Reactions to the ninth DTM race in Zandvoort

Zandvoort (NL), 28th September 2013. Augusto Farfus (BR) claimed his second DTM win in a row in Zandvoort (NL). The Brazilian driver produced an outstanding performance in front of 41,000 spectators to secure the BMW M3’s 50th victory in the history of the DTM. Mike Rockenfeller (DE, Audi) finished runner-up to win the DTM drivers’ standings. A further two BMW drivers, Marco Wittmann (DE) and Joey Hand (US), finished in the points. Read here what BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt, the team principals and the eight drivers had to say after the ninth race of the season.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):

“Augusto Farfus produced another sensational race. That was his third victory of the season, his fourth podium in a row, and the 50th win by a BMW M3 in the DTM: these figures speak for themselves. At the same time, however, we would like to congratulate Mike Rockenfeller and Audi. That was another very impressive race from ‘Rocky’ and he is a very worthy champion. He has been incredibly consistent throughout the entire season and deserves to be on top. We would obviously have liked to pick up one or two points more in the race. However, the way the race panned out towards the end did not play into our hands at all. Although the Drivers’ Championship is now out of reach, we still want to put on a great show for the fans at the season finale in Hockenheim, and to come out on top in both the Manufacturers’ and Team competitions.”

Bart Mampaey (Team Principal, BMW Team RBM):
“Augusto Farfus made a good start and was soon able to pull clear. After that, his tyres started to degrade, so we had to come up with a good strategy. That worked out really well again. Augusto’s pace in the second and third stints was awesome, and he fully deserved his win. We also tried to optimise the length of stint for Joey Hand. However, we then lost a place to Timo Scheider, who did a very good job of covering Mike Rockenfeller’s back. The safety car came at an unfortunate time for Joey, and allowed Mattias Ekström to pass him. We can be very happy with both cars in the points and our third win of the season. We could not do much more than win the race. Congratulations to Mike Rockenfeller on his title win. He performed strongly in 2013.”

Ernest Knoors (Team Principal, BMW Team MTEK):
“This was a good weekend for the team, on which we were able to show we have the pace. Both Marco Wittmann, with his pole, and Timo Glock performed well in qualifying. The race was then disappointing for us. Congratulations to Augusto Farfus on his win – and, of course, to Mike Rockenfeller on winning the Drivers’ Championship.”

Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal, BMW Team RMG):
“We worked hard all weekend – and that continued onto the track in today’s race. Martin Tomczyk worked his way through the field brilliantly. To then end up outside the points again after an incident is disappointing. Despite this, compliments to the team, who fought right down to the last lap. Congratulations to Augusto Farfus on his victory. I, personally, am also very pleased for Mike Rockenfeller and Ernst Moser. ‘Rocky’ and I are, to a certain degree, neighbours – he comes from Neuwied, while I’m from Andernach. He deserves it.”

Charly Lamm (Team Principal, BMW Team Schnitzer):
“We came to Zandvoort, determined to bring our bad run to an end. Unfortunately we did not succeed, as far as the results are concerned. We did not find ourselves in a particularly good position after qualifying, then our drivers got stuck in traffic. Dirk Werner was hit by another car and spun out spectacularly. Bruno Spengler’s car was also damaged following a collision, meaning he had to settle for 20th. That is disappointing. It is great for BMW that Augusto Farfus won the race. We would also like to extend our congratulations to Mike Rockenfeller, his Team Principal Ernst Moser, and the entire Phoenix team on winning the Drivers’ Championship.”

Augusto Farfus (car number 7, BMW Team RBM, 1st):
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“The race was not as easy as it may have looked. I was able to pull away from Mike Rockenfeller in the first stint, then the tyres dropped off. He started to catch up and I was really in trouble. Then the car was better on primes and I could really pull clear. I did my job today and could not have done any better. Congratulations to Mike Rockenfeller on his fully-deserved title. He has had a brilliant season and I take my hat off to him. I have nothing to complain about as my second year in the DTM has been very strong. I have to thank my team for a superb season.”

Marco Wittmann (car number 21, BMW Team MTEK, 5th):
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“I guess that is what you call mixed feelings. Saturday was fantastic: I was the fastest man in the field and am obviously delighted with the pole position. In the race, the strategy of starting on primes did not pay off. I would have liked to have given Augusto Farfus more assistance in the battle for the title, but that was not possible in these circumstances. Despite this, we can build on our performance here in Zandvoort. Congratulations to my fellow BMW driver Augusto Farfus, and to ‘Rocky’ on the title.”

Joey Hand (car number 8, BMW Team RBM, 7th):
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“Firstly, congratulations to my team-mate Augusto Farfus on his win, and to Mike Rockenfeller. I think my race went to plan, although nobody really knew what to expect. It was a good show for the fans and I am happy there was some racing to entertain them. We had really good pace on option tyres early on. That is definitely the Joey Hand tyre. However, the leaders got away too early and built a big gap.”

Martin Tomczyk (car number 15, BMW Team RMG, 11th):
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“That was a tough battle today, but was great fun. I was able to make up another two places after the safety car period and moved into the points. There was then contact with Gary Paffett in the chicane, which meant I dropped back to 11th. However, the pace was good and I pulled off a few nice overtaking manoeuvres. I am pleased for Mike Rockenfeller, Ernst Moser and his team. ‘Rocky’ is a friend of mine and fully deserves it. Congratulations also to Augusto Farfus on his win.”

Timo Glock (car number 22, BMW Team MTEK, 18th):
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“Yesterday was a good day, but it was followed by a disappointing race today. All of a sudden, the pace was simply no longer there in the race. My start and the opening lap were really good, and I was able to overtake a few opponents. However, after a few laps the car suddenly became very difficult to drive, regardless of what tyres I was on. Congratulations to Augusto Farfus on his win, and congratulations to Mike Rockenfeller too. He fully deserves it. He has been very impressive in 2013 and did a very professional job of wrapping up the title.”

Andy Priaulx (car number 16, BMW Team RMG, 19th):
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“The car was just nowhere for me. I was in the ball park early on, but within three laps of putting the options on I started to get vibrations. That got progressively worse and within ten laps I had to come in or else risk a major incident. I don’t know what happened to the tyre, but they were wearing extremely quickly. Before the safety car I was able to make up some ground on my primes, but when the safety car came out we could not take the fight to anyone. It was a good call from the team to swap tyres again, but with only one lap left there was nothing I could do. Congratulations to Augusto Farfus on his win – and ‘Rocky’ on the title.”

Bruno Spengler (car number 1, BMW Team Schnitzer, 20th):
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“There are not only negative points from this race. In the end the result was bad but the strategy was really good and the right one for this track. I came from 18th and I was 13th before the safety car, but unfortunately I damaged my car trying to overtake Pascale Wehrlein. Now we have to go from here and push to produce the best race possible in Hockenheim and try to score maximum points for BMW. Congratulations to Mike Rockenfeller. I know how he must be feeling now. He has consistently produced good performances all year, and so thoroughly deserves the title. Augusto Farfus pushed him all the way with his win today.”

Dirk Werner (car number 2, BMW Team Schnitzer, 21st):
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“I am disappointed because the car was quite good today. I think we were just a bit unlucky in a few situations. Particularly a few laps before the end, when I was pushed off the track. That was unnecessary, as we were fighting for 12th at the time. Then my race was over. I am happy Augusto won and congratulations to Audi and Mike on winning the Drivers’ Championship.”