Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website Four BMW M4 DTMs in the points on Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps
agosto 03, 2020 - BMW Motorsport

Four BMW M4 DTMs in the points on Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps

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Spa-Francorchamps. Sheldon van der Linde (RSA, Shell BMW M4 DTM) crossed the finish line sixth in race two of the 2020 DTM season at Spa-Francorchamps (BEL), making him the day’s best-placed BMW driver. Lucas Auer (AUT, BMW Bank M4 DTM), Jonathan Aberdein (RSA, CATL BMW M4 DTM) and Marco Wittmann (GER, Schaeffler BMW M4 DTM) came home eighth, ninth and tenth to pick up points, while victory went to René Rast (GER, Audi). Like Saturday, the BMW M4 DTM was out of contention for a spot on the podium.

Philipp Eng (AUT, ZF BMW M4 DTM) and Timo Glock (GER, iQOO BMW M4 DTM) were eleventh and 13th in the race. In the Drivers’ Championship, Auer is the best-placed BMW driver with ten points.

Reactions to the 2nd DTM race of the 2020 season at Spa-Francorchamps.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Group Motorsport Director):

“As expected, it was tough for us again today here at Spa. Qualifying was a little better, and with Sheldon van der Linde we had a driver on one of the first two rows. The picture was a better one further down the grid too. In the race, we lost too much time in the first stint. We were simply unable to make up that ground in the second stint, even with a different strategy like the one we saw from Marco Wittmann, who came in a bit later for his tyre change. We struggled with tyre management again today. That is something we need to work on. The reliability and top speed were there, but the pace was not there in the first stint – particularly in sectors two and three. We have to analyse that. We must improve our package by the Lausitzring, although the tyres will not play such a major role there as they have done here at Spa. Congratulations to René Rast and Nico Müller. They were in a league of their own. We must ensure that we improve and are up there at the front of the field soon.”

Stefan Reinhold (BMW Team RMG Team Principal):

“We simply did not get the perfect mix of downforce and set-up here at Spa. As a result, we could not match the opposition’s pace. Despite that, I would like to say a big thank you to the whole team, who also did a perfect job in the pit stops. We must now take a close look to see how we can improve for the Lausitzring.”

Marco Wittmann (#11 Schaeffler BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG, Grid: 9th, Race: 10th, Drivers’ standings: 12th, 1 points):

“That was all very sobering. In the end, I stopped late and perhaps picked up a point as a result. We must all take a very close look at the whole weekend. It is super-disappointing to finish 45 seconds behind the leader. That is not what we expect from ourselves, or what we were hoping for. You have to be honest and say that it was not a good performance from us. We have to work on that.”

Timo Glock (#16 BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG, Grid: 7th, Race: 13th, Driver’s standings: 10th, 4 points):

“That was not what we were hoping for. It is hard to understand, as the car felt good in qualifying but as soon as we line up for the race with more weight on board, it is too much for the tyres. They suffer too much. That is our main problem. It was not right, particularly in today’s second stint. I don’t know what was going on with the front-right tyre, but nothing was working. It did not have any grip, right from the word go, and I had a lot of understeer. I lost a lot of time. Nothing came together today. We must find out why. At the moment, I have no explanation.”

Lucas Auer (#22 BMW Bank M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR, Grid: 10th , Race: 8th, Drivers’ standings: 7th, 10 points):

“My start was superb again. Generally speaking, I think that the first stint was also very strong, however I had to fight with a lot of cars. The tyres were done after that. All the same, I would describe the first stint as a good one. The second one definitely was not. That meant I was no longer able to set my sights on the cars ahead. I am still very happy and believe I have the potential. For now, we must keep fighting.”

Bart Mampaey (BMW Team RBM Team Principal):

“I believe our team got as much out of the race as possible in difficult conditions. We were unable to compete with Audi here at Spa, we have to admit that. Congratulations to them on their performance. Sheldon van der Linde showed good pace today, both in qualifying and the race. Unfortunately, Jonathan Aberdein lost a lot of time after a spin through no fault of his own, however he fought back magnificently. I am very happy with his performance. In the case of Philipp Eng, our tyre strategy did not work as well as yesterday.”

Philipp Eng (#25 ZF BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM, Grid: 6th, Race: 11th, Drivers’ standings: 8th, 8 points):

“That was very disappointing. Today was totally different to yesterday. We did not make any modifications to the car, we just used a different tyre. Yesterday I looked like the king of tyre management, today is a very different story. Nobody can understand that at the moment.”

Jonathan Aberdein (#27 CATL BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR, Grid: 11th, Race: 9th, Drivers’ standings: 11th, 3 points):

“On the whole, the day was a little disappointing, but we definitely got something out of it. Unfortunately, I was spun at the start of the race, which cost us time. Thanks to our good pace and tyre management, we still managed to fight our way back into the race. In the end, we came away with ninth place. Given our grid position and the incident at the start, we can be satisfied with that result.”

Sheldon van der Linde (#31 Shell BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM, Grid: 4th, Race: 6th, Drivers’ standings: 9th, 8 points):

“That was a good race for us. We got the maximum out of our package today. Unfortunately, we could do no more than that. I had a really good qualifying, perhaps one of the best laps I have ever driven. I am happy with myself today. After my problems in yesterday’s race, it was important for me to get my confidence back. I wanted to show what we are capable of. We did that. The Audis appear to be very quick. We will do everything we can to close the gap to them in the next race.”