Return to a historic venue: BMW Motorsport and the DTM go racing at Zolder.

Munich. BMW Motorsport returns to a historic venue with the
DTM; Zolder, in Belgium, hosts round two of the 2019 DTM season from
17th to 19th May. It was here that the first
ever DTM race was held in 1984. Back then, victory went to Harald
Grohs (GER) in a BMW 635 CSi. The DTM last raced at Zolder in 2002.
17 years later, the touring car series now returns to the iconic circuit.

 

BMW DTM driver Marco Wittmann (GER) tops the Drivers’ Championship
going into the race weekend at Zolder. At the Hockenheim season-opener
a fortnight ago, Wittmann took pole position and the race win on the
Saturday. He then started the Sunday race from second place on the
grid, before finishing eighth to pick up more valuable points.
Wittmann has 34 points to his name after the first two races of the season.

 

22 DTM races have been held at Zolder since 1984. BMW drivers have
been involved in 21 of those and have racked up nine victories and 24
podium finishes in total. The Zolder race weekend is the first home
outing in the DTM for Belgian outfit BMW Team RBM.

 

Quotes ahead of the DTM races at Zolder.

 

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):

“Zolder has an important place in the history of BMW Motorsport.
Harald Grohs won the first DTM race ever there in 1984, at the wheel
of the BMW 635 CSi. Many more successes were to follow between then
and 1992. We are now looking forward to returning to this iconic
racetrack with the new DTM. Bearing in mind the 2019 generation of
cars, it is obviously a new circuit for everyone. We are very
intrigued to see how the competition develops at Zolder. We had a very
successful opener at Hockenheim, with two pole positions and one win.
We want to back that up now in Belgium. The race weekend is
particularly important for BMW Team RBM; the circuit is just an hour’s
drive from the team headquarters.”

 

Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal BMW Team RMG):

“It is going to be an exciting weekend, as Zolder is a new venue for
us in the DTM. Our first goal is to prepare as well as possible, and
thus to lay the foundation for another good weekend. We must wait and
see how we cope with the track. We do not have any experience there
and the last time I was at Zolder was over 20 years ago. I have
particularly fond memories of the circuit, as Zolder was the opening
round of the race series in which I gained my first experience as a
team principal at the end of the 1990s.”

 

Bruno Spengler (#7 BMW Bank M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG,
Drivers’ standings: 7th, 16 points
):

“I don’t know the circuit at Zolder yet, but it is cool to go to a
new track, at which I have never driven before. I am very excited to
see what it is like there, and how we perform. We have seen that we
have a good car, both in wet and dry conditions. We still need to work
on being a bit stronger for the full race distance. On the whole,
however, we have a good package in the new BMW M4 DTM and the team has
done a superb job. It is still a little difficult to set any definite
expectations for Zolder, as I don’t know the circuit. I’ll wait and
see how it pans out and am looking forward to a new track.”

 

Marco Wittmann (#11 Schaeffler BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG,
Drivers’ standings: 1st, 34 points
):

“I do know Zolder, but it is 12 years since I raced there in Formula
BMW. It is a very tight little circuit with few straights – not your
typical DTM racetrack. I think qualifying will be extremely important,
as overtaking could be tricky at Zolder. The kerbs in the chicanes
will be a big issue – whether we should drive over them or are better
off avoiding them in the DTM car. Friday’s first practice session is
definitely going to be interesting. It is a new racetrack on the
calendar, so we must try to adapt to it quickly and find a good rhythm
from the word go. Then we can hope for a good second race weekend of
the season.”

 

Timo Glock (#16 BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR,
Drivers’ standings: 6th, 20 points
):

“I only know Zolder from what I have seen on TV and I am already very
excited about what awaits us there, particularly as our car is still
very new. As such, it will be a challenge to adapt to it in the short
amount of track time we have at our disposal. I will look at more
onboard footage and, together with the team, prepare as well as
possible for Zolder. I am looking forward to a new racetrack and a new challenge.”

 

Bart Mampaey (Team Principal BMW Team RBM):

“I’m very happy that we have an event in Belgium. I think that it
will be received very well, and the organisers at Zolder are working
very hard to make it a successful event. Actually, I have to admit
that I don’t have too much Zolder experience. The last time that our
RBM team participated there was in 2010 in the FIA WTCC and we won a
race. It will be interesting to race there now with the new
turbo-powered BMW M4 DTM. Zolder is a slow track, yet we will go there
with massive power and with a lot of straight-line speed, so braking
will be very important. I hope that we keep on making progress as we
did at Hockenheim. We need to carry the momentum from Sheldon’s P6 on
Saturday and Philipp’s pole position and P4 on Sunday into the next
event. We had a good season-opener and just need to continue working
and try to carry on at Zolder.”

 

Philipp Eng (#25 ZF BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR,
Drivers’ standings: 8th, 15 points
):

“I raced at Zolder in the 2017 Blancpain GT Series with the BMW M6
GT3. The track is extremely technical. I really like it. The kerbs are
very high and we must be careful not to damage the cars. It is
certainly going to be an exciting weekend. I think overtaking could be
possible, but a good performance in qualifying will be important
again. I hope to be among the front-runners again, as I was on the
Sunday at Hockenheim.”

 

Sheldon van der Linde (#31 Shell BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM,
Drivers’ standings: 10th, 8 points
):

“Zolder is going to be a cool one. It’s obviously my first time
there, and I am new to the DTM, so I’m going to have a lot to learn.
However, I think we showed at Hockenheim that we can learn quite
quickly so I’m looking forward to it. I’ve learned so much already in
just the two races that I did at the season-opener and I want to build
on that. I’m tenth in the championship, which I think is not bad at
all. I will take that positive to Zolder.” 

 

Joel Eriksson (#47 CATL BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM,
Drivers’ standings: 14th, 1 point
):

“Actually I don’t really know what to expect from Zolder. I’ve never
been there, but on the simulator the track looks like it should be fun
to drive. My brother raced there two years ago and he told me that
it’s a really cool track. We will go there, have a first look at the
track and then take it from there.”

 

Media Schedule (all times CEST).

 

Friday, 17th May

12.30-13.00, ITR press conference with Joel Eriksson and Bart
Mampaey, Media Center

 

Saturday, 18th May

15.40-15.50, Mixed Zone with all BMW drivers, Media Center

 

Sunday, 19th May

15.40-15.50, Mixed Zone with all BMW drivers, Media Center