Marco Wittmann (DE, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM), Timo Glock (DE, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM) and Tom Blomqvist (GB, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM) scored valuable points by finishing fourth, sixth and tenth in race ten of the DTM season at “Circuit Park Zandvoort”. Wittmann continues to lead the Drivers’ Championship with 105 points. His lead over Sunday’s winner, Jamie Green (GB, Audi), is now seven points.
Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM) narrowly missed out on the points, coming home just behind Blomqvist in 11th. Augusto Farfus (BR) fought back from a drive-through penalty to finish 13th in the Shell BMW M4 DTM. His BMW Team MTEK team-mate, Bruno Spengler (CA, BMW Bank M4 DTM), had to come in for an unscheduled pit stop at the end of the opening lap and eventually ended the race in 14th. António Félix da Costa (PT, BMW M4 DTM) was 17th, Maxime Martin (BE) was unable to finish in his damaged SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM.
Reactions to the tenth race of the 2016 DTM season.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “Sunday’s race was as tough for us as we expected it to be. However, our drivers kept cool heads and fought hard to the very end. They were rewarded for their efforts with fourth, sixth and tenth. We are pleased with these points. I think we made the most of our opportunities this weekend. This is particularly true of Marco Wittmann. He has defended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship. I am very pleased for him. We have all earned a short break now, then we will travel fully focussed to the next race in Moscow.”
Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal, BMW Team RMG): “We had another very good weekend, on which we scored a lot of points. I would like to say a big thank you to our drivers and the team. Marco Wittmann is in the same kind of form as he was in 2014 – maybe even better. He overcomes difficult situations perfectly. Timo Glock is also extremely professional and is showing consistent and fine form. He is a great fit for us. Unfortunately, we did not analyse the problem with his car correctly at the first attempt on Saturday, otherwise he could have scored points in both races.”
Bart Mampaey (Team Principal, BMW Team RBM): “All in all, it was a disappointing weekend for us. We did pick up a point in each race, but that is too little. Maxime’s car was damaged in qualifying, and then it wasn’t okay in the race either. That prevented him from being able to attack. Tom had a decent qualifying, but a problem during the pit stop saw him drop back through the field. A hose had become looped around his mirror. I am glad that nothing more serious happened.”
Charly Lamm (Team Principal, BMW Team Schnitzer): “We actually had a good race with both drivers today. However, unlike yesterday, we were not rewarded with points, due to a number of incidents. Neither of our drivers could attack on the second set of tyres. We had more joy on Saturday, and produced a good race with António.”
Ernest Knoors (Team Principal, BMW Team MTEK): “Unfortunately, we had absolutely no luck this weekend – in fact, we were really unlucky. The guys worked hard to prepare the cars again each time. That was a lot of work, particularly with all the damage to Augusto’s car. The team did everything it could, but it was simply not our weekend.”
Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, Sun.: 4th place, Sat.: 2nd place): “I feel very positive about Sunday’s race, and the weekend in general. I think, in finishing second and fourth, we did as well as we possibly could have. We were obviously a little fortunate that our rivals had tyre issues on Sunday, but we are still very happy to take the points. I am still leading the Drivers’ Championship, but it remains extremely close and exciting.”
Timo Glock (BMW Team RMG, Sun.: 6th place, Sat.: 21st place): “Today we saw the real pace of our car here, after we had a technical issue yesterday. We were quick. I was able to go with Marco, particularly in the first stint. We lost some time during the pit stop, and then Nico Müller was able to overtake me. Despite this, sixth place is okay today.”
Tom Blomqvist (BMW Team RBM, Sun.: 10th place, Sat.: 16th place): “Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to the entire team, as we took a big step forward compared to yesterday. That gave me the opportunity to challenge for points today. Unfortunately, there was an incident during the pit stop, which cost us time. I then re-joined the race in traffic. That is a shame, as we could have done better.”
Martin Tomczyk (BMW Team Schnitzer, Sun.: 11th place, Sat.: 19th place):“My start was fantastic again, as were the opening laps. I gained a lot of positions and everything was running well until shortly after the pit stop. The car was superb, but then the tyres gave up on us and I simply didn’t have a chance. I fought like a lion at the end. There was simply nothing more I could have done.”
Augusto Farfus (BMW Team MTEK, Sun.: 13th place, Sat.: DNF): “Zandvoort is actually one of my favourite circuits. However, for various reasons, I was unable to put on the show we were hoping for this time. The good thing is that I had one of the fastest cars in Sunday’s race. However, we must definitely work on improving our pace in qualifying.”
Bruno Spengler (BMW Team MTEK, Sun.: 14th place, Sat.: 13th place): “We were very unlucky today. When I braked into the first corner of the race, the door opened – all on its own, for no apparent reason. As a result, I had to pull straight into the pits and so completed one pit stop more than everyone else. Despite that, I still fought back to finish 14th. The car was very good all race long, and we can learn something from that for the coming races. We could have picked up some points today. It was just unfortunate that the door opened.”
António Félix da Costa (BMW Team Schnitzer, Sun.: 17th place, Sat.: 6th place): “The first half of the race was actually quite okay. The start was good, and I made a bit of progress through the field. Unfortunately, I then made contact with Esteban Ocon. The car was damaged after that, and there was not a lot more that I could do.”
Maxime Martin (BMW Team RBM, Sun.: DNF, Sat.: 10th place): “I had a few contacts in the first part of the race, after which the car was damaged. That is why I came into the pits later on. Because of this, I come away with just the one point from Saturday. We will now analyse everything very carefully and hopefully come back stronger in Moscow.”
Facts and Figures.
Circuit/length/duration:
Circuit Park Zandvoort, 4.307 kilometres, 60 minutes plus 1 lap
Conditions:
Sunny, 22 degrees Celsius
BMW Motorsport results:
#11 Marco Wittmann (DE), BMW Team RMG, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM – 4th place
#16 Timo Glock (DE), BMW Team RMG, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM – 6th place
#31 Tom Blomqvist (GB), BMW Team RBM, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM – 10th place
#100 Martin Tomczyk (DE), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM – 11th place
#18 Augusto Farfus (BR), BMW Team MTEK, Shell BMW M4 DTM – 13th place
#7 Bruno Spengler (CA), BMW Team MTEK, BMW Bank M4 DTM – 14th place
#13 António Félix da Costa (PT), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M4 DTM – 17th place
#36 Maxime Martin (BE), BMW Team RBM, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM – DNF
Source. BMW
Sportscar Racing News 
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