Wittmann claims maiden DTM pole position – Farfus second to complete successful qualifying for BMW.

Zandvoort (NL), 28th September 2013. BMW Team MTEK driver Marco Wittmann (DE) clinched his first pole position in only his ninth DTM race. None of his rivals were able to match his fastest lap of 1:30.894 in the Ice-Watch BMW M3 DTM, which he set during the fourth qualifying session. Not even Augusto Farfus (BR). However, the BMW Team RBM driver did qualify second in his Castrol EDGE BMW M3 DTM to complete an all-BMW front row. That put Farfus directly in front of Mike Rockenfeller (DE, Audi), who he still has a mathematical chance of catching in the Drivers’ Championship with two races remaining. Wittmann claimed the fourth pole position of the season for BMW and the 38th in BMW’s DTM history, while the front-row lock-out marks the third time that two BMWs have occupied the front row in 2013. 

Joey Hand (US) and Timo Glock (DE) also achieved excellent qualifying results. Hand narrowly missed out on the top-four shoot-out, clocking the fifth fastest time in Q3. Glock qualified eighth in the DEUTSCHE POST BMW M3 DTM to claim the best qualifying result of his fledgling DTM career. 

Bruno Spengler (CA) failed to make it into the top ten for the first time this DTM season. The reigning champion qualified 16th in the BMW Bank M3 DTM. However, a penalty awarded for his part in the collision with Robert Wickens (CA) in Oschersleben (DE) means the Canadian will start the race from 18th on the grid. 

Spengler’s BMW Team Schnitzer team-mate Dirk Werner (DE) was 13th in the SAMSUNG BMW M3 DTM, Andy Priaulx (GB, Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M3 DTM) starts from 15th, and Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M3 DTM) had to settle for 19th. The race begins at 13:30 (CET) on Sunday. TV station ARD will broadcast live from the track from 13:15. 

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):
“That was once again an extremely intense and exciting DTM qualifying – and we are obviously very happy with the result. It goes without saying that I am particularly delighted by our rookie Marco Wittmann’s sensational pole position. Marco has been very impressive all year and more than deserves this pole. Augusto Farfus also produced another outstanding qualifying and made it through to Q4 for the fourth time in a row. Both Joey Hand and Timo Glock, with his best qualifying result so far, also impressed. We are now looking forward to an exciting race, particularly given the situation in the Drivers’ Championship. We have put ourselves in a good position for tomorrow, and will do our best to still be out in front come the end of the race. Our goal is obviously to keep the title chase alive heading to Hockenheim.” 

Marco Wittmann (car number 21, BMW Team MTEK, pole position):

“To be on pole in my first year in the DTM is absolutely unbelievable. Qualifying was a close affair. However, I had a virtually perfect lap in the top-four shoot-out. This is a great day for me. I would like to thank BMW Team MTEK for providing me with such a superb car. I have been working towards this success for a long time.” 

Augusto Farfus (car number 7, BMW Team RBM, 2nd on the grid):

“Congratulations to Marco on his first pole position in the DTM. I would also have liked to be starting from pole, but he produced a fantastic lap time. I felt very good in both free practice and qualifying. However, the track kept changing over the course of the sessions. Therefore, I am very happy with my second place on the grid. I am already looking forward to the race.” 

Joey Hand (car number 8, BMW Team RBM, 5th on the grid):

“This is a much better feeling than I have had the last couple of races, and I have a smile on my face. After this morning’s free practice we felt it could go either way. But the BMW Team RBM boys stuck with me and made some good calls. I feel I had the car to go to Q4, but I made a mistake on that lap and just didn't get the most out of it. Maybe we can race for a podium tomorrow.” 

Timo Glock (car number 22, BMW Team MTEK, 8th on the grid):

“We took a step in the right direction today. The car set-up was much better. I had a good feeling in qualifying. As a driver, you obviously always want more, but I am really happy with my eighth place on the grid here in Zandvoort, which is my best qualifying result in the DTM. My team did a fantastic job. Congratulations to Marco on his first pole position in the DTM. It is now all about scoring as many points as possible in tomorrow’s race.” 

Dirk Werner (car number 2, BMW Team Schnitzer, 13th on the grid):

“I had to push quite hard to get a good time. I made a small mistake on my flying lap, and that cost me a better time. I am sorry for my team. With a bit of luck, we could have done better today.” 

Andy Priaulx (car number 16, BMW Team RMG, 15th on the grid):

“Q1 was good but in Q2 I had quite a bit of bottoming in turn seven, which really cost me on my fastest lap. To be honest, it wasn't a bad lap. At least I got through to Q2, which is positive for me, and I shall take that positive into the race and see what we can do tomorrow.” 

Bruno Spengler (car number 1, BMW Team Schnitzer, 18th on the grid):

“For some reason, this is all we could manage today. I struggled with the balance of the car. The result is obviously disappointing. Despite this, we will battle hard tomorrow. Our qualifying pace was not good, so hopefully it will be better tomorrow. In 2012 I started from 18th on the grid and came through to finish sixth. Maybe I can produce another fightback. Whatever happens, I really want to score valuable points for BMW and help Augusto. Unfortunately that will not be easy now.” 

Martin Tomczyk (car number 15, BMW Team RMG, 19th on the grid):

“Again it was a disappointing Saturday. I don't know what is going on this year, but unfortunately I keep being knocked out in Q1. All I can say is we have to keep on fighting, but we can’t seem to win this season.” 

Facts and figures from Zandvoort: 

Standings after 8 of 10 races.  

Drivers’ standings.
1. Mike Rockenfeller (124 points), 2. Augusto Farfus (91), 3. Christian Vietoris (71), 4. Robert Wickens (70), 5. Bruno Spengler (67), 6. Gary Paffett (65), 7. Mattias Ekström (44), 8. Marco Wittmann (39), 9. Jamie Green (35), 10. Dirk Werner (26), 11. Joey Hand (26), 11. Adrien Tambay (22), 13. Timo Scheider (22), 14. Daniel Juncadella (20), 15. Timo Glock (15), 16. Filipe Albuquerque (12), 17. Martin Tomczyk (10), 18. Roberto Merhi (8), 19. Miguel Molina (8), 20. Edoardo Mortara (3), 21. Pascal Wehrlein (3), 22. Andy Priaulx (2). 

Team standings.
1. STIHL / AMG Mercedes (141 points), 2. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (132), 3. BMW Team RBM (117), 4. BMW Team Schnitzer (93), 5. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (79), 6. EURONICS / THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG (73), 7. BMW Team MTEK (54), 8. Audi Sport Team Abt (44), 9. stern / AMG Mercedes (23), 10. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (15), 11. BMW Team RMG (12). 

Manufacturers’ standings.
1. BMW (276 points), 2. Audi (267), 3. Mercedes-Benz (237). 

2013 calendar:
5th May – Hockenheim (DE), 19th May – Brands Hatch (GB), 2nd June – Spielberg (AT), 16th June – Lausitzring (DE), 14th July – Norisring (DE), 4th August – Moscow (RU), 18th August – Nürburgring (DE), 15th September – Oschersleben (DE), 29th September – Zandvoort (NL), 20th October – Hockenheim (DE). 

About the DTM.
The German Touring Car Masters – DTM for short – is the most popular touring car series in the world. Last season, over 650,000 spectators flocked to renowned racetracks in Germany and around Europe to watch the ten races live. 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). In 2012, the manufacturer returned to the DTM with the BMW M3 DTM, three teams and six drivers. BMW promptly won five races and topped the driver, team and manufacturer standings at the end of the season. 

The 2013 DTM calendar once again consists of ten races. The schedule includes four trips abroad, to Brands Hatch (GB), Spielberg (AT), Moscow (RU) and Zandvoort (NL). The season traditionally ends in Hockenheim (DE) on 20th October. This season sees BMW line up with an even stronger contingent of four teams and eight drivers. The car charged with defending the team’s hat-trick of titles is once again the BMW M3 DTM. TV station ARD is broadcasting each qualifying (from 14:30) and every race (from 13:15) live. Tickets for all the DTM races are available here: http://www.bmw-motorsport.com/en/fan-area/dtm-tickets.html