PressClub Global · Article.
Reactions to the third race weekend of the 2016 DTM season.
Sun Jun 05 19:17:10 CEST 2016 Press Release
Read here what BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt, the four team principals and the eight BMW DTM drivers had to say after the race weekend.
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Lausitzring (DE), 5th June 2016. BMW Motorsport leaves the Lausitzring (DE) with a further 25 hard-fought points to its name. BMW and BMW Team RMG were able to retain their leads in the Manufacturers’ Championship and Team competition. Marco Wittmann (DE) is second in the Drivers’ Championship after finishing fourth and sixth at the 3.478-kilometre circuit. In total, four BMW drivers scored points at the EuroSpeedway, in the form of Wittmann, Maxime Martin (BE), Bruno Spengler (CA) and Timo Glock (DE).
Read here what BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt, the four team principals and the eight BMW DTM drivers had to say after the race weekend.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “I think we put on a fantastic show for the fans with this Motorsport Festival. There was a lot going on out on the track, and we had very good crowds in the stands. There was a real festival atmosphere. This joint event with the DTM, ADAC GT Masters and SUPERBIKE*IDM was a great success. Thank you to everyone who made it possible. The Sunday race was hard work for us again. Marco Wittmann achieved a very good result with his sixth place. The points scored by Bruno Spengler and Timo Glock were also important. We knew we would struggle on this track, but still came away with some points. We will now turn our attention to the next race at the Norisring.”
Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal, BMW Team RMG): “We put on a really good show this weekend – and the drivers did a fantastic job. I would like to say a special thank you to our engineers. They prepared meticulously for this weekend, and their hard work paid off. It was a big success for us. As expected, the circuit was a big challenge, but we got something out of the weekend.”
Ernest Knoors (Team Principal, BMW Team MTEK): “Firstly, I am just pleased that the incident involving Augusto did not have any serious consequences. That was really very dangerous. It was a disappointing weekend for us. We had problems setting a good pace in qualifying. However, everything actually fell into place in the race itself. The pit stop was superb and the strategy was good. We just need to start from further up the grid. That is what we will be aiming for at the Norisring.”
Bart Mampaey (Team Principal, BMW Team RBM): “We always knew that this would be a difficult weekend. We tried everything. We failed to score any points with Tom this weekend, and only succeeded with Maxime on Saturday. That is disappointing, but we certainly learned a lot. That will help us next time.”
Charly Lamm (Team Principal, BMW Team Schnitzer): “That was not our weekend. We will have to look into exactly why that was the case. We were lacking performance, and we need to find out why quickly. If everything does not fall into place perfectly in the DTM, then you find yourself fighting towards the back of the field.”
Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, Sun.: 6th place, Sat.: 4th place): “I feel very positive after this weekend. We knew beforehand that we would not find it easy at the Lausitzring. With this in mind, fourth and sixth are very good results. I scored important points, and thus made the most of our opportunities. Unfortunately, my start was something of a disaster in Sunday’s race. I got away really badly. However, I fought back very well after that, and was the fastest BMW driver in the race.”
Bruno Spengler (BMW Team MTEK, Sun.: 9th place, Sat.: 11th place): “This weekend had positive and negative aspects for us. Unfortunately, we did not manage to be quick in qualifying, but I generally had a very good car over the race distance. As we started from well down the field, it was impossible to score more points. As far as race pace is concerned, we were just as quick as the leading group. My guys did a great pit stop today. A big thank you for that.”
Timo Glock (BMW Team RMG, Sun.: 10th place, Sat.: 12th place): “I was really happy with third place in qualifying this morning. We had taken another step forward and established a good starting position for the race. Unfortunately, however, we couldn’t get anything going with the second set of tyres. I was fighting a losing battle. I had to let one car after another through, and that was that.”
Tom Blomqvist (BMW Team RBM, Sun.: 11th place, Sat.: 22nd place): “It was a difficult weekend. This time, we did not have the necessary pace over the race distance. Yesterday’s race was tough. Today was better, but I don’t think we could have done a lot more. I had problems with my tyres in my first stint. It was better after the pit stop, but by then it was too late.”
António Félix da Costa (BMW Team Schnitzer, Sun.: 13th place, Sat.: 15th place): “On the whole, we were simply not fast enough. The car did not feel as though I could push all weekend. Despite this, we did our very best, as anything is possible in the DTM. We will learn from this, and continue to work hard.”
Maxime Martin (BMW Team RBM, Sun.: 14th place, Sat.: 9th place): “That was not necessarily our best weekend. It was okay on a flying lap in qualifying, but we struggled over the race distance. I scored two points yesterday, but none today. I am not happy with that, but that is part and parcel of racing sometimes.”
Martin Tomczyk (BMW Team Schnitzer, Sun.: 18th place, Sat.: DNF): “I must forget about this weekend quickly. However, I am still unsettled by today’s qualifying. That was very disappointing. Despite that, I obviously still wanted to get the best out of the race. The battle with Mike Rockenfeller was nice and fair, but there was no longer anything at stake. All I can say to that is: bring on the Norisring.”
Augusto Farfus (BMW Team MTEK, Sun.: DNF, Sat.: 21st place): “I defended my position and think Miguel Molina completely forgot to brake. He rammed me, and that was the end of my race. We never found the right balance for the car this weekend. Despite this, everyone in the team worked very hard. We will fight back at the Norisring.”
DTM standings.
Drivers’ Championship.
- Robert Wickens (58 points), 2. Marco Wittmann (55), 3. Mattias Ekström (46), 4. Jamie Green (45), 5. Edoardo Mortara (44), 6. Paul di Resta (43), 7. Maxime Martin (39), 8. Timo Glock (38), 9. Tom Blomqvist (34), 10. Augusto Farfus (32), 11. Lucas Auer (31), 12. Nico Müller (27), 13. Miguel Molina (26), 14. Christian Vietoris (26), 15. Gary Paffett (22), 16. Martin Tomczyk (12), 17. Bruno Spengler (12), 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 (93 points), 2. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (90), 3. BMW Team RBM (73), 4. SILBERPFEIL Energy/UBFS invest Mercedes-AMG (58), 5. Mercedes-AMG (57), 6. Audi Sport Team Abt (53), 7. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (49), 8. BMW Team MTEK (44), 9. BWT Mercedes-AMG (43), 10. EURONICS/FREEMEN`S WORLDMercedes-AMG (22), 11. BMW Team Schnitzer (18), 11. 12. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (6).
Manufacturers’ Championship.
- BMW (228 points), 2. Audi (198), 3. Mercedes-Benz (180).
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 | 44 | 44 | 127 | 54 | 24 | 34 | 34 | 165 |
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 | 372 | 167 | 719 | 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.
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.
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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