Munich. The 2019 DTM season is on the finishing straight. The
BMW teams’ preparations for the grand finale at the Hockenheimring
(GER), with races on 5th and 6th October, are
in full swing. The BMW drivers have six wins, a further seven
podiums and six pole positions to their name so far this season.
Marco Wittmann (GER) still has a mathematical chance of finishing
runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship. In an interview, BMW Group
Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt discusses a difficult season for
BMW M Motorsport in the DTM and looks ahead to 2020.
Mr Marquardt, the final round of the DTM at Hockenheim is
almost upon us. What are your goals for the two races?
Jens Marquardt: “We want to head into the winter break on the back of
at least one victory at Hockenheim. We owe that to our fans, at least.
They have supported us brilliantly, despite a difficult year in the
DTM. We want to thank them for that. We have shown over the course of
the season that our overall package has what it takes to win races.”
How would you sum up the season so far?
Marquardt: “Of course we are not happy with where we find ourselves
after 16 DTM races. We started the season well, but, for various
reasons, we have run out of steam a little since the middle of the
season. This is not what we demand of ourselves. We want to be
challenging for the title right down to the final round of a
championship. The fact that we have not managed that this season is a
disappointment for everyone. At the same time, we will use that
disappointment to spur us on and motivate us for next season. We must,
and will, improve next season, so that we have a say in who wins the title.”
What are the reasons for this, and how will you approach the comeback?
Marquardt: “After a season like this, in which we have come up short
of our own expectations, we will optimise a number of areas – based on
the means we have at our disposal. For example, we are currently
examining exactly what configuration and structure the BMW M4 DTM will
be run in the future. We must obviously get to grips with such issues
as reliability. Our two works teams will continue to play a key role.
Although there is always potential for improvements on both sides, the
crews of Bart Mampaey and Stefan Reinhold are working at a very high
level. For this reason, we are also planning on working with our RBM
and RMG works teams next season. At the same time, we are also
performing a self-critical analysis in Munich and are pinpointing
things we want to do better in the future, in order to also restore
some consistency to our results. The prerequisite for all this is
passion. That is what made us and our team strong and helped us to
titles in the past, and that is what I want to see from every single individual.”
How does the driver line-up look?
Marquardt: “Our drivers are just as much a part of the overall DTM
package as the car and the teams. As such, we will also be looking
closely at this area. Our goal has to be to remain as compact as
possible, both in qualifying and the race. This season, we have not
always been as successful in this regard as we were in the second
qualifying session at the Nürburgring, when five of our six drivers
set times within one tenth of a second of each other. We are also
performing an analysis to identify the cause of this.”
Generally speaking, how many seats are up for grabs?
Marquardt: “We are planning on at least six BMW cars for next year’s
DTM. Whether there will be a private BMW team remains to be seen. Our
premise remains that the private team can cover the running costs
itself. BMW will not take on any additional budget. That is not the
underlying idea – and would not be expedient, neither for us nor the
team. BMW has a very clear philosophy in that regard.”