Three BMW DTM drivers in the points in Sunday’s race – Wittmann defends lead in Drivers’ Championship.

Zandvoort (NL), 17th July 2016. Marco Wittmann (DE, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM), Timo Glock (DE, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM) and Tom Blomqvist (GB, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM) scored valuable points by finishing fourth, sixth and tenth in race ten of the DTM season at “Circuit Park Zandvoort”. Wittmann continues to lead the Drivers’ Championship with 105 points. His lead over Sunday’s winner, Jamie Green (GB, Audi), is now seven points.

Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM) narrowly missed out on the points, coming home just behind Blomqvist in 11th. Augusto Farfus (BR) fought back from a drive-through penalty to finish 13th in the Shell BMW M4 DTM. His BMW Team MTEK team-mate, Bruno Spengler (CA, BMW Bank M4 DTM), had to come in for an unscheduled pit stop at the end of the opening lap and eventually ended the race in 14th. António Félix da Costa (PT, BMW M4 DTM) was 17th, Maxime Martin (BE) was unable to finish in his damaged SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM.

Reactions to the tenth race of the 2016 DTM season.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “Sunday’s race was as tough for us as we expected it to be. However, our drivers kept cool heads and fought hard to the very end. They were rewarded for their efforts with fourth, sixth and tenth. We are pleased with these points. I think we made the most of our opportunities this weekend. This is particularly true of Marco Wittmann. He has defended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship. I am very pleased for him. We have all earned a short break now, then we will travel fully focussed to the next race in Moscow.”

Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, 4th place): “I feel very positive about Sunday’s race, and the weekend in general. I think, in finishing second and fourth, we did as well as we possibly could have. We were obviously a little fortunate that our rivals had tyre issues on Sunday, but we are still very happy to take the points. I am still leading the Drivers’ Championship, but it remains extremely close and exciting.”

Facts and Figures.

Circuit/length/duration:
Circuit Park Zandvoort, 4.307 kilometres, 60 minutes plus 1 lap

Conditions:
Sunny, 22 degrees Celsius

BMW Motorsport results:
#11 Marco Wittmann (DE), BMW Team RMG, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM – 4th place

#16 Timo Glock (DE), BMW Team RMG, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM – 6th place

#31 Tom Blomqvist (GB), BMW Team RBM, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM – 10th place

#100 Martin Tomczyk (DE), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM – 11th place

#18 Augusto Farfus (BR), BMW Team MTEK, Shell BMW M4 DTM – 13th place

#7 Bruno Spengler (CA), BMW Team MTEK, BMW Bank M4 DTM – 14th place

#13 António Félix da Costa (PT), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M4 DTM – 17th place

#36 Maxime Martin (BE), BMW Team RBM, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM – DNF

Useful information:
Marco Wittmann finished in the points for the ninth time in the tenth race of the season.

The BMW drivers gained two places shortly before the end of the race when Robert Wickens (CA, Mercedes) and Christian Vietoris (DE, Mercedes) both suffered punctures and dropped back through the field.

Bruno Spengler had to come into the pits after just one lap due to a problem with the door of his BMW Bank M4 DTM.

Augusto Farfus was handed a drive-through penalty following a collision with Timo Scheider (DE, Audi).

Maxime Martin returned to the garage with just 15 minutes of the race remaining. He was unable to continue in the SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM following a number of contacts with opposing cars.

A general technical issue with the timing system meant that the DRS was deactivated on all cars for the first 15 minutes of the race.

BMW Motorsport on the web.

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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