BMW Team RBM sees both drivers on the podium at the Norisring – Blomqvist and Martin finish second and third.

Norisring (DE), 26th June 2016. Sunday's DTM race at the Norisring (DE) ended with major success for BMW Team RBM: Tom Blomqvist (GB) drove into second place in the Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM, after starting from pole position for the first time in his DTM career. Behind him, Maxime Martin (BE) delivered a fighting performance in the SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM to move up from sixth on the grid to finish in third place. This saw both drivers in Bart Mampaey's (BE) Belgian team make it onto the podium. Nico Müller (CH, Audi) celebrated victory on the 2.3-kilometre track.

The race went well for the BMW drivers in general. Just like on Saturday, they benefitted from numerous incidents involving competitors, and a further four BMW M4 DTM made it into the top 10. After fourth place on Saturday, local hero Marco Wittmann (DE) ended Sunday's race in sixth place in his Red Bull BMW M4 DTM, which meant he regained the lead in the drivers' championship with 75 points. Bruno Spengler (CA, BMW Bank M4 DTM) finished right behind him in seventh.

Timo Glock (DE, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM) and Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM) delivered strong races from 20 and 23 on the grid, finishing in the points in ninth and tenth place. Accidents saw António Félix da Costa (PT, BMW M4 DTM) and Augusto Farfus (BR, Shell BMW M4 DTM) retire before the end of the race.

Reactions to the eighth race of the 2016 DTM season.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “The fans in the grandstands were treated to the spectacular show they have come to expect. We did not expect to come away with such a good result. Obviously anyone starting from pole wants to win, but if anyone had told me before the weekend that Tom Blomqvist and Maxime Martin would finish second and third at the Norisring, I would have taken that immediately so my compliments to both of them, as well as Bart Mampaey and his entire team. We are very happy to have six cars in the top ten here. It is a shame for António Félix da Costa that his impressive performance did not get the result it deserved, and for Augusto Farfus that his race came to a premature end on the opening lap. We want to back this performance up when the DTM returns from its three-week break in Zandvoort. Congratulations to Nico Müller on his win.”

Tom Blomqvist (BMW Team RBM, 2nd place): “All in all, I am very happy with the result. I made it onto the podium and scored 18 valuable points. We had not really reckoned on that going into the weekend. We even came very close to winning, but unfortunately I lost time towards the end of my first stint and in the pit stop. On the whole, however, my team did an incredibly good job. I would like to thank them all.”

 

Facts and Figures.

Circuit/length/duration:
Norisring, 2.3 kilometres, 60 minutes plus 1 lap

Conditions:
Cloudy, 22 degrees Celsius

 

BMW Motorsport results:
#31 Tom Blomqvist (GB), BMW Team RBM, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM – 2nd place

#36 Maxime Martin (BE), BMW Team RBM, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM – 3rd place

#11 Marco Wittmann (DE), BMW Team RMG, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM – 6th place

#7 Bruno Spengler (CA), BMW Team MTEK, BMW Bank M4 DTM – 7th place

#16 Timo Glock (DE), BMW Team RMG, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM – 9th place

#100 Martin Tomczyk (DE), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM – 10th place

#13 António Félix da Costa (PT), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M4 DTM – DNF

#18 Augusto Farfus (BR), BMW Team MTEK, Shell BMW M4 DTM – DNF

 

Useful information:
Tom Blomqvist celebrated his second podium position of the season. He also finished in second place in the Saturday race in Spielberg. He has been on the podium three times in his DTM career to date.

BMW Team RBM had both drivers on the podium for the second time in their DTM career. The Belgian team first achieved this with the Blomqvist and Augusto Farfus one-two result in Oschersleben (DE) in 2015.

Maxime Martin finished on the podium for the sixth time in his DTM career. It was the second time this season, the previous time being at the Sunday race in Hockenheim (DE).

BMW has brought home seven podium positions this season.

Second place has been the best BMW result at the Norisring since 2012. Martin Tomczyk finished in second place in the BMW M3 DTM back then.

Tomczyk delivered yet another impressive catch-up race from 23rd on the grid on Sunday, making up 13 positions. Timo Glock moved up eleven places after starting from 20th on the grid.

Blomqvist started from pole position for the first time in his DTM career.

It was BMW's second pole position of the season, after Marco Wittmann started from first place on the grid in the Saturday race in Spielberg.

 

More information.
You can find the latest BMW Motorsport media information, the DTM Press Kit, and copyright-free images for editorial purposes online at www.press.bmwgroup.com/global.

 

BMW Motorsport on the web.

 

Website: www.bmw-motorsport.com
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About the DTM.
The DTM is the most popular touring car series in the world. The series pits the three premium automobile manufacturers BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz against each other in a sporting contest. BMW fielded its first works teams from 1984 to 1992, during which time it claimed 49 race victories and won the Drivers’ Championship on three occasions (1984, 1987 and 1989). The manufacturer returned to the DTM in 2012, since when it has won seven of a possible twelve titles. 18 races, spread over nine weekends, are scheduled for 2016. ARD broadcasts all the races live. Tickets for all the DTM races are available here: https://tickets.bmw-motorsport.com/index.html