Hockenheim. The BMW M Motorsport weekend got underway with a
podium. At the DTM season opener at Hockenheim (GER), Timo Glock
(GER) in the DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM, finished in third place on
the podium. Bruno Spengler (CAN) also picked up points, finishing
sixth in the BMW Bank M4 DTM. Marco Wittmann (GER) had to make do
with eleventh place after starting from second on the grid in the
BMW Driving Experience M4 DTM. Right behind him was Joel Eriksson
(SWE), who finished twelfth in his maiden DTM race. The second DTM
rookie Philipp Eng (AUT, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM) crossed the finish line
in 16th place, right behind Augusto Farfus (BRA, Shell
BMW M4 DTM). The win went to Gary Paffett (GBR, Mercedes).
Reactions to Saturday’s race at Hockenheim:
Rudolf Dittrich (BMW Motorsport):
“It was a fantastic start to the season for fans and spectators. The
field was extremely close and we saw great duels on the track.
Congratulations to Timo Glock on a well-deserved podium in the first
race of the season after a flawless performance. It’s a great opener
for him. The same applies to Bruno Spengler in sixth place. I’m also
very pleased with the performance of our rookies Joel Eriksson and
Philipp Eng. Joel was in the points for much of the race, only
narrowly missing out in the end in twelfth place. On the whole, it was
a good start to the season; we can build on it. Congratulations to
Mercedes on the one-two finish.”
Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal BMW Team RMG):
“Overall, we are pleased with the first race. There are a lot of new
faces this year, and the car has changed quite a bit too. We got off
to a pretty good start, but we also saw that we were unable to hold
the qualifying positions with all the cars. We need to work on that.”
Marco Wittmann (#11 BMW Driving Experience M4 DTM, BMW Team
RMG – qualifying result: 2nd place, race result:
11th place, points: 2):
“I’m not sure myself what the issue was today. I didn’t have the
pace, and there was a great deal of tyre wear during the race. It was
a difficult race; instead of moving up, I just dropped down the field.
It is pretty disappointing to end up with no points when you start
from second on the grid.”
Augusto Farfus (#15 Shell BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG –
qualifying result: 6th place, race result:
15th place, points: -):
“We had a good pace in qualifying. We had problems with the rear axle
in the race which affected our performance. Now we need to look at the
data and keep on working. Tomorrow is another day.”
Timo Glock (#16 DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR –
qualifying result: 3rd place, race result: 3rd
place, points: 16):
“I’m very happy with the whole day. My mechanics and engineers gave
me a great car; many thanks to them! And our strategy of changing the
tyres slightly earlier, putting the Mercedes ahead of me under
pressure, worked out really well. I tried to get past Lucas Auer, but
he defended cleverly. After that, I focussed on getting the tyres to
go the distance in the warm temperatures and bringing the important
podium home.”
Bart Mampaey (Team Principal BMW Team RBM):
“We saw Bruno Spengler’s potential in qualifying. He didn’t have the
easiest start; it was pretty close going into turn one with René Rast
and Mike Rockenfeller, but Bruno handled it really well. Thanks to our
strategy and good pace, we were able to make up a few positions. We
can be pleased with sixth place. Joel Eriksson had a good pace, but we
were unable to get the most out of the start. Over the course of the
race, he fought his way through the field and was able to make up a
few positions. Philipp had a difficult start. So it’s not so easy to
fight your way up the field from the back but we are still learning.
We will use the insights from today to do better tomorrow.”
Philipp Eng (#25 SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR – qualifying
result: 15th place, race result: 16th place,
points: -):
“Unfortunately, I totally messed up the start. It was my mistake. It
shouldn’t happen again tomorrow. Apart from that, I am pleased. I made
a few good overtaking manoeuvres, including passing Mattias Ekström.
That was something special, because he is really difficult to overtake.”
Bruno Spengler (#7 BMW Bank M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM – qualifying
result: 8th place, race result: 6th place,
points: 12):
“We were really good over the distance, but we still have some work
to do before tomorrow so that we are even stronger. With a little more
pace in the second stint, we definitely could have been within reach
of the podium. However, it is a positive result overall, we were able
to pick up a few points.”
Joel Eriksson (#47 BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM – qualifying
result: 10th place, race result: 12th place,
points: -):
“I didn’t have the best start, because I dropped down the field. Then
I got stuck in traffic, which cost me a lot of time. I tried to make
up a few positions, but the charge took its toll on the front tyres.
Things felt a lot better after the pit stop. Overall, I feel that my
driving and performance in the race were pretty good.”
Next race:
Currently, the BMW M8 GTEs are in action at the season opener of the
FIA World Endurance Championship, the 6-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps
(BEL). The race finishes at 7:30 p.m. CET.