Nürburgring (DE), 10th September 2016. Marco Wittmann (DE) and Tom
Blomqvist (GB) claimed the second one-two of the DTM season for BMW
Motorsport in Saturday’s race at the Nürburgring (DE). Timo Glock (DE)
and Maxime Martin (BE) finished fifth and eighth to score valuable
points. BMW was able to extend its lead in all three competitions on
the back of this fine team result. Wittmann tops the Drivers’
Championship, while BMW Team RMG leads the team competition and BMW
the Manufacturers’ Championship.
Read here what BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt and the eight
BMW DTM drivers had to say after the race.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “We were
once again treated to ‘Mega Marco’ today. He claimed the home win for
BMW Team RMG in dominant fashion, thanks to a top-class performance –
and on the 50th appearance of the DTM in the Eifel Mountains. Tom
Blomqvist also did a fantastic job. He was under pressure for the
entire race, and pushed himself to the limit right to the finish. Timo
Glock and Maxime Martin also scored a lot of valuable points for their
teams. It is a shame that Bruno Spengler was given a drive-through
penalty while running sixth. He spotted his chance against Daniel
Juncadella, but then made contact. The penalty was justified. Martin
Tomczyk could also have finished in the points, but unfortunately he
was forced off the track. All in all, however, it was a virtually
perfect day for us. We witnessed some fantastic touring car racing. We
are now focussed on tomorrow, when there are more important points up
for grabs.”
Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, 1st place): “That was a
mega race. I am absolutely delighted with the win – not only for me,
but also for my team, which has won at its home event for the third
year in a row. I had a very good start and was able to defend my lead
in the first corner. After that, I just tried to open a gap ahead of
Tom Blomqvist and keep my rhythm. After the guys behind me were
involved in a few battles, I had a comfortable lead. All I had to do
then was bring it home.”
Tom Blomqvist (BMW Team RBM, 2nd place): “I am very
happy with this result. We had a few problems in practice yesterday
and today. However, BMW Team RBM got to grips with this magnificently
by the time qualifying came around. The race was very tough with some
close battles. I had to fend off a number of attacks. I managed that,
and am very happy with the podium and the 18 points.”
Timo Glock (BMW Team RMG, 5th place): “The start was
not actually the best, but the speed was good after that. I was able
to pass Lucas Auer, although I did do a bit of damage to the
front-right tyre in the process. Despite this, the pace was still
okay. I am happy to be back in the points. I am obviously delighted
for BMW Team RMG and the entire team with Marco Wittmann’s win and our
good overall result. Marco is doing everything right at the moment,
and thoroughly deserved his win.”
Maxime Martin (BMW Team RBM, 8th place): “I am not
entirely happy with the result. I had a very good start, but was then
stuck in the pack and lost a few places. I was able to regain these on
the track, which was good, but four points is not the haul I was
hoping for. Congratulations to Marco and my team-mate Tom on his podium.”
Martin Tomczyk (BMW Team Schnitzer, 16th place):
“Firstly, congratulations to Marco, Tom and BMW on this
outstanding result. I actually had a good race too and was running
11th when I came off the racing line and damaged the car in a hard but
fair battle with Mattias Ekström. After that, I was fighting a losing battle.”
Bruno Spengler (BMW Team MTEK, 18th place): “My start
was good. I made up some places and was able to go with Daniel
Juncadella. The pace was generally okay up to the middle of the race.
Unfortunately, I then saw a gap and tried to overtake Juncadella. The
wheels locked up and I really tried to stay on my line. Unfortunately,
the front axle got away from me a little and I made slight contact
with him. There was absolutely no intent and I have apologised to him.
The penalty was harsh, but you have to accept it and focus on tomorrow.”
António Félix da Costa (BMW Team Schnitzer, 20th place):
“That was a really bad race for me, personally. Even in
qualifying I was unable to improve on the second set of tyres, which
meant I had to start from right at the back of the grid. In the race
the pace was not good enough to make any progress. That has often been
our problem. I am obviously very pleased for the other BMW guys at the
front of the field. However, I hope things pan out better for us again tomorrow.”
Augusto Farfus (BMW Team MTEK, 22nd place):
“Unfortunately, that was a really tough day for me. We just
did not find the set-up to allow us to compete at the front. We must
improve that for tomorrow, then things will hopefully work out better.”
DTM standings.
Drivers’ Championship.
- Marco Wittmann (155 points), 2. Robert Wickens (120), 3. Jamie
Green (119), 4. Edoardo Mortara (112), 5. Paul di Resta (100), 6.
Tom Blomqvist (89), 7. Maxime Martin (75), 8. Mattias Ekström (70),
9. Nico Müller (68), 10. Gary Paffett (67), 11. Timo Glock (58), 12.
Lucas Auer (50), 13. Augusto Farfus (44), 14. Bruno Spengler (43),
15. Christian Vietoris (42), 16. Miguel Molina (26), 17. Maximilian
Götz (17), 18. António Félix da Costa (16), 19. Adrien Tambay (14),
20. Martin Tomczyk (13), 21. Mike Rockenfeller (5), 22. Daniel
Juncadella (4), 23. Timo Scheider (3), 24. Esteban Ocon (2), 25.
Felix Rosenqvist (1).
Team Championship
.
- BMW Team RMG (213 points), 2. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
(182), 3. BMW Team RBM (164), 4. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (133), 5.
SILBERPFEIL Energy/UBFS invest Mercedes-AMG (124), 6. Mercedes-AMG
(117), 7. Audi Sport Team Abt (94), 8. BWT Mercedes-AMG (92), 9. BMW
Team MTEK (87), 10. EURONICS/FREEMEN`S WORLDMercedes-AMG (70), 11.
BMW Team Schnitzer (29), 12. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (8).
Manufacturers’ Championship
.
- BMW (493 points), 2. Audi (417), 3. Mercedes-Benz (403).
Statistics for the BMW DTM drivers.
2016 race calendar.
6th -8th May – Hockenheim (DE), 20th -22nd May – Spielberg (AT), 3rd
-5th June – Lausitzring (DE), 24th -26th June – Norisring (DE), 15th
-17th July – Zandvoort (NL), 19th -21st August – Moscow (RU), 9
th
-11
th
September – Nürburgring (DE), 23rd -25th September –
Budapest (HU), 14th -16th October – Hockenheim (DE).
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