Impressive second place for Philipp Eng in Sunday’s race at Misano.

This was Eng’s third podium result of the year, and the
290thin the history of the touring car series for BMW. In
total, four BMW drivers finished in the top ten. Joel Eriksson (SWE)
was sixth in the CATL BMW M4 DTM, while Bruno Spengler (CAN) ended the
race eighth in the BMW Bank M4 DTM. Sheldon van der Linde (RSA, Shell
BMW M4 DTM) followed him home in ninth.

 

Wittmann and Timo Glock (GER) both reached a very special milestone
at Misano on Sunday. Both drivers were starting the
100thDTM race of their careers. The two BMW drivers both
made their debut in the touring car series at the opening round of the
2013 season at Hockenheim and have since driven both the BMW M3 DTM
and the BMW M4 DTM. Wittmann has 13 wins, 12 pole positions and two
DTM titles to his name. Glock has secured five pole positions and
climbed onto the top step of the podium on five times to date.
However, the 100thrace came to a premature end for both
Wittmann and Glock. Wittmann crashed out following a collision on lap
one, for which he was in no way to blame. Technical issues forced
Glock to retire in the JiVS BMW M4 DTM.

 

Reactions to the sixth DTM race of the 2019 season at Misano.

 

Rudolf Dittrich (General Manager BMW Motorsport Vehicle Development): 

“All in all, it has been a weekend of highs and lows. The highlight
was obviously Marco Wittmann’s victory on Saturday, when he launched a
stunning fightback from last on the grid to take a sensational
victory. And Philipp Eng’s impressive performance on Sunday, with some
nice overtaking manoeuvres and great tyre management, was also a great
advertisement for the DTM. However, we also struggled with some issues
at Misano. Our performance in both qualifying sessions was not ideal.
Furthermore, Wittmann and Timo Glock were both forced out of their
100thDTM race far too early on Sunday. Marco was
unnecessarily wiped out in the early stages of the race. Timo had to
return to the garage with technical issues early on. We would have
liked a different outcome for both of them in their milestone race. In
total, however, we had five cars in the top ten on Saturday and four
on Sunday. That is a respectable result. Congratulations to Nico
Müller and Audi on their win.”

 

Bart Mampaey (BMW Team RBM Team Principal):

“It was an exciting race – the first in dry conditions without a
safety car. Given our grid positions, we did not necessarily expect to
make so much progress in the race. As such, I am very happy with the
result, the podium for Philipp Eng, and the good points haul for the
championship. Joel Eriksson also climbed through the field to finish
sixth. Sheldon van der Linde did a super-long stint and also made it
into the points. Well done, guys!”

 

Philipp Eng (#25 ZF BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR, Grid:
9th, Race: 2nd, Drivers’ standings:
2nd, 83 points):

“I am incredibly proud of everyone. There is no guarantee that you
can finish runner-up from ninth place on the grid. As such, I am
really happy with the result. We did everything right. In hindsight, I
could possibly have pushed a little earlier, as my tyres were in good
condition. Then I could have attacked Nico Müller. However, he was
probably too far in front. We must look to see whether my DRS was
working properly all the time. Otherwise, we could possibly have done
even better. On the whole, however, I am extremely happy.”

 

Joel Eriksson (#47 CATL BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM, Grid:
8th, Race: 6th, Drivers’ standings:
9th, 28 points):

“It was quite a good race. I struggled a little at the start. That is
why we changed the tyres. After the pit stop, I still had a few
problems with the tyres, but managed to cope with that. I then pulled
off a good manoeuvre on the final lap to pass Jonathan Aberdein.
Generally speaking, they are good points for BMW and I am now looking
forward to the next race weekend.”

 

Sheldon van der Linde (#31 Shell BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM,
Grid: 11th, Race: 9th, Drivers’
standings:11th, 25 points):

“I am happier than I was yesterday, even though the result may not
necessarily reflect that. The pace was really good today. We stopped
early, then I battled through to the finish and tried to keep everyone
else behind me. I am satisfied with ninth place yesterday and then
again today.”

 

Stefan Reinhold (BMW Team RMG Team Principal):

“Today, our luck was the polar opposite to yesterday. Timo Glock had
a technical issue with his car. You could see for yourself what
happened to Marco Wittmann. I think he would definitely have finished
on the podium. You obviously can’t do anything about an unnecessary
crash like that. We did manage to get Bruno Spengler to climb a few
places in the race, and are obviously happy about that. The team once
again did a super job this weekend.”

 

Marco Wittmann (#11 Schaeffler BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG, Grid:
6th, Race: DNF, Drivers’ standings: 4th  68 points):

“It is really annoying to crash out in that manner. I cannot say too
much on the subject and am obviously totally frustrated. It is
disappointing to end my 100thDTM race that way,
particularly after the great start and good opening lap.”

 

Bruno Spengler (#7 BMW Bank M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG, Grid:
13th, Race: 8th, Drivers’ standings:
7th, 40 points):

“To climb from 13thto eighth – without any particular
incidents, like the appearance of a safety car – was really good. It
would have been really difficult to get any more out of the race. I
was held up by Mike Rockenfeller a little for a while. That cost me a
little time. Maybe seventh or sixth place might just have been
possible. But that’s life. We had a few difficulties in qualifying
this morning. We need to analyse that and improve for next time. If we
can manage to start from further up the field, it will probably be a
different story.”

 

Timo Glock (#16 BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR, Grid:
10th, Race: DNF, Drivers’ standings: 12th, 21 points):

“We had problems from the very start. Then the engine suddenly lost
power and we tried to repair it. We did manage, but that landed me
well behind everyone else. I just wanted to see if it was working.
However, the car then started to shift back into first gear when I was
in second. Once that started happening, my race was over. Only a cold
beer on the beach can help me now.”