Second place for Marco Wittmann in the Red Bull BMW M4 DTM in Zandvoort – Félix da Costa and Martin also in the points.

Zandvoort (NL), 16th July 2016. Marco Wittmann (DE) finished runner-up in Saturday’s race in Zandvoort (NL) to extend his lead in the DTM Drivers’ Championship. Starting from second on the grid in the Red Bull BMW M4 DTM, the BMW Team RMG driver defended his position to score 18 points towards the overall standings. He now has 93 points to his name and a ten-point lead over Mercedes driver Robert Wickens, who won the ninth race of the 2016 DTM season.

Wittmann was joined in the points by a further two BMW drivers. António Félix da Costa (PT) was sixth in the BMW M4 DTM, while Maxime Martin (BE) came home tenth at the wheel of the SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM.

Bruno Spengler (CA, BMW Bank M4 DTM) and Tom Blomqvist (GB, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM) finished 13th and 16th. Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM) was 19th, having been involved in a collision at the start, for which he was handed a drive-through penalty. Timo Glock crossed the finish line 21st in the DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM after some technical issues, while Augusto Farfus (BR, Shell BMW M4 DTM) crashed out.

Reactions to the ninth race of the 2016 DTM season.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “A big compliment to Marco Wittmann. He once again did an excellent job today. Robert Wickens was unstoppable out front. Congratulations to him on his win. Behind him, Marco withstood a lot of pressure to hold on to his position. The same goes for António Félix da Costa, who successfully defended sixth place, although the opposition behind him was able to use DRS. Maxime Martin also did well and, like Marco, finished in the points for the eighth time in the ninth race of the season. All in all, we once again took full advantage of our opportunities today. Looking ahead to Sunday, we will work hard to improve a little.”

Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, 2nd place): “That was a very good day for us, particularly when you consider that the technical problem we had in practice on Friday meant we hardly did any driving. Despite this, we scored valuable points and defended the lead in the Drivers’ Championship.”

Facts and Figures.

Circuit/length/duration:
Circuit Park Zandvoort, 4.307 kilometres, 40 minutes plus 1 lap

Conditions:
Overcast, 19 degrees Celsius

BMW Motorsport results:
#11 Marco Wittmann (DE), BMW Team RMG, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM – 2nd place

#13 António Félix da Costa (PT), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M4 DTM – 6th place

#36 Maxime Martin (BE), BMW Team RBM, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM – 10th place

#7 Bruno Spengler (CA), BMW Team MTEK, BMW Bank M4 DTM – 13th place

#31 Tom Blomqvist (GB), BMW Team RBM, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM – 16th place

#100 Martin Tomczyk (DE), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM – 19th place

#16 Timo Glock (DE), BMW Team RMG, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM – 21st place

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

Useful information:
Marco Wittmann started from the front row of the grid for the second time this season, having started Saturday’s race in Spielberg from pole.

Second place for Wittmann was his second podium finish of the season, following his win in Spielberg.

Wittmann finished on the podium in Zandvoort for the third time in his DTM career. He came home second in 2014 and won in 2015.

Wittmann and Maxime Martin have scored points in eight of the season’s nine races so far.

António Félix da Costa finished sixth to claim his best race result of the season. His previous best was seventh place in Hockenheim (DE).

Shortly before the halfway point of the race, Augusto Farfus skidded into the gravel bed by himself and was forced to retire.

The second qualifying session begins at 11:20 on Sunday. Before that, the third practice session is scheduled for 09:20.

BMW Motorsport on the web.

Website: www.bmw-motorsport.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bmwmotorsport
Instagram: www.instagram.com/bmwmotorsport
YouTube: www.youtube.com/bmwmotorsport
Twitter: www.twitter.com/bmwmotorsport
Google+: www.plus.google.com/+bmwmotorsport

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