Podium finish at the Nürburgring: Marco Wittmann completes Saturday’s race in third place.

Nürburgring. Marco Wittmann (GER, Schaeffler BMW M4 DTM) and BMW M Motorsport have made a successful start to the sixth DTM race weekend. In a turbulent Saturday race on the Nürburgring sprint circuit (GER), the two-time DTM champion crossed the finish line in third place. Wittmann had already claimed third position in the Eifel mountains one week earlier and now celebrates his third podium finish of the season. It was the fifth podium of 2020 for BMW Team RMG, which is based just a few kilometres from the Nürburgring.

Behind Wittmann, Philipp Eng (AUT, ZF BMW M4 DTM) secured fourth place. Jonathan Aberdein (RSA, CATL BMW M4 DTM) in sixth, Sheldon van der Linde (RSA, Shell BMW M4 DTM) in eighth and Timo Glock (GER, iQOO BMW M4 DTM) in tenth also finished in the points. Lucas Auer (AUT) claimed twelfth place in the BMW Bank M4 DTM.

Wittmann was able to move up one place right at the start of a turbulent race. Eng, who had finished fourth in qualifying to secure his best result thus far, also improved by one position. The safety car made its first appearance on the circuit in the opening stage. Wittmann moved up another place after the restart and held on to fourth place until his pit stop when Eng moved ahead. The safety car reappeared a short time later and Wittmann was once again able to use the restart to produce a great manoeuvre that allowed him to claim second place. However, he had to surrender that position after the third safety car period. In the closing stage of the race, the 30-year-old was able to stay ahead of Eng, who chalked up his best result of the season by finishing fourth. Victory in the eleventh DTM race of the season went to Robin Frijns (NED, Audi).

In the drivers’ standings, van der Linde is the best-placed BMW driver in sixth position. Wittmann is in seventh place, also with 76 points. The twelfth DTM race of the 2020 season will take place on Sunday.

Reactions to the eleventh DTM race of the 2020 season.

Rudolf Dittrich (General Manager BMW Motorsport Vehicle Development):

“That was a great team performance with the podium for Marco Wittmann, fourth place for Philipp Eng and a total of five BMW M4 DTMs in the top-ten. Congratulations to everyone on this excellent Saturday of racing. I am not just pleased with the result itself, but with the fact that our speed in qualifying was much more competitive and we were able to battle the Audis on an even footing throughout the whole race. That shows that our work since last week has paid off. The race was very eventful and there were some unnecessarily hard manoeuvres. I am looking forward to tomorrow’s race, where we want to build on today’s performance. Congratulations to Robin Frijns on the win.”

Marco Wittmann (#11 Schaeffler BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG, Grid: 6^th, Race: 3^rd, Drivers’ standings: 7^th, 76 points):

“Of course, that was a very positive day. I started from sixth place and finished third. I had a good start. The clutch problems from last week seem to have been dealt with. It was an exciting race with three safety car periods. We were able to benefit from two of those to move up a few places but then the final safety car probably cost us the second place. It looked like being in second place at the restart put us at a disadvantage. Exactly the same thing happened to René with the preceding safety car so it’s a bit of a shame but third place is absolutely OK. Reaching the podium from our starting position is a success.”

Timo Glock (#16 iQOO BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG, Grid: 10^th, Race: 10^th, Driver’s standings: 8^th, 69 points):

“My race was actually pretty much over on lap one after I was hit from behind on the right by Loïc Duval. That meant that we didn't have the right balance any more. We were also unlucky with the pit stop, when I had to wait and then fell back to the end of the field with Lucas. After that, I tried to battle my way forward and score one point at least. Of course, I am delighted for the BMW Team RMG and Marco on the podium finish.”

Lucas Auer (#22 BMW Bank M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR, Grid: 15^th, Race: 12^th, Drivers’ standings: 11^th, 36 points):

“The first stint was OK. However, I fell back a bit due to the pit stop. After that, I had contact with another driver and that damaged my car pretty badly. Unfortunately, we just can’t get the point where I feel 100% at ease. That makes it difficult, of course.”

Philipp Eng (#25 ZF BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM, Grid: 4^th, Race: 4^th, Drivers’ standings: 11^th, 43 points):

“The car was really great. It was a bit unlucky with the safety car. It would have worked out perfectly for us if the safety car had appeared one lap earlier but it is how it is. That meant that I lost one place due to the pit stop, which prevented me from reaching the podium.”

Jonathan Aberdein (#27 CATL BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR, Grid: 5^th, Race: 6^th, Drivers’ standings: 12^th, 32 points):

“All in all, I think that was a really strong race for BMW with Marco in third place, Philipp in fourth and me in sixth position. We definitely closed the gap that had been there last weekend. That is very pleasing. Personally, I didn't make a good start and I also lost another place on the second restart. However, our overall pace was great. I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

Sheldon van der Linde (#31 Shell BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM, Grid: 11^th, Race: 8^th, Drivers’ standings: 6^th, 76 points):

“What a race. Three safety cars - some of them went in my favour, but the final one did not. Some of the guys just don't show enough respect out on the track. That is a bit annoying as it cost us the sixth place. After starting from eleventh on the grid, things did look very promising for a while but at the end we did unfortunately lose a few positions and points.”