DTM action in the mountains: BMW Motorsport ahead of visit to Austria

Munich (DE), 28th July 2015. After the successful weekend in Zandvoort (NL), with a top-seven shut-out on Saturday and a top-five shut-out in the race on Sunday, BMW Motorsport is stopping off in Spielberg (AT) from 31st July to 2nd August. The “Red Bull Ring” will host the ninth and tenth DTM races of the season and is the venue for the second of the series’ appearances outside of Germany.

The BMW teams have made history on the 4.326-kilometre track in Styria in the past two years: after the one-two-three in 2013, they stepped up a gear last season and celebrated BMW’s first top-four shut-out in 22 years. Alongside winner Marco Wittmann (DE), Augusto Farfus (BR), Timo Glock (DE) and Martin Tomczyk (DE), who will contest his 150th DTM race in Spielberg on Saturday, clinched the other spots in the fantastic success.

Classic meets modern in Spielberg. Races have been held there since 1969 – when the track was called the “Österreichring”. Just one year after its opening, the track hosted Formula 1 for the first time. The current layout was designed by racetrack architect Hermann Tilke (DE). The DTM was held at the “A1 Ring”, as it was formerly known, between 2001 and 2003 and returned to Spielberg in 2011. The spectators at the ‘Red Bull Ring’ are crazy about motorsport: Last season saw 47,500 fans follow the action at the track over the course of the weekend.

Four BMW DTM drivers were in racing action once again last weekend. Timo Glock (DE) and Bruno Spengler (CA) were at the heart of a very special project: they shared the cockpit with double amputee Alessandro Zanardi (IT) for the first time at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BE). The BMW Motorsport engineers had come up with innovative technical solutions to modify the BMW Z4 GT3 for this extraordinary first. Unfortunately, however, a technical fault forced the trio to retire in the final hour of the race. Farfus and Maxime Martin (BE), who shared driving duties with BMW works driver Dirk Werner (DE), retired whilst leading the race. Despite this, BMW Motorsport still had cause for celebration at the classic in the Ardennes region of Belgium: BMW works driver Lucas Luhr (DE), Markus Palttala (FI) and Nick Catsburg (NL), at the wheel of a BMW Z4 GT3 run by BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS, claimed a 22nd overall victory for BMW at the “Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps”.

Quotes ahead of the fifth race weekend of 2015 in Spielberg.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):

“After the successful weekend in Zandvoort, we obviously head to the next DTM races in Spielberg with the wind in our sails. Despite the recent excellent results, we remain realistic: Things could swing the other way in Austria, as our opponents are strong. Nevertheless, we are optimistic going into the two races at the Red Bull Ring. We have regularly celebrated great successes there in the past. We have invested a lot of effort in improving the performance of our overall package since the start of the season. I hope that we can continue the positive trend we have seen in recent races.”

Stefan Reinhold (team principal, BMW Team RMG):

“It was a fantastic feeling standing on the podium with our two drivers in Zandvoort after the race on Saturday. That was just the success that my team needed after the difficult start to the season. Now we are highly motivated as we travel to Spielberg. We won there last year. If everything goes right, I think we could be fighting for the top spots once again at the Red Bull Ring. We must remain totally focussed and try not to make any mistakes. The season is far from over.”

Charly Lamm (team principal, BMW Team Schnitzer):

“Spielberg is so close to our team’s HQ that it is a home race for us in a sense. The track is fantastic and we have a lot of great memories here. Now our goal has to be to take the momentum from Zandvoort with us to Spielberg. Of course we mustn’t forget that the BMW M4 DTM at the North Sea were lighter than the competition. We benefitted from that. The performance weights will be distributed differently in Spielberg. Nevertheless, the successes in Zandvoort have given us a great boost – and we definitely want to use that in Spielberg.”

Bart Mampaey (team principal, BMW Team RBM):

“With Augusto Farfus’ pole position, fourth and second place in the two races in Zandvoort and the first points in the DTM for Tom Blomqvist, my team finally received their reward for all the hard work they have put in this season. Spielberg is a track that has always suited our car in the past. However, we have to wait and see how the balance of power plays out in Austria.”

Ernest Knoors (team principal, BMW Team MTEK):

“We had a successful weekend in Zandvoort. Now we’re heading to Spielberg. We have always looked good there in the past, and celebrated our first two podium finishes there in 2013. The Red Bull Ring is a high-speed track that the drivers love and that guarantees plenty of action. We look forward to Spielberg and hope to be able to build on the successes of the past two weekends.”

Marco Wittmann (car number 1, BMW Team RMG):

“I always have good memories of Spielberg. In the last two DTM races there I celebrated first and second place. It’s hard to beat that. I also completed testing for Formula 1 at the Red Bull Ring a few weeks ago. Which is why I am really looking forward to the race weekend in Spielberg. Naturally I hope that we will be successful in Austria once again.”

Maxime Martin (car number 36, BMW Team RMG):

“Spielberg is a totally different track to the one in Zandvoort. Last year we were very strong there. But we will have to wait and see how it goes this season. There are many factors that will determine whether we can be up there fighting for the top positions, our car being the main factor of course. I feel that we have the right overall package for Spielberg and we will do everything we can to get onto the podium again.”

Martin Tomczyk (car number 77, BMW Team Schnitzer):

“The Red Bull Ring is a sensational racetrack that is surrounded by beautiful nature. There are fantastic uphill and downhill passages, fast, long drawn-out turns, but also long straights that make it possible to overtake. I am really looking forward to it since I was able to win at the first attempt at the Spielberg race in 2011 and have always been up at the front since then. That’s why I am hoping that this year will bring similar success.”

António Félix da Costa (car number 13, BMW Team Schnitzer): “Spielberg is Red Bull’s home track – and I have the bull on my car. I will do my best once again in Austria and am highly motivated after my first DTM win in Zandvoort. I like the Red Bull Ring with its high-speed passages. Every racing driver loves this type of bend. So the track is pretty much perfect for us.”

Augusto Farfus (car number 18, BMW Team RBM):

“Things went very well for us in Zandvoort recently. But we mustn’t forget that the other cars were loaded with additional weights. But naturally these successes and the points we picked up were good for our motivation and team spirit. Now we are off to Spielberg. The track suits our BMW M4 DTM. Which is why I am really looking forward to the races already, and think that we are in with a good chance of finishing in the top spots.”

Tom Blomqvist (car number 31, BMW Team RBM):

“I am optimistic that we will do well in Spielberg after we got such a fantastic result in Zandvoort. Naturally that gives us an extra boost for the next DTM weekend. The Red Bull Ring is one of the tracks that I love to drive on. BMW has always done well there in the past. I hope that we can get good results once again this year.”

Bruno Spengler (car number 7, BMW Team MTEK):

“I am delighted that things are really getting going now. Spielberg is right after the 24 Hours of Spa. The track is sensational, the landscape is beautiful and the atmosphere is extraordinary. The fans are totally crazy about motorsport. In terms of our performance, we will have to wait and see what happens. We will be given extra weights, while the others will be allowed to offload a few kilos. That means it could be a bit more difficult for us. But we won’t know until we get there, we will do our best and try to keep on improving.”

Timo Glock (car number 16, BMW Team MTEK):

“The previous races in Spielberg have always gone well for me. I’ve made it onto the podium there twice already. The track suits our BMW M4 DTM. Naturally it will be difficult to repeat such success, particularly because we will have to take on extra weight now, while the others will be allowed to offload some. This means that the cards have been reshuffled. Nevertheless I am already really looking forward to the weekend at the Red Bull Ring. The atmosphere there is simply fantastic.”