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.
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.”
Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal, BMW Team RMG): “That was a very emotional weekend for us. The second race was pretty nerve-racking. We never gave up and never stopped fighting, regardless of how strong the competition was. My team always gave 100 percent and produced some great pit stops. We were rewarded for that. Timo did a great job and collected some valuable points for the manufacturers’ championship by finishing seventh. Marco is currently the best driver in the field. It’s Hockenheim up next. It’s going to be a dramatic finale.”
Charly Lamm (Team Principal, BMW Team Schnitzer): “Sunday was a bright spot and means that the weekend was positive overall for us. António was relegated a few places on the grid on Saturday, which meant he really couldn’t do much in the race. Qualifying was good today and the race strategy was perfect too. Thanks are due to our engineers as well. We collected some valuable points. Martin was going well too. He was in touching distance of the points, but he lost some time in the pack. He battled hard and did enough to deserve a point.”
Bert Mampaey (Team Principal, BMW Team RBM): “Yesterday was difficult for us due to the weight situation and we could not really compete with Audi. Things went a bit better today. We got both cars to good positions in qualifying – and we were then able to defend these places in the race. We are satisfied with the overall result today.”
Ernst Knoors (Team Principal, BMW Team MTEK): “We had a difficult weekend. That was the case for BMW in general, and specifically for our team as well. We found some good tactics for Augusto in the second race. He started really well, but then his car got damaged by something that broke the radiator. His race was over. We achieved all we could with Bruno. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to finish in the points. We will start again in Hockenheim.”
Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, Sun.: 4th place, Sat.: 7th 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.”
António Félix da Costa (BMW Team Schnitzer, Sun.: 5th place, Sat.: 16th place): “Our strategy worked well today. We were determined to improve on yesterday’s performance and have a better Sunday. And that is just what we did. Our qualifying was average, but our tactics for the race were really good. Thanks to BMW Team Schnitzer. We reacted well to Saturday today and achieved a really good result overall with five BMWs in the top ten.”
Tom Blomqvist (BMW Team RBM, Sun.: 6th place, Sat.: 22nd place): “The race result was okay – but it was anything but easy. After the confusion at the start, I just wanted to stay out of trouble. I managed to do that. Making an early pit stop was also the right decision. Overall, we can be pleased with the result. It was a good afternoon for BMW.”
Timo Glock (BMW Team RMG, Sun.: 7th place, Sat.: 13th place): “My start, the first lap, and my race speed were all very good. I was pretty fast on fresh tyres after the pit stop and I was able to close up on my BMW team-mates. I am really happy with the race and the result. It is fantastic to finish in the points after starting from 15th. Marco is now ideally placed for the finale in Hockenheim.”
Maxime Martin (BMW Team RBM, Sun.: 9th place, Sat.: 12th place): “Starting from sixth place and finishing in P9 is a bit disappointing. However, it was a good race overall for BMW. Compared to yesterday, we made major improvements. We now have to prepare as well as we can for Hockenheim and be stronger there.”
Martin Tomczyk (BMW Team Schnitzer, Sun.: 11th place, Sat.: 23rd place): “Another hard day, another tough battle – but 11th place and no points once again. Nonetheless, it was a good race. The performance of the BMW improved markedly compared to yesterday. Marco was really lucky at the start and, by the end, we had taken important steps towards to the title. That was our goal.”
Bruno Spengler (BMW Team MTEK, Sun.: 14th place, Sat.: 14th place): “Our problem was qualifying, on Saturday and on Sunday. We didn’t manage to fix the problem and get a fast car in qualifying. So we didn’t have a chance in the race. Marco holding on to fourth place really helps the battle for the title. We now have to get a good result in Hockenheim to get the decisive points for the manufacturers’ championship.”
Augusto Farfus (BMW Team MTEK, Sun.: retired, Sat.: 19th place): “I had a normal start but then I saw some debris flying around. Something hit the radiator and then we sprang a leak. We just didn’t have the luck, once again. It always seems to go the same way: We start well on Fridays, but we don’t always manage to make the right changes for Saturday. On Sunday, we are going in the right direction again. The race set-up today was good again, but the right performance comes just a bit too late. Now we are off to Hockenheim. Things went well for me there at the start of the year. I hope that I can round the season off with a successful performance.”
DTM standings.
Drivers’ Championship.
1. Marco Wittmann (188 points), 2. Edoardo Mortara (162), 3. Jamie Green (137), 4. Robert Wickens (121), 5. Mattias Ekström (107), 6. Tom Blomqvist (101), 7. Paul di Resta (100), 8. Nico Müller (88), 9. Maxime Martin (78), 10. Gary Paffett (73), 11. Lucas Auer (68), 12. Timo Glock (64), 13. Bruno Spengler (51), 14. Augusto Farfus (44), 15. Christian Vietoris (42), 16. Miguel Molina (41), 17. Adrien Tambay (40), 18. António Félix da Costa (26), 19. Daniel Juncadella (21), 20. Mike Rockenfeller (18), 21. Maximilian Götz (17), 22. Martin Tomczyk (13), 23. Timo Scheider (9), 24. Felix Rosenqvist (5), 25. Esteban Ocon (2).
Team Championship.
1. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (269 points), 2. BMW Team RMG (252), 3. BMW Team RBM (179), 4. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (177), 5. SILBERPFEIL Energy/UBFS invest Mercedes-AMG (142), 6. Audi Sport Team Abt (129), 7. Mercedes-AMG (117), 8. BWT Mercedes-AMG (110), 9. BMW Team MTEK (95), 10. EURONICS/FREEMEN`S WORLDMercedes-AMG (80), 11. BMW Team Schnitzer (39), 12. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (27).
Manufacturers’ Championship.
1. Audi (602 points), 2. BMW (565), 3. Mercedes-Benz (449).
Source. BMW
Sportscar Racing News 
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