BMW victorious again at the Norisring after 25 years: Spengler wins, ahead of Martin, five BMW M4 DTMs in the top six.

Norisring. Bruno Spengler (CAN) claimed the first win of the
DTM season for BMW in Saturday’s race at the Norisring (GER). The
Canadian’s first victory since the 2013 race in Spielberg (AUS) was
not only a special moment for him, but was also a historic one for
BMW. The last BMW driver to win at the street circuit in Nürnberg
(GER) was Steve Soper (GBR) in a BMW M3 back in 1992. This latest
success also marked BMW’s 25th victory since returning to
the DTM in 2012. Maxime Martin (BEL) finished second to complete the
20th one-two for BMW in the DTM. He had started the race
from pole position. Marco Wittmann (GER), Timo Glock (GER) and Tom
Blomqvist (GBR) came home fourth, fifth and sixth to round off an
outstanding team result for BMW.

 

Qualifying:
The 20-minute session at the
Norisring developed into a battle for every thousandths of a second.
Maxime Martin (SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM) clocked the fastest time of 47.472
seconds on his final lap to secure pole position, 0.005 seconds ahead
of René Rast (GER, Audi). This was the third pole position of Martin’s
DTM career and his first since the Saturday race at the 2015 DTM
finale in Hockenheim (GER). This was BMW’s second pole position of the
season and the 58th pole for the manufacturer in the DTM.
Bruno Spengler (BMW Bank M4 DTM) was third fastest with a lap time of
47.493 seconds, earning him one point towards the Drivers’
Championship. Martin was rewarded for his pole position with three
points. Tom Blomqvist (BMW Driving Experience M4 DTM), Marco Wittmann
(Red Bull BMW M4 DTM) and Timo Glock (DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM) also
qualified in the top ten in fourth, seventh and eighth respectively.
In doing so, they rounded off the best qualifying result of the season
for BMW. Augusto Farfus (BRA, Shell BMW M4 DTM) was 16th fastest.

 

The race:

Shortly before the start of the race, the Norisring was hit by a
heavy shower, which resulted in a wet track. Bruno Spengler made a
very good start on wet tyres, climbing into the lead from third place
on the grid. Maxime Martin initially dropped from pole position into
fourth place. However, he overtook René Rast on lap two to move into
third. While Spengler was able to pull clear at the front, Martin
passes Mattias Ekström (SWE, Audi) to regain second place on lap nine.
After 20 laps, the track had dried out so much that all the drivers
switched to slicks. Spengler and Martin retained the top two positions
after the round of pit stops. Over the course of the race, Spengler
pulled away from the chasing pack again. Martin fended off Ekström in
a thrilling battle for second place. Marco Wittmann, Timo Glock and
Tom Blomqvist worked their way through the field on slicks, ending the
seventh race of the season in fourth, fifth and sixth. Blomqvist set
the fastest lap time of 48.345 seconds. Augusto Farfus was forced to
retire with a technical issue after 11 laps.

 

The reactions:

 

BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt: “It is
awesome to win here at the Norisring with Bruno Spengler. This is the
25th victory since we returned to the DTM – and after 25
years without a win at the Norisring. Furthermore, this year marks the
50th anniversary of BMW in Lower Bavaria. It has all come
together perfectly. The guys did a mega job. Maxime did superbly to
hold off Mattias Ekström, while the other drivers behind him also had
superb races. Today showed once again that anyone who makes a mistake
at the Norisring will find it very difficult. Fortunately, however,
that was not the case for us today. I am very proud of the boys. That
was really impressive.”

 

Stefan Reinhold (team principal, BMW Team RMG): “The
conditions were a real mixed bag. All in all, it is a great result for
BMW. Congratulations to Bart and BMW Team RBM. They pushed hard. I am
very pleased for them. We worked hard until just before the start of
the race, and I hope we can improve again tomorrow.”

 

Marco Wittmann (#11, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM – Grid position:
7th, race result: 4th place – 63 races, 8
wins, 16 podiums, 8 pole positions, 559 points, 2 Drivers’ titles):
“The race was very eventful – particularly at the start, when
it started to rain just before we got underway. I made a poor start
and lost some places. However, I was then able to fight my way back
towards the front in the skirmishes that ensued. We were running fifth
for a long time, and had very good pace. We were possibly a lap or two
too early with our stop. That allowed Edo Mortara to overtake me.
However, I passed him again in the end and eventually ended the race
in fourth place. That is a decent result from seventh on the grid. It
has been a superb day for BMW on the whole – with Bruno and Maxime
finishing first and second. I would obviously have liked to have
joined them on the podium. The wait for a podium result at my home
race at the Norisring goes on – but perhaps it will happen tomorrow.”

 

Augusto Farfus (#15, Shell BMW M4 DTM – Grid position:
16th, race result: DNF – 73 races, 4 wins, 12 podiums, 5
pole positions, 345 points):
“It is a great shame that we
were unable to implement our strategy. I was running fifth when I had
to give up. I am obviously very disappointed. However, it was a great
race for the other guys.”

 

Timo Glock (#16, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM – Grid position:
8th, race result: 5th place – 63 races, 3
wins, 7 podiums, 2 pole positions, 272 points):
“It all
kicked off around me at the start, and I took quite a big hit.
However, the race pace was good after that. I was able to overtake
Nico Müller, but could not get past Edoardo Mortara. I was running
alright in the dry after the pit stops, then Mike Rockenfeller spun
Edo. That allowed us to finish fifth and score some good points, which
was important. It was a fantastic race for BMW. I am delighted for
Bruno Spengler.”

 

Bart Mampaey (team principal, BMW Team RBM): “That
was beyond anything we could have imagined. Maxime’s pole position was
magnificent and a great result for BMW. But the race actually managed
to top that. I would like to thank BMW and, of course, the entire
team. The pit stops were good again. And what a great start from
Bruno! His pace was superb after that too. Maxime initially lost a few
positions, but fought his way back to the front. Running first and
second allowed us to choose the optimal moment to come in for a tyre
change. Maxime showed once again what a great racer he is, battling it
out with Mattias Ekström. Today is a good day.”

 

Bruno Spengler (#7, BMW Bank BMW M4 DTM – Grid position:
3rd, race result: 1st place – 146 races, 15
wins, 47 podiums, 17 pole positions, 801 points, 1 Drivers’ title):
“I am absolutely delighted with this win. This is my fourth
victory at the Norisring – and the first win here for 25 years for
BMW. I am very proud to have achieved that today – and am really
pleased for the whole team. They have worked so hard for this, and it
has not always been easy for us. However, it finally worked out today.
We can really enjoy this now.”

 

Tom Blomqvist (#31, BMW Driving Experience M4 DTM – Grid
position: 4th, race result: 6th place – 43
races, 1 win, 5 podiums, 1 pole position, 174 points):
“The
race was a great one for BMW, but we will certainly not be taking our
foot off the gas. All the same, it feels great to score points in the
first race. I lost a few positions at the start, but the pace was okay
after that. I was right behind Timo Glock at the end, but could not
find a way past him. Congratulations to the guys on the podium.”

 

Maxime Martin (#36, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM – Grid position:
1st, race result: 2nd place – 53 races, 2
wins, 8 podiums, 3 pole positions, 284 points):
“One-two
for BMW: that is fantastic. It is a shame I got off to such a poor
start. I don’t know whether it was due to the wet track or something
else. However, I was soon able to fight my way back into second place.
I was pretty quick in the wet, and was able to overtake nicely. I was
also able to set a fast pace in the dry conditions. It was really
tough again at the end, but I did enough – and we picked up 18 points
for finishing second.”

 

The standings:

 

Drivers: 1. Mattias Ekström (77 points), 2. René Rast
(72), 3. Jamie Green (71), 4. Lucas Auer (69), 5. Timo Glock
(59),
6. Gary Paffett (55), 7. Mike Rockenfeller
(54), 8. Maxime Martin (53), 9. Paul di Resta
(45), 10. Bruno Spengler (43), 11. Robert Wickens
(42), 12. Marco Wittmann (36), 13. Nico Müller
(35), 14. Edoardo Mortara (25), 15. Tom Blomqvist (10),
16. Maro Engel (3), 17. Augusto Farfus (0),
18. Loic Duval (0).

 

Teams: 1. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (143 points), 2.
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (112), 3. Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
Mercedes me (97), 4. BMW Team RBM (96), 5.
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport BWT (94), 6. BMW Team RMR (69),
7. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (54), 8. Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
SILBERPFEIL Energy (48), 9. BMW Team RMG (36).

 

Manufacturers: 1. Audi (309 points), 2. Mercedes
(239), 3. BMW (201).

 

The service:

BMW Motorsport will offer an innovative Chatbot service for
journalists for the first time in the 2017 DTM season. This allows
users to receive the latest information directly to their smartphone
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statistics, statements and photos. You can register for the BMW
Motorsport Chatbot at the following link: http://bit.ly/BMW_Motorsport_Media_Broadcast_EN