PressClub Greece · Article.
After a turbulent start at the Hungaroring: Wittmann finishes fourth for BMW and extends overall lead.
Mon Sep 26 08:34:47 CEST 2016 Δελτίο τύπου
Marco Wittmann (DE) can approach the DTM season finale in three weeks’ time at Hockenheim (DE) with a 26-point lead in the drivers’ championship. He drove his Red Bull BMW M4 DTM to fourth place in Sunday’s race at the Hungaroring (HU), extending his lead over Edoardo Mortara (IT, Audi), who scored no points in the 16th race of the year and remains in second place overall. Wittmann now has a total of 188 points.
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After a turbulent start at the Hungaroring: Wittmann finishes fourth for BMW and extends overall lead.
Wittmann started well from third place and overtook the
Audi drivers Mortara and Jamie Green (GB) on the
outside. Wittmann then just avoided spinning out when
the three cars collided. He was able to get his car back
under control. While Green retired and Mortara had to
make an early pit stop, the BMW Team RMG driver was able
to continue, finishing in fourth. Victory went to
Mattias Ekström (SE, Audi).
Four other BMW drivers finished in the points
behind Wittmann in the third from last race of the year.
António Félix da Costa (PT, BMW M4 DTM) finished in
fifth, Tom Blomqvist (GB, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM) in
sixth, Timo Glock (DE, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM) in
seventh and Maxime Martin (BE, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM) in ninth.
Martin Tomczyk (DE) claimed 11th place in the BMW
M Performance Parts M4 DTM, just missing out on a top
ten finish. Bruno Spengler (CA, BMW Bank M4 DTM)
finished 14th, Augusto Farfus (BR, Shell BMW M4 DTM)
retired early.*
Reactions to the 16th race of the 2016 DTM season.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport
Director): “We had to work hard for that today.
After a start like that, we should be pleased with five
BMW drivers in the top ten. It could easily have gone
wrong today. Marco dealt very well with that situation
at the start and then made it home in fourth. I am very
proud of him and his performance. Marco's car was
damaged a little bit, which meant he couldn't maintain
the same speed as the leaders. Overall, our performance
today wasn't bad. Today, we made up a bit for yesterday
and we can look back at Budapest with a bit more
satisfaction. Marco has moved in the right direction
again in the drivers’ standings. We have to continue
this trend in Hockenheim and approach the two final
races with total concentration. The situation is still
really tight in the DTM.”
Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, 4th
place): “I had a very good start, whereas Edo
didn’t. His wheels were spinning. I had all the
momentum. I went over to his side of the track. I think
he wanted to block Eki first and he pushed me over onto
the grass - although I was already alongside him. There
was contact, and I had to drive across the grass. There
was contact again when I came back. In my opinion, it
was caused by Edo’s mistake at the start. And obviously
I won't just back down. The 12 points are important to
help us progress. We couldn't have improved on finishing
in seventh and fourth this weekend. The competition from
Audi was extremely strong. So these points are even more important.”
Facts and figures.
Circuit/length/duration:
Hungaroring,
4.381 kilometres, 60 minutes plus 1 lap
Conditions:
Sunny, 20 degrees Celsius
BMW Motorsport results:
#11 Marco Wittmann (DE), BMW Team RMG, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM – 4th place
#13 António Félix da Costa (PT), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M4 DTM – 5th place
#31 Tom Blomqvist (GB), BMW Team RBM, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM – 6th place
#16 Timo Glock (DE), BMW Team RMG, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM – 7th place
#36 Maxime Martin (BE), BMW Team RBM, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM – 9th place
#100 Martin Tomczyk (DE), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM – 11th place
#7 Bruno Spengler (CA), BMW Team MTEK, BMW Bank M4 DTM – 14th place
#18 Augusto Farfus (BR), BMW Team MTEK, Shell BMW M4
DTM – retired
Useful information:
Marco Wittmann scored 12 points for
finishing in fourth place, which took his DTM career
points total (505) past the 500 mark. Of the other BMW
drivers, only Bruno Spengler (758 points) has also
achieved this feat.
In this 16th race, Wittman finished in the top ten in qualifying and in the race for the 14th time.
Edoardo Mortara and Wittmann were both warned by race control after the turbulent scenes at the start.
Augusto Farfus had to retire from the race after a few laps, as debris from other cars damaged the radiator of his Shell BMW M4 DTM.
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*Update: After Sunday’s DTM race at the Hungaroring, following a report from the technical delegate, the stewards of the meeting concluded that the underfloor of Marco Wittmann’s car did not comply with the technical regulations.
Wittmann was excluded, BMW Team RMG announced an appeal. In the provisional race results, António Félix da Costa (PT) is now the best-placed BMW driver in third.