PressClub Global · Article.
Reactions to the fifth race of the 2016 DTM season.
Sat Jun 04 18:39:07 CEST 2016 Press Release
Read here what BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt and the eight BMW DTM drivers had to say after the race.
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Spielberg (AT), 4th June 2016. Marco Wittmann (DE) finished fourth in Saturday’s race at the Lausitzring (DE) to score valuable points and take the lead in the DTM Drivers’ Championship. BMW Team RMG defended its lead in the Team competition. BMW also tops the Manufacturers’ standings.
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 can be very satisfied with fourth place for Marco Wittmann. He used up his DRS quota relatively early in the race, and then defended his position doggedly against those behind him. That is the mark of a champion: Marco showed nerves of steel. He now leads the Drivers’ Championship Maxime Martin is the only driver in the field to have finished in the points in every race this season. That is a very impressive performance. António Félix da Costa fought his way through the field with some fantastic and fair manoeuvres. In doing so, he showed what a fine racer he is. I am very pleased for him. Given the fact that the Lausitzring does not really suit the BMW M4 DTM, that was a good result today.”
Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, 4th place): “My summary is more than positive. We did not reckon on finishing fourth here, and taking the lead in the Drivers’ Championship. We scored a lot of points, which is important – particularly on a track, at which we are not so strong. I had a good start, but unfortunately I could not find a way through to the very front. Then Robert Wickens forced me off the track. Towards the end of the race I did not have any DRS left and had to go on the defensive. It was a tough race – on the whole, I am very happy.”
Maxime Martin (BMW Team RBM, 9th place): “That was okay, although it was quite a difficult race. At least I came away with two points. That is always nice, but our pace in the race was not as good as in qualifying. Let’s see what happens tomorrow. The goal is to extend our run of finishes in the points. The atmosphere here at the Motorsport Festival is fantastic.”
Bruno Spengler (BMW Team MTEK, 11th place): “I fought hard today. The start was relatively okay, but it is just very difficult to make any progress through the field after the kind of qualifying we had. My goal was to finish in the points. I almost made it. The car was much better than in qualifying. I have to say a big thank you to my team for that. I will try again tomorrow.”
Timo Glock (BMW Team RMG, 12th place): “That was difficult today. I got away very well at the start, and then found myself behind Nico Müller. Unfortunately, there was no way past him. Generally speaking, the car was not easy to drive. We will take a look at that with tomorrow in mind. Congratulations to Marco. That was a tough battle for him up front. It is nice that he was able to pick up some points for the team. I obviously want to do the same thing tomorrow.”
António Félix da Costa (BMW Team Schnitzer, 15th place): “I had fun today. I was able to make up a few positions, particularly on the opening lap. Over the course of the race, it became increasingly difficult to keep the rear axle under control. Hopefully we will improve that for tomorrow. There were a few fair battles, without any contact. My car does not have a single scratch. That is very positive after a race like that.”
Augusto Farfus (BMW Team MTEK, 21st place): “It was a frustrating race. We had a problem at the start, but, that aside, our car was simply not fast enough today. We had difficulties in qualifying. They then continued in the race. It is a shame, but tomorrow is a new day.”
Tom Blomqvist (BMW Team RBM, 22nd place): “That was not a good race for us. I was hemmed-in in the first corner. At first I thought I had a puncture, but I was able to continue. Despite that, I dropped back through the field. I could not have done anything more. We did not get the car in the right performance window today. We can forget about today. We will start again tomorrow.”
Martin Tomczyk (BMW Team Schnitzer, DNF): “It is a shame. Esteban Ocon’s attempt to overtake was never going to work. He had already tried it two laps beforehand. He had to realise then that it was not possible. Nonetheless, it happened. He was given a penalty. That does not do me much good, or him for that matter. The race came to a premature end. We must now focus fully on tomorrow.”
DTM standings.
Drivers’ Championship.
- Marco Wittmann (47 points), 2. Edoardo Mortara (44), 3. Paul di Resta (43), 4. Robert Wickens (43), 5. Maxime Martin (39), 6. Timo Glock (37), 7. Tom Blomqvist (34), 8. Jamie Green (33), 9. Augusto Farfus (32), 10. Mattias Ekström (28), 11. Miguel Molina (26), 12. Nico Müller (23), 13. Christian Vietoris (20), 14. Gary Paffett (12), 15. Martin Tomczyk (12), 16. Bruno Spengler (10), 17. Lucas Auer (6), 18. António Félix da Costa (6), 19. Mike Rockenfeller (5), 20. Adrien Tambay (4), 21. Timo Scheider (1), 22. Maximilian Götz (0), 23. Daniel Juncadella (0), 24. Esteban Ocon (0).
Team Championship.
- BMW Team RMG (84 points), 2. BMW Team RBM (73), 3. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (72), 4. Audi Sport Team Abt (49), 5. Mercedes-AMG (43), 6. SILBERPFEIL Energy/UBFS invest Mercedes-AMG (43), 7. BMW Team MTEK (42), 8. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (37), 9. BWT Mercedes-AMG (26), 10. BMW Team Schnitzer (18), 11. EURONICS/FREEMEN’S WORLD Mercedes-AMG (12), 12. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (6).
Manufacturers’ Championship.
- BMW (217 points), 2. Audi (164), 3. Mercedes-Benz (127).
Statistics for the BMW DTM drivers.
Driver | WIT | GLO | SPE | FAR | BLO | MAR | DAC | TOM |
Country | DE | DE | CA | BR | GB | BE | PT | DE |
Number | 11 | 16 | 7 | 18 | 31 | 36 | 13 | 100 |
Age | 26 | 34 | 32 | 32 | 22 | 30 | 24 | 34 |
DTM debut | 2013 | 2013 | 2005 | 2012 | 2015 | 2014 | 2014 | 2001 |
Team | RMG | RMG | MTEK | MTEK | RBM | RBM | Schnitzer | Schnitzer |
Races | 43 | 43 | 126 | 53 | 23 | 33 | 33 | 164 |
Wins | 6 | 3 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
Podiums | 10 | 6 | 44 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 28 |
Poles | 6 | 1 | 17 | 5 | - | 2 | 1 | 8 |
Fastest laps | 5 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
Points | 364 | 166 | 717 | 333 | 93 | 180 | 91 | 488 |
2016 race calendar.
6th -8th May – Hockenheim (DE), 20th -22nd May – Spielberg (AT), 3 rd -5 th June – Lausitzring (DE), 24th -26th June – Norisring (DE), 15th -17th July – Zandvoort (NL), 19th -21st August – Moscow (RU), 9th -11th September – Nürburgring (DE), 23rd -25th September – Budapest (HU), 14th -16th October – Hockenheim (DE).
More information.
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at www.press.bmwgroup.com/global.
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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