Norisring (DE), 25th June 2016. Marco Wittmann (DE), at the wheel of
the Red Bull BMW M4 DTM, finished fourth in Saturday’s DTM race at the
Norisring (DE). This represents the 2014 champion’s best ever home
result in the DTM. Wittmann drove a great race, fighting his way
through the field from 13th on the grid. After 49 laps of racing, he
crossed the finish line ahead of Bruno Spengler (CA), who came home
fifth in the BMW Bank M4 DTM.
Maxime Martin (BE) also produced an excellent drive in the SAMSUNG
BMW M4 DTM. He started down in 14th place, but made up eight positions
over the course of the race to finish sixth. António Félix da Costa
(PT, BMW M4 DTM) battled his way through from 21st place to ninth and
was rewarded with two points for his efforts.
Augusto Farfus (BR, Shell BMW M4 DTM) finished just outside the
points in eleventh place. Martin Tomczyk (DE) also came up just short
of a points finish, having fought back from 23rd on the grid to finish
12th in the BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM. Timo Glock (DE, DEUTSCHE
POST BMW M4 DTM) and Tom Blomqvist (GB, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM) were
14th and 16th.
Reactions to the seventh race of the 2016 DTM season.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “The fans
witnessed an extremely thrilling race – just like you are used to at
the Norisring. It was a top result for us and the best that we were
able to achieve. Naturally, we benefitted from an aggressive manoeuvre
from the opposition. But with Bruno Spengler in fifth place, we only
had one driver in a good starting position. The fact that we ended up
with four cars in the top 10 is fantastic. Marco in particular
delivered an excellent performance at his home event and pushed his
way into fourth place after starting from 13th on the grid, but Bruno
and Maxime both had great races right behind him. I am very pleased.
Now we will undergo intensive preparations for tomorrow. It will be
another fiercely contested race.”
Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, 4th place): “The best
word I can think of to describe this result is ‘mega’. I had a good
start from P13, then it is always incredibly close on the first turn
here. I went for the inside line, and I think that was the right
choice. I was able to make up positions and then benefitted from the
hotheads in front of me – you need to keep a cool head at the front.
In terms of pace, we were very, very fast. From 13th to fourth place –
that doesn’t happen every day.”
Facts and Figures.
Circuit/length/duration:
Norisring, 2.3 kilometres, 40 minutes plus 1 lap
Conditions:
Partly cloudy, 30 degrees Celsius
BMW Motorsport results:
#11 Marco Wittmann (DE), BMW Team RMG, Red Bull BMW
M4 DTM – 4th place
#7 Bruno Spengler (CA), BMW Team MTEK, BMW Bank M4 DTM – 5th place
#36 Maxime Martin (BE), BMW Team RBM, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM – 6th place
#13 António Félix da Costa (PT), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M4 DTM – 9th place
#18 Augusto Farfus (BR), BMW Team MTEK, Shell BMW M4 DTM – 11th place
#100 Martin Tomczyk (DE), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M Performance Parts
M4 DTM – 12th place
#16 Timo Glock (DE), BMW Team RMG, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM – 14th place
#31 Tom Blomqvist (GB), BMW Team RBM, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM – 16th place
Useful information:
Marco Wittmann claimed the best result of his DTM
career at his home event at the Norisring. His previous best at the
street circuit was a sixth place.
Wittmann made up nine places from 13th on the grid. António Félix da
Costa climbed 12 positions, Martin Tomczyk eleven.
Wittmann is second in the DTM Drivers’ Championship after his fourth
place. Edoardo Mortara (IT, Audi) now leads the championship.
Bruno Spengler celebrates an anniversary this weekend. It is exactly
ten years since his first DTM victory, which came at the Norisring.
The safety car made an appearance following a crash involving Mattias
Ekström (SE), Robert Wickens (CA) and Christian Vietoris (DE), who
were battling for the lead at the time.
The second qualifying session begins at 10:50 on Sunday. Before that,
the third practice session is scheduled for 09:00.
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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www.facebook.com/bmwmotorsport
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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