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 M4 DTM, 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 Marco Wittmann (DE), BMW Team RMG, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM – 4th place
#13 António Félix da Costa (PT), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M4 DTM – 5th place
#31 Tom Blomqvist (GB), BMW Team RBM, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM – 6th place
#16 Timo Glock (DE), BMW Team RMG, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM – 7th place
#36 Maxime Martin (BE), BMW Team RBM, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM – 9th place
#100 Martin Tomczyk (DE), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M Performance Parts
M4 DTM – 11th place
#7 Bruno Spengler (CA), BMW Team MTEK, BMW Bank M4 DTM – 14th place
#18 Augusto Farfus (BR), BMW Team MTEK, Shell BMW M4 DTM – 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 M4 DTM.
—
*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.