Norisring. Following Bruno Spengler’s (CAN) victory in
Saturday’s race at the Norisring (GER), it was another BMW driver
who crossed the finish line in first place at the end of the eighth
race of the year on Sunday: after 66 laps, two safety car phases and
one red flag, Maxime Martin (BEL) took the chequered flag to claim
the 75th success for BMW in the DTM having started from
seventh on the grid.
Martin backed up third place in Budapest (HUN) and second place on
Saturday with his third DTM victory – his first since 2015 at the
Nürburgring. For BMW, this was a fitting conclusion to a historic
weekend at the Norisring. BMW was victorious in Nuremberg for the
first time since 1992 – and, as was also the case back then, in both
races. Marco Wittmann (GER), Augusto Farfus (BRA), Tom Blomqvist (GBR)
and Timo Glock (GER) finished fifth, seventh, ninth and tenth to
complete a fine team result, with five BMW M4 DTMs in the top ten on
Sunday. Spengler came home twelfth, having been in contention for a
podium finish for long periods of the race.
Qualifying:
As usual, the grid positions at the
narrow street circuit were decided by mere thousandths of a second. At
the end of the 20-minute session, it was Blomqvist in the BMW Driving
Experience M4 DTM who secured pole position with a time of 47.252 –
0.004 seconds faster than Robert Wickens (CAN, Mercedes). This was
Blomqvist’s second pole position of his career. It also marked BMW’s
third pole of the season and 59th in the history of the
DTM. Blomqvist was rewarded for his pole position with three points
towards the Drivers’ Championship. Spengler, in the BMW Bank M4 DTM,
ended qualifying in fourth place with a time of 47.305 seconds. Martin
(SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM) and Glock (DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM) also made it
into the top ten in seventh and ninth place. Wittmann (Red Bull BMW M4
DTM) was twelfth fastest, Farfus (BRA, Shell BMW M4 DTM) qualified 15th.
The race:
Spengler made a good start, which took him into second place. In
contrast, Blomqvist dropped back to sixth. Five drivers came into the
pits for their mandatory stop after the opening lap including
Blomqvist and Farfus. The majority of the field opted for an early
stop. By the end of the eighth lap, all six BMW drivers had been in
for a tyre change. The strategy, and the rapid work performed by BMW
Team RBM, allowed Martin, who came into the pits after lap seven, to
climb through the field and join the battle for the lead. The safety
car was called into action after 25 laps, following a collision
between Mercedes driver Robert Wickens and René Rast (GER, Audi).
Martin and Spengler moved into first and second place after the
restart. However, contact with another car that was yet to make a stop
resulted in Spengler’s car suffering a puncture. Shortly after that,
the race was suspended after a crash involving Gary Paffett (GBR,
Mercedes) and Mike Rockenfeller (GER, Audi).
After an interruption of around half an hour, the cars were sent back
onto the track for the remaining 25 minutes. Maxime Martin led at the
restart, with Wittmann third having climbed several places after the
safety car phase. The exciting second half of the race saw Martin hold
off Auer in the battle for the lead. The Belgian went on to claim the
second win of the weekend for BMW. Wittmann came home fifth, just
0.027 seconds behind third-placed Edoardo Mortara (ITA, Mercedes)
following a dramatic finish with three cars crossing the finish line
within millimetres of each other. Farfus finished seventh to score his
first points of the season. Blomqvist and Glock, who had to make an
early second stop following a puncture, were ninth and tenth. Spengler
fought his way back from last place to finish 12th.
The reactions:
BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt: “It was an
epic weekend for us here at the Norisring. After finishing runner-up
yesterday, Maxime claimed a great win today in an extremely exciting,
eventful and at times chaotic race. I am incredibly proud of our team.
We had five BMWs in the top ten and once again scored a lot of
valuable points. A successful weekend, with the one-two yesterday,
today’s success, and our 75th victory in the DTM. We will
definitely be celebrating this evening. We hope Rocky makes a speedy recovery.”
Stefan Reinhold (team principal, BMW Team RMG):
“Marco really wanted to finish on the podium here. We always
try to score as many points as possible and battle for every point.
Marco gave it his all, but unfortunately it didn’t quite work out
today. At the end of such a demanding weekend, I can only bow to every
single person in the team. We gave everything right down to the
finish, and finished with all three cars in the points today.”
Marco Wittmann (#11, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM – Grid position:
12th, race result: 5th place – 64 races, 8
wins, 16 podiums, 8 pole positions, 569 points, 2 Drivers’ titles):
“The race itself went well. Thanks to our strategy of
stopping after the second lap, I was able to make up some positions
and was running ninth for a long time. I then climbed six places into
third after the restart – what a lap. The other drivers were a little
more cautious because of the cold tyres, but I went all out on the
attack. That paid dividends; I was on course for a podium finish for a
long time. Two laps from the end, Lucas Auer made a slight mistake and
I tried to take advantage. As I was doing so, Mattias passed me. It is
a real shame that I had to settle for fifth place in the end.”
Augusto Farfus (#15, Shell BMW M4 DTM – Grid position:
15th, race result: 7th place – 74 races, 4
wins, 12 podiums, 5 pole positions, 351 points): “I have
had to wait a long time for my first points of the season, but I
finally have them. Unfortunately, we struggled to find the right
set-up at the start of the weekend. Today, however, I had a car I
could fight with. Seventh place is okay, especially when you consider
where I started from. This is a good start, and I am now hoping to
score a lot more points over the remainder of the season.”
Timo Glock (#16, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM – Grid position:
9th, race result: 10th place – 64 races, 3
wins, 7 podiums, 2 pole positions, 273 points): “That was a
crazy race. The most important thing is obviously that nothing bad
happened to Gary Paffett and Mike Rockenfeller. It looked very nasty.
On the whole, we have to be happy with our result – particularly given
the puncture I suffered on the front-right tyre. Gary lent on me a
bit, and one of the flicks slit the tyre open. As a result, I had to
make an extra pit stop. Usually, the race is over at that point.
Fortunately, for us, the safety car made an appearance. That gave me
another small chance. I made a few nice overtaking manoeuvres and was
able to rescue a point. Congratulations to Maxime, he was strong all
weekend. It was obviously an awesome weekend for BMW. I am
particularly pleased about that. There was plenty for the fans to
enjoy today.”
Bart Mampaey (team principal, BMW Team RBM): “Maxime
drove a sensational race from seventh on the grid. Our strategy of
waiting a little until the traffic in the pit lane had died down
before making the pit stop was spot on. The pit stop was fantastic;
the guys were really quick. After that, it was down to Maxime to pass
Auer. Unfortunately, we then had that big crash, but fortunately Gary
Paffett and Mike Rockenfeller are doing relatively okay. After the
restart, Maxime and Auer were embroiled in an eye-catching battle.
Maxime did a fantastic job and really deserved the win. I am delighted
for him. In Tom’s case, we will have to take a close look to see what
caused him to drop so far back down the field at the start. His
performance in qualifying was superb, and we picked up more points,
but we were obviously hoping for more from that grid position. We must
continue to push. On the whole, it was an outstanding weekend for us.”
Bruno Spengler (#7, BMW Bank BMW M4 DTM – Grid position:
4th, race result: 12th place – 147 races, 15
wins, 47 podiums, 17 pole positions, 801 points, 1 Drivers’ title):
“The race was going really well at first, and we definitely
had a chance of finishing on the podium, if not winning. Our car and
our pace were superb. After the restart, Duval completely closed the
door on me and there was contact, which caused my puncture. That cost
me the race. It is a real shame. Congratulations to Maxime on the win.
He drove a strong race. Despite my disappointment, I will take the
positives from yesterday’s win and focus fully on the next race.”
Tom Blomqvist (#31, BMW Driving Experience M4 DTM – Grid
position: 1st, race result: 9th place – 44
races, 1 win, 5 podiums, 2 pole position, 187 points): “Two
points are better than nothing. However, starting from pole, I
obviously wanted to be much further up the field and challenging for
the win. As such, I am very disappointed. I have had problems with my
starts all season, and I did not get away well here either. Then I was
unlucky when I returned to the track behind a large group after the
pit stop, and dropped right back through the field. There was a very
thin line between a top result and a place towards the back of the
field today.”
Maxime Martin (#36, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM – Grid position:
7th, race result: 1st place – 54 races, 3
wins, 9 podiums, 3 pole positions, 309 points): “It was an
incredible race. I made a very good start from seventh on the grid and
was already fourth by the end of the opening lap. I was third after
lap two, after some of the other cars had already been in for their
stop. I pushed really hard after that and was able to take the lead
after the safety car phase. That was not easy after the red flag and
the subsequent restart, but it worked out. I was third in Budapest,
runner-up yesterday, and winner today – it is fantastic.”
The standings:
Drivers: 1. Mattias Ekström (89 points), 2. Lucas
Auer (87), 3. Maxime Martin (78), 4. Jamie Green
(75), 5. René Rast (72), 6. Timo Glock (60), 7. Gary
Paffett (55), 8. Mike Rockenfeller (54), 9. Paul di Resta (53),
10. Marco Wittmann (46), 11. Robert Wickens (44),
12. Bruno Spengler (43), 13. Edoardo Mortara (40),
14. Nico Müller (36), 15. Tom Blomqvist (15), 16. Augusto
Farfus (6), 17. Maro Engel (3), 18. Loic Duval (0).
Teams: 1. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (147 points), 2.
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport BWT (127), 3. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
(125), 4. BMW Team RBM (121), 5. Mercedes-AMG
Motorsport Mercedes me (99), 6. BMW Team RMR (75), 7.
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport SILBERPFEIL Energy (56), 8. Audi Sport Team
Phoenix (54), 9. BMW Team RMG (52).
Manufacturers: 1. Audi (326 points), 2. Mercedes
(282), 3. BMW (248).
The service:
BMW Motorsport will offer an innovative Chatbot service for
journalists for the first time in the 2017 DTM season. This allows
users to receive the latest information directly to their smartphone
via WhatsApp Messenger. The information available includes driver
statistics, statements and photos. You can register for the BMW
Motorsport Chatbot at the following link:
http://bit.ly/BMW_Motorsport_Media_Broadcast_EN