Reactions to the first weekend of the 2015 DTM season

As on Saturday, four BMW M4 DTMs finished in the top ten in race two of the DTM season. On a wet track, Martin Tomczyk (DE) just missed out on a place on the podium, coming home in fourth. He was followed over the finish line by DTM champion Marco Wittmann (DE) in fifth. Race one had previously seen BMW drivers finish seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth. With 12 points to their names, Wittmann and Tomczyk were the most successful BMW drivers of the opening weekend. Read here what the BMW drivers and BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt had to say after Sunday’s race.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “That was an exciting race, in really difficult conditions. The fans were treated to spectacular manoeuvres every minute throughout the entire race. We made good use of our options today. Martin Tomczyk, in particular, drove a flawless race and fully deserved to be the top BMW driver in fourth place. Once again, four of our drivers made it into the top ten. To sum up the weekend, we must focus more on our performance in qualifying. We were not good enough in that regard on Saturday. It was better on Sunday. We will work on that. The new format is a positive. I hope the spectators enjoyed it as much as we did.”

Martin Tomczyk (BMW Team Schnitzer, Sunday: 4th, Saturday: DNF):

“It was a mixed race weekend for me personally. I had obviously hoped for more from the first race. We were not where we needed to be in qualifying. The second race had a bit of everything: dry conditions, rain, but above all a good grid position. And that paid off in the end, despite it being a difficult race. Unfortunately fourth was as good as I could hope for today. It was quite a tough race for me, but it was also great fun.”

Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, Sun.: 5th, Sat.: 9th):

“I think we got as much as possible out of the first two races of the season. I finished in the points on Saturday and Sunday. We were just lacking a bit of pace in the dry in both races. At the moment, the opposition is simply quicker than us. Generally speaking, Sunday’s race was obviously much better for me. Having started from third, I actually led for a brief moment after a great lap. Unfortunately our tyre pressures were a little too low in the wet when the rain set in. At this point we were unable to match the speed of the cars in front. It goes without saying that we had hoped for more than this from the opening weekend. However, we are confident ahead of the next races at the Lausitzring.”

Bruno Spengler (BMW Team MTEK, Sun.: 9th, Sat.: 11th):

“The new race format in the DTM is superb. Two lots of qualifying and two races – that is fun, particularly for the fans. The atmosphere at the Hockenheimring was awesome again. I did not have a great result in Saturday’s race. However, I was able to score valuable points on Sunday. Today’s race was a hard battle. I got off to a great start and made up a few places. Our pit stop also came at exactly the right moment. Compliments to the team. We had a great strategy, which got me up to sixth. Unfortunately the car was not so good in the rain. I had hardly any grip. However, I did have some really good, fair battles and came home ninth. We now move on to the Lausitzring, a circuit I have particularly fond memories of.”

Timo Glock (BMW Team MTEK, Sun.: 10th, Sat.: 8th):

“We have a problem with qualifying. However, I had very good pace in both races and was able to make up a lot of places. Given my grid positions, coming away with points from both races is very positive. We did a very good job as a team. Our task for the coming weeks is to improve our qualifying performance.”

Maxime Martin (BMW Team RMG, Sun.: 14th, Sat.: 7th):

“That wasn’t actually such a bad weekend for me. On Saturday I was the best-placed BMW driver in seventh. Today I started from eighth, so I was actually right in the thick of it. Unfortunately I did not make such a great start. My car was hit a few times and sustained damage. That made it difficult to keep pace with the others in the dry. Unfortunately I then picked up a drive-through penalty after my pit stop. My race was as good as over after that, but that is racing. The overall result was not ideal, but I am confident going into the next two races at the Lausitzring.”

Tom Blomqvist (BMW Team RBM, Sun.: 17th, Sat.: DNF):

“That was not an easy weekend. This was the first time I have driven a DTM car in wet conditions, and it was tough. However, my pace in the dry was actually really good all weekend. Unfortunately I did not make a good start in race one. As a result, I found myself stuck in all the turmoil on the opening lap and had to retire after a number of contacts. The second race started really well, but we were not able to match the pace of the others in the rain and I had a few problems. I also lost time in the pit stop when Maxime was released unsafely. Despite this, I am optimistic, as we were quick – particularly in dry conditions. However, we still have some work ahead of us.”

António Félix da Costa (BMW Team Schnitzer, Sun.: 20th, Sat.: 13th):

“In my opinion, the new DTM format, with two qualifying sessions and two races, is a success. Even if you don’t do so well on Saturday, you can really make amends on Sunday. Despite this, I am disappointed with the way I started the new season. Sunday, in particular, was not particularly good in the rain. We made the most of the situation in qualifying. I started the race from seventh on the grid and tried to stay in touch with the leading group. However, I lost quite a lot of time in the rain. We just didn’t have any pace in the wet. We will have to improve that, as there are sure to be a few more wet races this season. I am still learning a lot, and becoming a better DTM driver with every race. We will have to analyse both races to ensure we are stronger at the Lausitzring.”

Augusto Farfus (BMW Team RBM, Sun.: 21st, Sat.: 10th):

“It was not our weekend. Our result definitely does not reflect our speed. We had a very good car all weekend. That showed in the fact I qualified third yesterday. We had good pace again in this morning’s qualifying, and I was really quick in the wet. However, we were unable to maintain that pace. We must now analyse why we had difficulties in the rain. The season is still a long one: we have another 16 races ahead of us and a lot can happen. However, we must put our foot down and make up ground on the leaders. I like the new format. We had two races full of action, and I think the fans will have enjoyed it too.”

DTM standings.

Drivers’ Championship:

1. Edoardo Mortara (30 points), 2. Mattias Ekström (25), 3. Jamie Green (25), 4. Pascal Wehrlein (22), 5. Mike Rockenfeller (18), 6. Paul di Resta (15), 7. Gary Paffett (15), 8. Martin Tomczyk (12), 9. Marco Wittmann (12), 10. Nico Müller (8), 11. Maxime Martin (6), 12. Robert Wickens (6), 13. Timo Glock (5), 14. Bruno Spengler (2), 15. Augusto Farfus (1).

Team Championship:

1. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (33 points), 2. Audi Sport Team Abt (30), 3. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (25), 4. gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG (22), 5. SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG (21), 6. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (18), 7. BMW Team RMG (18), 8. EURONICS/BWT Mercedes-AMG (15), 9. BMW Team Schnitzer (12), 10. BMW Team MTEK (7), 11. BMW Team RBM (1).

Manufacturers’ Championship:

1. Audi (106 points), 2. Mercedes-Benz (58), 3. BMW (38).

DTM statistics for the BMW Motorsport drivers:

2015 race calendar:

1st-3rd May – Hockenheim (DE), 29th-31st May – Lausitzring (DE), 26th-28th June – Norisring (DE), 10th-12th July – Zandvoort (NL), 31st July-2nd August – Spielberg (AT), 28th-30th August – Moscow (RU), 11th-13th September – Oschersleben (DE), 25th-27th September – Nürburgring (DE), 16th-18th October – Hockenheim (DE).

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