Budapest. Having kicked off the DTM season with two impressive
race weekends at Hockenheim (GER) and the Lausitzring (GER), the BMW
drivers failed to make it onto the podium for the first time in race
five of the year at the Hungaroring (HUN). Bruno Spengler (CAN, BMW
Bank M4 DTM) was the best-placed BMW driver in twelfth place at the
end of a difficult race.
After a tough qualifying, in which Augusto Farfus (BRA, Shell BMW M4
DTM) drove the fastest BMW to eighth place, the majority of BMW
drivers opted for very early pit stops in the race itself. That
strategy did not pay dividends, however. Timo Glock (GER, DEUTSCHE
POST BMW M4 DTM) came home 14th and is now second in the
Drivers’ Championship with 72 points, behind Gary Paffett (GBR,
Mercedes, 79). Farfus, Marco Wittmann (GER, BMW Driving Experience M4
DTM), Joel Eriksson (SWE, BMW M4 DTM) and Philipp Eng (AUT, SAMSUNG
BMW M4 DTM) were 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th.
Reactions from Saturday’s race in Budapest:
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):
“That was obviously not the result we were looking for. Even as early
as qualifying, we had trouble finding the right balance for our cars
in today’s conditions. Unfortunately, that continued into the race. We
tried to implement an aggressive strategy and bring most of the cars
in early for their tyre change, but that did not help very much
either. We simply failed to get the tyres working as we needed to. We
will have to take a close look at that ahead of tomorrow’s race. In
principle, we had the pace to challenge at the front of the field. We
showed that in the free practice sessions.”
Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal, BMW Team RMG):
“The race showed clearly just how evenly matched the DTM field is.
Our job now is to analyse what went wrong in qualifying and how we can
get the tyres working better. We also saw that it is very difficult to
overtake here. We had several possible strategies, but none of them
helped us climb through the field.”
Marco Wittmann (#11 BMW Driving Experience M4 DTM, BMW Team
RMG – qualifying result: 13th place, race result:
16th place, points: 26):
“We had a different strategy to most of the other drivers. We stayed
out there and hoped for rain but it did not come. In the bunch, when
everyone has DRS, it is difficult to overtake. We had no chance today.”
Augusto Farfus (#15 Shell BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG –
qualifying result: 8th place, race result:
15th place, points: 2):
“That was a tough race for BMW. The pace in the race was not good,
and we did not get the strategy right either. I am now hoping for a
better race tomorrow.”
Timo Glock (#16 DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR –
qualifying result: 16th place, race result:
14th place, points: 72):
“The car actually felt really good in the race but, unfortunately, we
did not have the top speed we needed. We must now take a close look
and determine why that was – and then do better tomorrow.”
Bart Mampaey (Team Principal, BMW Team RBM):
“After the difficult qualifying, we tried everything and opted for a
bold strategy in the race. Unfortunately, there was not a lot more we
could have done today. We will analyse this result and try our hardest
to do better tomorrow. Congratulations to Paul di Resta on his win.”
Philipp Eng (#25 SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR – qualifying
result: 17th place, race result: 18th place,
points: 26):
“That hurt today. We must now put our heads together to understand
what happened out there. We have a new opportunity tomorrow.”
Bruno Spengler (#7 BMW Bank M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM – qualifying
result: 10th place, race result: 12th place,
points: 23):
“I fought like a lion. I wanted to pick up some points with an
aggressive strategy. It was worth trying an early stop. However, we
were not fast enough to finish in the top ten. Hopefully we will be
able to do better tomorrow.”
Joel Eriksson (#47 BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM – qualifying
result: 15th place, race result: 17th place,
points: 15):
“The start was actually pretty good. After that, however, we were
often in the wrong place at the wrong time. Instead of making up
positions, I dropped back because somebody forced me off. That made it
increasingly difficult.”