DTM - After a turbulent start at the Hungaroring: Wittmann finishes fourth for BMW and extends overall lead

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Wittmann started well from third place and overtook the Audi drivers Mortara and Jamie Green (GB) on the outside. Wittmann then just avoided spinning out when the three cars collided. He was able to get his car back under control. While Green retired and Mortara had to make an early pit stop, the #bmw Team RMG driver was able to continue, finishing in fourth. Victory went to Mattias Ekström (SE, Audi).

Four other #bmw drivers finished in the points behind Wittmann in the third from last race of the year. António Félix da Costa (PT, #bmw M4 DTM) finished in fifth, Tom Blomqvist (GB, Ice-Watch #bmw M4 DTM) in sixth, Timo Glock (DE, DEUTSCHE POST #bmw M4 DTM) in seventh and Maxime Martin (BE, SAMSUNG #bmw M4 DTM) in ninth.

Martin Tomczyk (DE) claimed 11th place in the #bmw M Performance Parts #m4dtm, just missing out on a top ten finish. Bruno Spengler (CA, #bmw Bank M4 DTM) finished 14th, Augusto Farfus (BR, Shell #bmw M4 DTM) retired early.* 

Reactions to the 16th race of the 2016 #dtm season.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “We had to work hard for that today. After a start like that, we should be pleased with five #bmw drivers in the top ten. It could easily have gone wrong today. Marco dealt very well with that situation at the start and then made it home in fourth. I am very proud of him and his performance. Marco's car was damaged a little bit, which meant he couldn't maintain the same speed as the leaders. Overall, our performance today wasn't bad. Today, we made up a bit for yesterday and we can look back at Budapest with a bit more satisfaction. Marco has moved in the right direction again in the drivers’ standings. We have to continue this trend in Hockenheim and approach the two final races with total concentration. The situation is still really tight in the #dtm.”

Marco Wittmann (BMW Team RMG, 4th place): “I had a very good start, whereas Edo didn’t. His wheels were spinning. I had all the momentum. I went over to his side of the track. I think he wanted to block Eki first and he pushed me over onto the grass - although I was already alongside him. There was contact, and I had to drive across the grass. There was contact again when I came back. In my opinion, it was caused by Edo’s mistake at the start. And obviously I won't just back down. The 12 points are important to help us progress. We couldn't have improved on finishing in seventh and fourth this weekend. The competition from Audi was extremely strong. So these points are even more important.”

Facts and figures.

Circuit/length/duration:
Hungaroring, 4.381 kilometres, 60 minutes plus 1 lap

Conditions:
Sunny, 20 degrees Celsius

BMW Motorsport results:

11 #marcowittmann (DE), #bmw Team RMG, Red Bull #bmw #m4dtm – 4th place

13 António Félix da Costa (PT), #bmw Team Schnitzer, #bmw #m4dtm – 5th place

31 Tom Blomqvist (GB), #bmw Team RBM, Ice-Watch #bmw #m4dtm – 6th place

16 Timo Glock (DE), #bmw Team RMG, DEUTSCHE POST #bmw #m4dtm – 7th place

36 Maxime Martin (BE), #bmw Team RBM, SAMSUNG #bmw #m4dtm – 9th place

100 Martin Tomczyk (DE), #bmw Team Schnitzer, #bmw M Performance Parts #m4dtm – 11th place

7 Bruno Spengler (CA), #bmw Team MTEK, #bmw Bank #m4dtm – 14th place

18 Augusto Farfus (BR), #bmw Team MTEK, Shell #bmw #m4dtm – retired

Useful information:

Marco Wittmann scored 12 points for finishing in fourth place, which took his #dtm career points total (505) past the 500 mark. Of the other #bmw drivers, only Bruno Spengler (758 points) has also achieved this feat.

In this 16th race, Wittman finished in the top ten in qualifying and in the race for the 14th time.

Edoardo Mortara and Wittmann were both warned by race control after the turbulent scenes at the start.

Augusto Farfus had to retire from the race after a few laps, as debris from other cars damaged the radiator of his Shell #bmw #m4dtm.

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*Update: After Sunday’s #dtm race at the #hungaroring, following a report from the technical delegate, the stewards of the meeting concluded that the underfloor of Marco Wittmann’s car did not comply with the technical regulations.

Wittmann was excluded, #bmw Team RMG announced an appeal. In the provisional race results, António Félix da Costa (PT) is now the best-placed #bmw driver in third.