Reactions to the eighth race weekend of the 2015 DTM season.

Nürburgring (DE), 27th September 2015. One win, a third place and plenty of points in the battle for the title in the Manufacturers' Championship: BMW Motorsport achieved good results at the eighth race weekend of the DTM season at the Nürburgring (DE) and put itself in a good position going into the season finale in Hockenheim (DE). With 554 points, the brand tops the standings with an advantage of 51 points over Mercedes ahead of the final two races.

The race on Saturday saw a dominant winner in Maxime Martin (BE), who gifted his BMW Team RMG an acclaimed home win in the Eifel. His team-mate Marco Wittmann (DE) in seventh and António Félix da Costa (PT) in ninth also picked up points.

Bruno Spengler (CA) finished third on Sunday to pick up his sixth podium position of the season. Directly behind him was rookie Tom Blomqvist (GB) in fourth. Augusto Farfus (BR) and Martin Tomczyk (DE) also made it into the top ten, finishing eighth and ninth. Tomczyk made up impressive ground after starting from the back of the grid.

Read here what BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt and the eight BMW DTM drivers had to say after the eighth race weekend of the season at the Nürburgring.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “After yesterday's win, we were able to pick up further valuable points today. Bruno Spengler made it onto the podium thanks to a strong performance, and Tom Blomqvist's fourth place is also a very good result. Augusto Farfus and Martin Tomczyk also made it into the points. We can be very happy with today's results since our rivals were just that little bit stronger overall. Martin Tomczyk delivered a sensational race. Starting from the back of the grid and finishing in the points is something that only a few of the DTM drivers are capable of. The spectators got to watch a very entertaining race and I was extremely pleased with our fighting spirit. The weekend went well for us overall, we head to Hockenheim leading the Manufacturers' Championship. That is a great feeling. Congratulations to Audi and Miguel Molina on his first DTM victory.”

Bruno Spengler (BMW Team MTEK, Sun: 3rd place, Sat: DNF): “It was a fantastic race. I'm especially pleased for my BMW Team MTEK mechanics that I was able to pick up points finishing third today. My car was very badly damaged after my accident yesterday. But my guys did a brilliant job and repaired the car in time for the race today. The BMW Bank M4 DTM felt fantastic and was very strong throughout the entire race. I am extremely happy with my podium position. Now I am looking forward to the season finale in Hockenheim in three weeks.”

Tom Blomqvist (BMW Team RBM, Sun: 4th place, Sat: DNF): “Naturally I would have loved to finish on the podium – but compared with Bruno and the others in the top three spots, my pace wasn't good enough. I got off to a good start and almost took the lead. Unfortunately I didn't quite get ahead in the first turn and had to pull back. My pit stop was also very close. It was a great race overall and I am very happy with my fourth place. I'm looking forward to Hockenheim and the grand finale. I'll have come full circle there. Compared with the season opener, I will travel to Hockenheim with much more experience and confidence.”

Augusto Farfus (BMW Team RBM, Sun: 8th place, Sat: 18th place): “I couldn't do any better than eighth place today. That's the way it goes in the DTM. The car was fantastic in the race on Saturday and we had the right pace. Unfortunately that was missing today. Despite that we picked up points. After the pit stop I was able to fight my way back up the field, but eighth was the best I could achieve. Now I'm looking forward to a grand and exciting finale in Hockenheim.”

Martin Tomczyk (BMW Team Schnitzer, Sun: 9th place, Sat: DNS): “I can't thank BMW and BMW Team Schnitzer enough for the hard work they did on my car this weekend. I hope that I was able to repay them all for their efforts slightly with my race on Sunday. The old adage that you should never give up in motorsport proved to be true today. After I was unable to start on Saturday and had to start Sunday's race from the back of the grid, making up ground to finish in the points is a real silver lining for me. I experienced great racing on the track in a fantastic car. I'm really happy with that.”

Maxime Martin (BMW Team RMG, Sun: 13th place, Sat: 1st place): “This weekend showed me just how quickly things can change in the DTM. After my fantastic win on Saturday, I had no grip on Sunday and was unable to cope with the tyres that had worked perfectly the previous day. I would love to see more consistency and predictability. But overall it goes without saying that it was a very positive weekend for my team and me.”

António Félix da Costa (BMW Team Schnitzer, Sun: 15th place, Sat: 9th place): “The car didn't feel quite right throughout the weekend. It was very difficult for me to drive fast and consistent laps. Then I made a mistake during the pit stop in Sunday's race, which cost me time. They were two difficult races at the Nürburgring. Now I will give it my all to have a good end to the season in Hockenheim.”

Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, Sun: 18th place, Sat: 7th place): “Today's race didn't go at all according to plan for me. I was hit hard two or three times in the first turn. The car was badly damaged at this point. After that I had a flat tyre too. I finished the race anyway, as you never know what will happen. But I was basically fighting with a blunt weapon. At least I was able to pick up points yesterday and my team got the win. So overall it was still a positive weekend for us.”

Timo Glock (BMW Team MTEK, Sun: 20th place, Sat: 16th place): “I was in permanent defence mode on Sunday and had a few good duels – with Mattias Ekström in particular. Then Edoardo Mortara was behind me and really pushed to try and pass me. Unfortunately we came into contact again after that. I have to forget about this weekend when all is said and done and look ahead to Hockenheim. The aim is to finish the season on a positive note there.”

DTM standings.

Drivers’ Championship.

1. Pascal Wehrlein (165 points), 2. Edoardo Mortara (128), 3. Mattias Ekström (127), 4. Bruno Spengler (119), 5. Jamie Green (107), 6. Marco Wittmann (104), 7. Gary Paffett (87), 8. Augusto Farfus (77), 9. António Félix da Costa (73), 10. Mike Rockenfeller (73), 11. Maxime Martin (71), 12. Paul di Resta (66), 13. Robert Wickens (61), 14. Timo Glock (56), 15. Christian Vietoris (56), 16. Miguel Molina (54), 17. Tom Blomqvist (53), 18. Martin Tomczyk (26), 19. Daniel Juncadella (26), 20. Nico Müller (26), 21. Maximilian Götz (24), 22. Lucas Auer (18), 23. Timo Scheider (16), 24. Adrien Tambay (3).

Team Championship.

1. gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG (221 points), 2. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (181), 3. BMW Team RMG (175), 4. BMW Team MTEK (175), 5. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (133), 6. Audi Sport Team Abt (131), 7. BMW Team RBM (130), 8. SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG (127), 9. EURONICS/BWT Mercedes-AMG (105), 10. BMW Team Schnitzer (99), 11. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (89), 12. PETRONAS Mercedes-AMG (50).

Manufacturers’ Championship.

1. BMW (554 points), 2. Mercedes-Benz (503), 3. Audi (472).

Statistics for the BMW DTM drivers.

2015 race calendar.

1st-3rd May – Hockenheim (DE), 29th-31st May – Lausitzring (DE), 26th-28th June – Norisring (DE), 10th-12th July – Zandvoort (NL), 31st July-2nd August – Spielberg (AT), 28th-30th August – Moscow (RU), 11th-13th September – Oschersleben (DE), 25th-27th September – Nürburgring (DE), 16th-18th October – Hockenheim (DE).

More information:
You can find the latest BMW Motorsport media information, DTM press kit, and copyright-free images for editorial purposes online at www.press.bmwgroup-sport.com.

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