DTM Hockenheim: Schubert Motorsport is Team Champion!

Hockenheim. Title celebrations for Schubert Motorsport after the 2024 DTM season finale at Hockenheim (GER). For the second time since 2022, the team, led by team principal Torsten Schubert, has been crowned champion in the team standings. To conclude the year, René Rast (GER) drove the #33 RoboMarkets BMW M4 GT3 to a third-place finish on the podium. Throughout the season, Rast, Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), and Marco Wittmann (GER) achieved a total of four victories and three additional podium finishes .

After 16 races, Schubert Motorsport has 361 points in the team standings, 35 more than the runner-up. In the driver standings, Rast finished the season in fourth place with two wins, one second place, one third place, and 172 points. Van der Linde, who finished ninth in the last race in his #31 Shell BMW M4 GT3, ended the season sixth in the driver standings, while Wittmann finished twelfth after crossing the line seventh in the #11 Schaeffler BMW M4 GT3 on Sunday at Hockenheim.

The final weekend was a reflection of a season with highs and lows. Once again, the qualifying issues that had accompanied Schubert Motorsport and the three BMW M works drivers throughout the year were evident. However, in the race, all three drivers made spectacular comebacks. Rast improved from eleventh on the grid to third place on Sunday, Wittmann drove from 19^th to seventh, and van der Linde from 17^th to ninth. Already on Saturday, Rast had gained nine places to finish seventh. Wittmann and van der Linde finished in ninth and eleventh places, respectively.

ADAC GT Masters and ADAC GT4 Germany.

In the ADAC GT Masters, before the final weekend, Maxime Oosten (NED) and Leon Köhler (GER) in the FK Performance Motorsport #54 BMW M4 GT3 still had mathematical title chances but had to settle for second place in the overall standings after finishing sixth in Saturday's race. In Sunday's race, the duo clinched a strong second-place podium finish.

In ADAC GT4 Germany, Gabriele Piana (ITA) and Michael Schrey (GER) arrived as leaders in the overall standings. However, the duo experienced a disastrous weekend in their #2 BMW M4 GT4 from Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport. A retirement in Saturday's race due to a technical issue cost Piana and Schrey the lead in the title race. They could not reclaim the title on Sunday with a tenth-place finish in the second race. Thus, despite having dominated the season for long spells, they had to settle for second place.

Comments after the races:

Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “I am very happy for Schubert Motorsport on winning the team title. It is the deserved reward for the hard work this season. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this success. René Rast's third place at Hockenheim was the conciliatory conclusion to a mixed season from the perspective of BMW M Motorsport. As much as we are pleased with the team title – our claim is to be at the very front in the driver and manufacturer standings of the DTM. Unfortunately, we did not succeed this year. Congratulations to Mirko Bortolotti on winning the title!”

Björn Lellmann (Head of Customer Racing at BMW M Motorsport): “From the perspective of customer racing at BMW M Motorsport, it was a season finale with mixed feelings. I heartily congratulate Schubert Motorsport on winning the team title in the DTM. Even if it did not work out with the drivers' title we all hoped for, the title win underlines the good performance of the entire crew and team principal Torsten Schubert. I feel very sorry for our title contenders in the ADAC GT Masters and ADAC GT4 Germany, who missed the hoped-for triumph at the last moment. Even if it is a small consolation, both FK Performance Motorsport and Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport have shown strong performances this season despite the current disappointment.”

Torsten Schubert (Team Principal Schubert Motorsport): “It is very nice for the entire team that at the end of this season with highs and lows, it can celebrate a title win. I am also pleased with René Rast's podium at the end. Unfortunately, we were not good enough to be at the top in the driver standings. We want to do better in the future and especially improve significantly in qualifying.”

René Rast (#33 RoboMarkets BMW M4 GT3): “With third place, I got the maximum out of it at the end. The car was very strong in the race. I believe we were the fastest in the field. Also, our strategy and pit stop were great. I am very happy for the team about winning the title. In the driver standings, I am fourth in the end, which of course does not satisfy me personally. I am here to win titles, but that was not possible this season, especially due to our weakness in qualifying.”

Marco Wittmann (#11 Schaeffler BMW M4 GT3): “Congratulations to the entire team on winning the title. This success is the merit of all mechanics and engineers – everyone has made an important contribution. Nevertheless, it was also a difficult season for us from a driver's perspective. In particular, we often lacked performance in qualifying, which of course did not make life easier in the races. We need to take a close look at this over the winter. At least we go into the break with a good race, as it was a lot of fun to drive from 19^th to seventh today, and it was a nice combative success.”

Sheldon van der Linde (#31 Shell BMW M4 GT3): “I am very proud of the team that has won the title in the team standings for the second time. It is always great to see that the hard work everyone puts in during the season is rewarded in this way. Personally, I would have wished for a nicer end to the season, but unfortunately, we did not manage to get our car into the optimal performance window from the first practice session.”