The A-Z of DTM champion Marco Wittmann.

Munich (DE), 17th September 2014. After Marco Wittmann (DE) became the youngest ever German DTM champion last Sunday at the Lausitzring (DE), it’s his name that is on everybody’s lips in the world of motorsport.

We introduce the 24-year-old once again in more detail, using facts, figures and personal insights: The A-Z of Marco Wittmann.

A is for Ambition. 

Marco Wittmann cites ‘ambition’ as one of his key characteristics. Combined with driving skills and his speed, this unbridled ambition proved to be one of the keys to winning the 2014 title. 

B is for Brother. 

Wittmann shares a flat that is 120 square metres big with his younger brother Nico in Fürth (DE).

C is for Coachbuilder.

This is the profession that Wittmann learned – and he still practises this, even though he is the new DTM champion. Whenever he has time, he helps out at his parents’ garage. In the run-up to the DTM race at the Lausitzring he even took on sole responsibility for the business while his parents were on holiday.

D is for Dominic.

As race engineer, Dominic Harlow (GB) is one of Wittmann’s closest confidants during the race weekends. He came to BMW Team RMG with a wealth of experience in Formula 1.

E is for Early.

Wittmann was crowned the youngest German champion in the history of the DTM last Sunday – and that was after just eight out of ten races. The last driver to be out of reach at the top of the table so early on was Bernd Schneider (DE) in the 2001 season.

F is for Fire Orange. 

Wittmann claimed the DTM drivers’ title at the wheel of the Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM – in his private life he drivers a fire orange BMW M6 Coupé with 575 hp that BMW Individual customised exclusively for him.

G is for Gaming.

Marco Wittmann has a high-quality racing seat for a games console in his flat in Fürth. He enjoys using it to play the current DTM game. “If there’s a computer game where I can play myself, I have to take advantage of it,” said Wittmann.

H is for Home.

Wittmann was born in Fürth and grew up in nearby Markt Erlbach (DE), which has 5,700 inhabitants. Last year, the 24-year-old returned to Fürth and moved into his own flat with his brother.

I is for Ice-Watch.

From the very first race, the Belgian watch company Ice-Watch, a Premium Partner of BMW Motorsport, has supported Wittmann’s commitment to the DTM. An Ice-Watch coloured car has been in pole position four times in 18 DTM races and has been the first to cross the finish line four times.

J is for Joy.

Wittmann climbs onto the roof of his car to celebrate his victories. After the high-spirited moment of joy in the parc fermé at the Lausitzring, he joked: “We might need to make the roof more robust. It buckled a bit when I celebrated the championship.”

K is for Kitchen. 

Wittmann might have a large kitchen in his new flat in Fürth, but he doesn’t use it very often. Cooking is definitely not one of his hobbies. But he did take part in a cooking course this year, together with the BMW Team RMG.

L is for Learning.

Although it would have made sense, Wittmann didn’t learn his trade as a coachbuilder at his own father’s company, but in a different garage. Father Herbert Wittmann thought that they might have ended up arguing if this had been the case.

M is for Mega.

The new slogan is: “Mega Marco”. It was with this banner and matching t-shirts that BMW Motorsport celebrated Wittmann’s championship victory at the Lausitzring. “That will be my new nickname then,” said Wittmann with a twinkle in his eye.

N is for Norisring.

The street race in Nürnberg (DE) is the home event for Wittmann who was born in and lives in Fürth. As a child he went there as a spectator, and admired the DTM heroes of that time. Before the DTM, he drove there himself in the Formula 3 Euro Series. Wittmann is also a member of the Motorsport Club Nürnberg, the organiser of the DTM race at the Norisring.

O is for Oschersleben.

The Motorsport Arena is not only where Wittmann drove his first race in the Formula BMW in 2007, but is also where he achieved his first Formula BMW victory in the same year. In his 2014 DTM champion season, he started from pole position in Oschersleben.

P is for Parents.

His father Herbert and his mother Angelika have been at almost every race since he started karting. They travelled in a motorhome, his father Herbert looked after the kart, his mother Angelika cooked. Together, the Wittmann family runs a coachbuilder business in Fürth.

Q is for Qualifying.

Wittmann says that qualifying is one of his biggest strengths. In the 2014 season, he is the only driver in the DTM starting field to have reached the deciding third section in all eight of the qualifying sessions. His worst result so far was starting from seventh on the grid.

R is for RMG.

Reinhold Motorsport GmbH is the team behind Marco Wittmann’s successes. BMW Team RMG and their driver made their breakthrough in the 2014 season and have already celebrated a total of five victories this season with Wittmann and his team-mate Maxime Martin (BE).

S is for Stefan. 

Stefan Reinhold is team principal for Marco Wittmann and BMW Team RMG. After many years of working in Formula 1 and other motorsport categories, he applied with the concept of a team competing in the DTM in BMW Motorsport’s comeback season in 2012, and was awarded the contract. 

T is for Trophy.

Wittmann has replicas of his trophies – BMW Motorsport have the originals – on display in his flat in Fürth. In addition to the DTM trophies, this includes the winner’s trophy for the qualifying race for the 24 Hours Nürburgring (DE) in 2014, which he won with BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS in the BMW Z4 GT3.

U is for User. 

Wittmann places great importance on direct contact with his fans and is represented on the major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This is where it is easiest for him to come into contact with users. On Facebook alone, almost 10,000 fans now follow his page „Marco Wittmann – Official“.

V is for Vacation.

During the 2014 season, Wittmann treated himself to a break in Tenerife (ES). After the season finishes, he plans to be off on a skiing holiday. These quiet periods are particularly important to him. “You clear your head – and then return to the track even more hungry for success,” he said.

W is for Weight.

As a result of his successes over the course of the season, Wittmann was driving one of the heaviest cars in seven out of eight races due to the newly introduced performance weights. It was only in the third race in Budapest (HU) that his Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM weighed 2.5 kilograms less than the vehicles of his fellow BMW drivers Augusto Farfus (BR) and Martin Tomczyk (DE). 

X is for Mister X.

Before the DTM season got underway, TV station ARD filmed an advertising trailer in the style of a Western in which the seven DTM champions in the 2014 starting field, the “magnificent seven”, were trying to determine which one of them was Mister X, who would be crowned champion this year. Back then very few thought that Wittmann would be Mister X. Now ARD has filmed a sequel to the trailer with Wittmann…

Y is for Y car park.

The car parks at the DTM race tracks are marked with letters. The car park in which the drivers – including Wittmann – park their private cars has the letter Y. His BMW M6 Coupé with fire orange paint really stands out at every race track.

Z is for Zandvoort.

It was on this track in the Dutch dunes that Wittmann claimed his first pole position in the DTM in 2013. A year later he returns to the North Sea coast as champion. Keeping that in mind, it’s no surprise that Wittmann says: “Zandvoort is one of my favourite tracks.”