BMW (140 points), 2. Mercedes-Benz (93), 3. Audi (70).
Statistics for the BMW DTM drivers.
2016 race calendar.
6th -8th May – Hockenheim (DE), 20
th
-22
nd
May – Spielberg (AT), 3rd -5th June – Lausitzring
(DE), 24th -26th June – Norisring (DE), 15th -17th July – Zandvoort
(NL), 19th -21st August – Moscow (RU), 9th -11th September –
Nürburgring (DE), 23rd -25th September – Budapest (HU), 14th -16th
October – Hockenheim (DE).
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.
Website:
www.bmw-motorsport.com
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About the DTM.
The DTM is the most popular touring car series in the world.
The series pits the three premium automobile manufacturers BMW, Audi
and Mercedes-Benz against each other in a sporting contest. BMW
fielded its first works teams from 1984 to 1992, during which time it
claimed 49 race victories and won the Drivers’ Championship on three
occasions (1984, 1987 and 1989). The manufacturer returned to the DTM
in 2012, since when it has won seven of a possible twelve titles. 18
races, spread over nine weekends, are scheduled for 2016. ARD
broadcasts all the races live. Tickets for all the DTM races are
available here: https://tickets.bmw-motorsport.com/index.html