Zandvoort. In the ninth race of the 2018 DTM season at
Zandvoort (NED), four BMW drivers picked up points. Timo Glock (GER,
DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM), Marco Wittmann (GER, BMW Driving
Experience M4 DTM), Augusto Farfus (BRA, Shell BMW M4 DTM) and Joel
Eriksson (SWE, BMW M4 DTM) crossed the finish line in sixth,
seventh, eighth and ninth places respectively after 34 laps. The win
went to Mercedes’ Gary Paffett (GBR). Bruno Spengler (CAN, BMW Bank
M4 DTM) and Philipp Eng (AUT, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM) in 12th
and 14th place missed out on the points.
Reactions to Saturday’s race at Zandvoort:
Rudolf Dittrich (General Manager BMW Motorsport Vehicle
Development):
“We got four cars in the top ten today
which is a solid team performance. Augusto and Joel were able gain on
their qualifying positions, which is not a given here at Zandvoort.
Timo and Marco had to stop earlier than planned and unfortunately were
unable to move up the field but they picked up valuable points in the
battle for the championship. The safety car brought the field back
together. Overall, Mercedes was stronger today. Congratulations on the
win. Now we will try to close the gap for tomorrow.”
Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal, BMW Team
RMG):
“We struggled in qualifying today but we are happy
that we brought all three cars home in a row in the race top-ten. It
goes without saying that we want to finish higher up the field. That
is our goal for tomorrow.”
Marco Wittmann (#11 BMW Driving Experience M4 DTM, BMW Team
RMG – qualifying result: 6th place, race result:
7th place, points: 98):
“It was a difficult
race which was dominated by Mercedes. Despite the safety car period we
were unable to attack the top spots. The four BMWs in the top-ten were
all at a similar level but it is always a shame when you are unable to
do better in the race.”
Augusto Farfus (#15 Shell BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG –
qualifying result: 10th place, race result:
8th place, points: 12):
“Eighth place was
the maximum today. Together with Marco and Timo we delivered a solid
team performance. Naturally a better grid position helps. That’s the
goal for tomorrow – and then we’ll see how the second race goes.”
Timo Glock (#16 DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR –
qualifying result: 5th place, race result: 6th
place, points: 100):
“The actual race wasn’t that
difficult because I was able to drive in my rhythm. I made a mistake
at the start when I didn’t bank on Robin Frijns overtaking me. I
should have closed the door better. After that it was soon clear that
the guys at the front pulled away. Then things were exciting again at
the restart and in the first half of the lap after that. Mercedes is
incredibly strong here and Audi also looked good. We need to try and
improve by tomorrow.”
Bart Mampaey (Team Principal, BMW Team RBM):
“We
had to make earlier stops than planned with two of our cars, while
with Joel we were able to stay out longer. That paid off for him. He
had comparatively fresher tyres at the end, so he was able to overtake
Jamie Green. Now we need to see how we can improve for tomorrow.”
Philipp Eng (#25 SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR – qualifying
result: 13th place, race result: 14th place,
points: 53):
“This race has shown me once again that
you need to finish further up the field in qualifying. I drove a good
race with a few good manoeuvres so it’s disappointing to only cross
the finish line in 14th place.”
Bruno Spengler (#7 BMW Bank M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM – qualifying
result: 12th place, race result: 12th place,
points: 43):
“Naturally, I am not satisfied with
12th position. The potential was there in qualifying but
then we didn’t have the pace in the race. Now, we need to see what we
can improve for tomorrow.”
Joel Eriksson (#47 BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM – qualifying
result: 15th place, race result: 9th place,
points: 27):
“Normally you aren’t satisfied with
ninth, but I’m very pleased with that result today. Finishing in the
points after starting from 15th on the grid is great. It’s
almost impossible to overtake here. The pit stop was also fantastic.
That’s why I can be happy today.”