Stunning performance earns BMW driver Marco Wittmann his third DTM pole of the year.

Nürburgring (DE), 16th August 2014. Marco Wittmann (DE) produced another flawless display in qualifying ahead of the seventh DTM race of the season at the Nürburgring (DE), landing the Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM on pole position. The BMW Team RMG driver overcame the disadvantage of carrying the maximum performance weight of ten kilograms to clock a time of 1:22.780 minutes in Q3, 0.145 seconds quicker than Edoardo Mortara (IT, Audi). In doing so, Wittmann secured the fourth pole position of his career and the third of the 2014 season. This also marked the 43rd time in the history of the DTM that a BMW driver had set the fastest time in qualifying.

Because of this, the Nürburgring remains a happy stomping ground for BMW. When the race gets underway tomorrow, it will be the 11th time in the history of the DTM that a BMW driver has started from the front of the grid at this circuit – more than on any other track. BMW drivers have claimed pole every year since the manufacturer returned to the series in 2012. Wittmann’s fastest time also saw him beat the previous lap record, set by Mattias Ekström (SE) in 2005, by 0.013 seconds.

In cool and unsettled conditions, there was a gaping gap between Wittmann and the other BMW DTM drivers. The current championship leader was the only driver to progress as far as the third qualifying session. Maxime Martin (BE), Wittmann’s team-mate at BMW Team RMG, was the second-best BMW driver. He will start tomorrow’s race from 12th on the grid in the SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM. Augusto Farfus (BR) was 14th in the Castrol EDGE BMW M4 DTM. Timo Glock (DE, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM), Bruno Spengler (CA, BMW Bank M4 DTM) and Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM) followed in 16th, 17th and 18th.

António Félix da Costa (PT, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM) and Joey Hand (US, Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M4 DTM), who was struggling with an upset stomach, failed to progress beyond the first session of qualifying, which took place while the track was still dry. They start from 19th and 20th on the grid. The seventh race of the year gets underway at 13:30 on Sunday (live on ARD).

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):

“We once again witnessed a sensational qualifying from Marco Wittmann. This is his third pole position of the season – and with maximum weight on board. You cannot fail to be impressed by Marco’s performances at the moment. We are obviously not happy with the rest of the results. The conditions were unsettled and difficult, and one or two of our cars could definitely have been further up the grid. We will have to sit down in private and analyse our overall performance.” 

Marco Wittmann (car number 23, BMW Team RMG, 1st):

“That really was a very good qualifying – and it went far better than I could ever have expected with ten kilograms of ballast on board. My car was perfect in the second qualifying session, and was also great to drive in Q3. To start from pole here at the Nürburgring, at BMW Team RMG’s home race, is fantastic. The team did a great job and made crucial improvements to the car between free practice and qualifying. The goal for tomorrow has to be to get off to a good start and keep the Audi drivers behind me. If I do that, then a good result is possible. In memory of the late Dieter Lamm, we wanted to give his family a small gift in the form of a good result here. We have done that, and I am now looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”

Maxime Martin (car number 24, BMW Team RMG, 12th):

“Our timing was good in Q1, despite the mixed conditions. We will have to analyse exactly what happened after that. Marco Wittmann showed exactly what was possible here with our car.”

Augusto Farfus (car number 3, BMW Team RBM, 14th):

“That was a crazy day. The constantly fluctuating conditions made it very difficult for us to find the optimal set-up for the car. We don’t appear to have managed that. Marco Wittmann demonstrated the basic strength of the BMW M4 DTM. We will now work hard to ensure that we do better in the race.” 

Timo Glock (car number 17, BMW Team MTEK, 16th):

“Today was all about getting your flying lap in at the right time, and ideally as the last driver. That worked well for us in the first session. However, for some reason we were lacking the necessary pace in Q2. We will take a very close look at the data, in order to find out why we lost so much time – particularly compared to Marco Wittmann. I am obviously a bit disappointed, as we were looking good in the morning’s two free practices. We will see what we can achieve from this grid position tomorrow.”

Bruno Spengler (car number 9, BMW Team Schnitzer, 17th):

“We actually had a good first session in mixed conditions. However, we started to have problems when the track started to dry out. Marco Wittmann did a superb job, but things did not work out for us. That can happen sometimes. I will now look ahead to Sunday’s race and will push hard in my 100th start in the DTM.”  

Martin Tomczyk (car number 10, BMW Team Schnitzer, 18th):

“Our problems with the car returned as the track dried out. I could not match the lap times of the front-runners in the dry. Marco Wittmann aside, the other BMWs did not fare much better. Hopefully we can improve in the race tomorrow.” 

António Félix da Costa (car number 18, BMW Team MTEK, 19th):

“I had another car in front of me on both my last two laps, and could not get past it. That cost me valuable and ultimately crucial time in these difficult conditions. That is very disappointing.”

Joey Hand (car number 4, BMW Team RBM, 20th):

“We just did not get a perfect set-up. Above all, I really struggled with a lot of understeer. Quite honestly, you don’t have a chance in such an evenly-balanced series as the DTM if you have those kind of problems. On top of that, I was not one hundred per cent fit today. Hopefully I’ll be feeling better tomorrow.”