Reactions to the 17th race of the 2016 DTM season.

Hockenheim (DE), 15th October 2016. Marco Wittmann (DE) finished runner-up in the penultimate race of the DTM season to extend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 17 points. This result means that fifth place in Sunday’s season finale would be sufficient for him to be crowned DTM champion for the second time. António Félix da Costa (PT) started the penultimate race of his DTM career from pole position and crossed the finish line fourth. He also clocked the fastest lap of the race. Timo Glock (DE) and Tom Blomqvist (GB) also finished in the points for BMW.

Here you can read what BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt and the eight BMW DTM drivers had to say after the 17th race of the season.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “As expected, that was hard work here in Hockenheim today. Marco Wittmann did a superb job and really earned his 18 points. We were unable to maintain our pace towards the end of the race, and the Audis had also saved some DRS. We saw some fair battles out there - that is exactly how it should be. Tomorrow, it will be important to show the same pace as we had in qualifying in the race itself. Whatever happens, we will give it our absolute all. Marco’s lead has grown again, and we now want to win the title with him tomorrow.”

Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, 2nd place): “That was a good race for us. On the whole, we had good pace and second place means we gained another three points on Edoardo Mortara. That was important. You have to acknowledge that he also drove a good race. Despite this, I am well-placed for tomorrow’s season finale. I will continue to focus solely on doing my job in the cockpit.”

António Félix da Costa (BMW Team Schnitzer, 4th place): “The first phase of the race was actually really good, but I was then unable to hang onto my place in the top three. It was an important day for BMW. I think we can all be satisfied with the fact that Marco Wittmann extended his lead in the championship. My second DTM pole position was obviously great. Next up tomorrow is the final race of my career in this series. I’m really looking forward to that.”

Timo Glock (BMW Team RMG, 7th place): “The race did not pan out ideally for us. I think I could certainly have finished higher up, as my pace was actually good. We could have done better than seventh. At least Marco Wittmann was able to extend his lead in the title race. We must now wait and see what tomorrow has in store.”

Tom Blomqvist (BMW Team RBM, 9th place): “The performance was not particularly good in the race. I had problems with the car right from the start and my tyres deteriorated very quickly. The balance was simply not 100 per cent right. I was running fourth, but fell well back down the field towards the end. I could do nothing to prevent that.”

Augusto Farfus (BMW Team MTEK, 11th place): “We lost pace over the course of the race. I don’t know exactly why. We must look into it. The tyres wore massively. Therefore, there was nothing we could do. I tried to hold onto my position but it wasn’t possible.”

Maxime Martin (BMW Team RBM, 13th place): “The pace in the race simply wasn’t good enough. I had to defend my position in turn one and lost a number of places. However, there’s nothing you can do about that. Marco Wittmann scored more points than Edoardo Mortara, and that is certainly a good thing. However, it will not be easy in the Manufacturers’ Championship tomorrow. Let’s wait and see.”

Bruno Spengler (BMW Team MTEK, 14th place): “That was a day to forget for me personally. Unfortunately, we went completely the wrong way with the set-up today. That is why we started from so far down the field. The start and lap one were okay, and I climbed into 12th place. However, the balance then deteriorated and I lost two positions. We must work hard to ensure we perform better tomorrow.”

Martin Tomczyk (BMW Team Schnitzer, 20th place): “That wasn’t a particularly spectacular race for me. However, the main focus was definitely not on me. We struggled as early as qualifying, and that continued in the race. We were well outside the points. My goal for tomorrow is obviously to finish in the top ten one last time, and we obviously want to win titles for BMW.”

DTM standings.

Drivers’ Championship.

1. Marco Wittmann (194 points), 2. Edoardo Mortara (177), 3. Jamie Green (141), 4. Robert Wickens (122), 5. Mattias Ekström (107), 6. Tom Blomqvist (107), 7. Paul di Resta (101), 8. Nico Müller (88), 9. Maxime Martin (82), 10. Timo Glock (74), 11. Gary Paffett (73), 12. Lucas Auer (68), 13. Miguel Molina (66), 14. Bruno Spengler (51), 15. Augusto Farfus (44), 16. António Félix da Costa (43), 17. Christian Vietoris (42), 18. Adrien Tambay (40), 19. Mike Rockenfeller (31), 20. Maximilian Götz (17), 21. Martin Tomczyk (15), 22. Timo Scheider (13), 23. René Rast (8), 24. Daniel Juncadella (6), 25. Felix Rosenqvist (5), 25. Esteban Ocon (2).

Team Championship.

1. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (294 points), 2. BMW Team RMG (268), 3. BMW Team RBM (189), 4. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (181), 5. Audi Sport Team Abt (154), 6. SILBERPFEIL Energy/UBFS invest Mercedes-AMG (128), 6. 7. Mercedes-AMG (118), 8. BWT Mercedes-AMG (110), 9. BMW Team MTEK (95), 10. EURONICS/FREEMEN`S WORLDMercedes-AMG (80), 11. BMW Team Schnitzer (58), 12. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (42).

Manufacturers’ Championship.

1. Audi (671 points), 2. BMW (610), 3. Mercedes-Benz (436).

Statistics for the BMW DTM drivers.

DTM Race Calendar 2016.

6.-8. May – Hockenheim (DE), 20.-22. May – Spielberg (AT), 3.-5. June – Lausitzring (DE), 24.-26. June – Norisring (DE), 15.-17. July – Zandvoort (NL), 19.-21. August – Moscow (RU), 9.-11. September – Nürburgring (DE), 23.-25. September – Budapest (HU), 14.-16. 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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