Marco Wittmann (DE) finished runner-up in Saturday’s race in Zandvoort (NL) to extend his lead in the DTM Drivers’ Championship. Starting from second on the grid in the Red Bull BMW M4 DTM, the BMW Team RMG driver defended his position to score 18 points towards the overall standings. He now has 93 points to his name and a ten-point lead over Mercedes driver Robert Wickens, who won the ninth race of the 2016 DTM season.
Wittmann was joined in the points by a further two BMW drivers. António Félix da Costa (PT) was sixth in the BMW M4 DTM, while Maxime Martin (BE) came home tenth at the wheel of the SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM.
Bruno Spengler (CA, BMW Bank M4 DTM) and Tom Blomqvist (GB, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM) finished 13th and 16th. Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM) was 19th, having been involved in a collision at the start, for which he was handed a drive-through penalty. Timo Glock crossed the finish line 21st in the DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM after some technical issues, while Augusto Farfus (BR, Shell BMW M4 DTM) crashed out.
Reactions to the ninth race of the 2016 DTM season.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “A big compliment to Marco Wittmann. He once again did an excellent job today. Robert Wickens was unstoppable out front. Congratulations to him on his win. Behind him, Marco withstood a lot of pressure to hold on to his position. The same goes for António Félix da Costa, who successfully defended sixth place, although the opposition behind him was able to use DRS. Maxime Martin also did well and, like Marco, finished in the points for the eighth time in the ninth race of the season. All in all, we once again took full advantage of our opportunities today. Looking ahead to Sunday, we will work hard to improve a little.”
Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, 2nd place): “That was a very good day for us, particularly when you consider that the technical problem we had in practice on Friday meant we hardly did any driving. Despite this, we scored valuable points and defended the lead in the Drivers’ Championship.”
António Félix da Costa (BMW Team Schnitzer, 6th place): “Right from the opening lap it was clear to me that it was going to be tough today. I struggled with the car and could not get the tyres to work. As a result, I had to go defensive in the race. The action out on the track was very fair, and I was able to defend my position well. Fortunately, I picked up plenty of points for finishing sixth.”
Maxime Martin (BMW Team RBM, 10th place): “It is obviously always nice to pick up points. However, I am not happy with the result. We struggled with the car in qualifying and in the race. We will work to rectify that ahead of tomorrow.”
Bruno Spengler (BMW Team MTEK, 13th place): “I would sum up my race as so-so. Unfortunately, I only managed to qualify down in 16th place. To finish in the points from that position is almost impossible in Zandvoort, as it is hardly possible to overtake here. Having said that, my speed was actually good in the race. We must now see what we can improve for tomorrow, in order to secure a better grid position and make our pace even more consistent in the race.”
Tom Blomqvist (BMW Team RBM, 16th place): “I never found my stride here in Zandvoort today and just didn’t feel right in the car. Qualifying was disappointing, but at least I was able to climb a few places in the race. We now have a lot of work ahead of us through the night, to make sure we put on a better show tomorrow.”
Martin Tomczyk (BMW Team Schnitzer, 19th place): “My start was good. Adrien Tambay did not get away particularly well and it all got a bit cramped. I cannot say for certain whether I really touched Maxi Götz. We will have to take a look at that. In my opinion, the penalty was definitely too severe. I could have had a good race, but the decision meant it was as good as over for me before it really got going.”
Timo Glock (BMW Team RMG, 21st place): “Up until the safety car phase, the car actually still felt okay. However, I then suffered a technical issue. From that point on, the balance was wrong and I had no chance of matching the pace of the others. We must now determine exactly what caused the issue. Tomorrow is a new day. Congratulations to Marco.”
Augusto Farfus (BMW Team MTEK, DNF): “Today started badly with qualifying and, unfortunately, it did not get any better in the race. I really wanted to get past Nico Müller, pushed a bit too hard and came off the track. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.”
Facts and Figures.
Circuit/length/duration:
Circuit Park Zandvoort, 4.307 kilometres, 40 minutes plus 1 lap
Conditions:
Overcast, 19 degrees Celsius
BMW Motorsport results:
#11 Marco Wittmann (DE), BMW Team RMG, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM – 2nd place
#13 António Félix da Costa (PT), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M4 DTM – 6th place
#36 Maxime Martin (BE), BMW Team RBM, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM – 10th place
#7 Bruno Spengler (CA), BMW Team MTEK, BMW Bank M4 DTM – 13th place
#31 Tom Blomqvist (GB), BMW Team RBM, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM – 16th place
#100 Martin Tomczyk (DE), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM – 19th place
#16 Timo Glock (DE), BMW Team RMG, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM – 21st place
#18 Augusto Farfus (BR), BMW Team MTEK, Shell BMW M4 DTM – DNF
Source. BMW
Sportscar Racing News 
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