Hockenheim. Marco Wittmann (GER) produced an impressive
display in his last race as DTM champion – for now – to claim his
first win of the season and ensure that BMW ended the season on a
high. He finished ahead of René Rast (GER) at the Hockenheim (GER)
finale. Second place was sufficient for the Audi driver to win the
title. Wittmann now has nine DTM victories to his name. He ended the
2017 season as the best-placed BMW driver in the Drivers’
Championship, finishing in fifth place with 160 points. In the Team
Championship, BMW Team RBM was the top-placed BMW team in fourth.
BMW ended the year third in the Manufacturers’ Championship.
Behind Wittmann, Maxime Martin (BEL) and Augusto Farfus (BRA), in
sixth and seventh place, also picked up points in Sunday’s race at
Hockenheim. Tom Blomqvist (GBR) started from pole position, but failed
to finish after being hit from behind by another car. Timo Glock (GER)
and Bruno Spengler (CAN) finished 12th and 14th.
In total, 152,000 spectators followed the final weekend of the 2017
DTM season at the Hockenheimring.
The qualifying:
Marco Wittmann (Red Bull BMW M4 DTM) and Tom Blomqvist (BMW Driving
Experience M4 DTM) were embroiled in a close battle for pole position
throughout the 20-minute session, which was interrupted halfway
through due to track damage. In the end, it was Blomqvist who secured
the third pole of his career with a fastest time of 1:30.491 minutes,
for which he scored three points towards the Drivers’ Championship.
Wittmann ended the final qualifying session of the season in third
place, picking up one point for his efforts. Maxime Martin (SAMSUNG
BMW M4 DTM) and Augusto Farfus (Shell BMW M4 DTM) also made it into
the top-ten in seventh and ninth places. Timo Glock (DEUTSCHE POST BMW
M4 DTM) and Bruno Spengler (BMW Bank M4 DTM) were 12th and
14th fastest. Penalties awarded to other cars saw Martin
promoted one place, while Farfus, Glock and Spengler moved up two
places on the grid.
The race:
Tom Blomqvist and Marco Wittmann got away well at the start and were
running first and second after the opening lap. A further three BMW
drivers were in the top ten for the first half of the race, namely
Maxime Martin, Augusto Farfus and Timo Glock. An earlier pit stop saw
Wittmann leapfrog Blomqvist and take over as the leading BMW driver.
With the Drivers’ title at stake, René Rast (GER, Audi) was showing
good pace. He passed Blomqvist after his pit stop, while Wittmann
pulled clear at the front of the field. A few laps later, Blomqvist
was hit from behind by Robert Wickens (CAN, Mercedes) and forced to
retire shortly after. Wittmann comfortably defended his lead to claim
his first victory of the season in his last race, for now, as DTM
champion. Rast was runner-up and crowned the new champion. Maxime
Martin and Augusto Farfus came home sixth and seventh to pick up more
points at the end of the season. Timo Glock and Bruno Spengler were
12th and 14th.
The reactions:
BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt: “The 2017 DTM
season finished with an exciting final weekend. 152,000 spectators
created a fantastic atmosphere – and witnessed two good, fair races.
Timo Glock made it onto the podium for us on Saturday. Marco
Wittmann’s victory then brought the season to a perfect close for us.
We once again had three drivers in the points in the final race, and
we have now had four wins this season. Although this is the first time
since our DTM comeback in 2012 that we have come away without a title,
I would like to say a big thank you to the whole team. It has been a
hard year, but everybody gave it their all, right down to the final
lap. Congratulations to René Rast and Audi on their titles. René got
the better of the more established drivers in his rookie year. All in
all, the DTM event here at Hockenheim has once again shown what makes
this series so special: close battles, fantastic drivers, and
passionate fans. Congratulations to Gerhard Berger and everyone
involved. Race weekends like these are the reason we will offer the
ITR our full support as it works to shape the future of this race
series over the coming weeks and months.”
Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal, BMW Team RMG): “That
was an eventful end to an eventful season. Firstly, congratulations to
René Rast. We have known each other for a long time, so I am very
pleased for him, and of course congratulations to Arno Zensen and his
team too. I would like to say a big thank you to our team and BMW. We
struggled with a few issues this weekend, but to see Marco on the top
step of the podium again in the very last race of the year is just
fantastic. We are already looking forward to next season.”
Marco Wittmann (#11, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM – Qualifying result:
3rd place, race result: 1st place – 74 races,
9 wins, 20 podiums, 9 pole positions, 683 points, 2 drivers’
titles): “I am really happy. Every driver wants to end the
season with a win. It is a great way to go into the winter break. I
have been hungry for my first win of the season ever since my victory
at Zandvoort was disallowed. It feels fantastic to get it now. My team
did a magnificent job. We made a few changes to the car after
Saturday, and it really worked well. Thank you to the entire RMG crew,
and congratulations to the new champion René Rast.”
Augusto Farfus (#15, Shell BMW M4 DTM – Qualifying result:
9th place, race result: 7th place – 84 races,
4 wins, 12 podiums, 6 pole positions, 380 points): “I think
we performed well. There was not much more in it for us. It feels good
to have picked up a few more points in the final race of the season. I
am now looking forward to the winter break, then we can go on the
attack again next year.”
Timo Glock (#16, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM – Qualifying result:
12th place, race result: 12th place – 74
races, 4 wins, 9 podiums, 4 pole positions, 346 points):
“The whole day was unfortunately not exactly ideal. As on
many other race Sundays this year, it did not really come together for
us. We had to replace a damaged gearbox which meant that the
suspension points were not right. Also, we did not have enough time
left to change the anti-roll bar. As such, the car was not as good as
yesterday and we were fighting a bit of a losing battle today. I think
Marco’s victory is a nice end to the season for BMW. Respect to René
Rast and congratulations on his title win. He fought hard for that in
his first year. I take my hat off to him.”
Bart Mampaey (Team Principal, BMW Team RBM): “We had
a very good qualifying and then led the race for the first few laps
with Tom Blomqvist. It is obviously very disappointing that he was
then taken out by Robert Wickens in a very dubious manoeuvre for which
he was later penalised. Maxime made up a few positions, thanks to a
good strategy and a quick pit stop. As the season draws to a close, I
would like to thank BMW and my team. We always gave it our very best
and, in my opinion, did as well as possible.”
Bruno Spengler (#7, BMW Bank BMW M4 DTM – Qualifying result:
14th place, race result: 14th place – 157
races, 15 wins, 48 podiums, 18 pole positions, 833 points, 1
drivers’ title): “Congratulations to Marco on his win today
and, of course, to René on the title. Personally, I am obviously not
happy with my race today. I don’t think we were right to stop just
three laps before the end of the race. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Tom Blomqvist (#31, BMW Driving Experience M4 DTM – Qualifying
result: 1st place, race result: DNF – 54 races, 1 win, 5
podiums, 3 pole positions, 197 points): “My start was good,
and I led up until the pit stop. That did not go well, and I lost
ground as a result and dropped back two positions behind Marco and
René. After that, I no longer had the same pace and had a few issues
with the balance of the car. Robert Wickens then took me out of the
race. All in all, it was very disappointing for me and, to a certain
degree, reflects my entire season.”
Maxime Martin (#36, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM – Qualifying result:
7th place, race result: 6th place – 64 races,
3 wins, 10 podiums, 3 pole positions, 363 points): “It was
a difficult race. We were not able to match the other cars’ pace so
well in the second half. Despite that, it has been another good season
for me. We have had a few highs and lows, but on the whole we were
roughly as consistent as in previous years. Congratulations to Marco
on his win today. And, of course, congratulations to Audi and René
Rast on their titles.”
The standings:
Drivers: 1. René Rast (179 points), 2. Mattias
Ekström (176), 3. Jamie Green (173), 4. Mike Rockenfeller (167), 5.
Marco Wittmann (160), 6. Lucas Auer (136), 7. Timo Glock (133), 8.
Maxime Martin (132), 9. Robert Wickens (119), 10. Gary Paffett (102),
11. Paul di Resta (99), 12. Nico Müller (81), 13. Bruno Spengler (75),
14. Edoardo Mortara (61), 15. Maro Engel (51), 16. Augusto Farfus
(35), 17. Tom Blomqvist (25), 18. Loic Duval (22).
Teams: 1. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (352 points), 2.
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (257), 3. Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
Mercedes me (221), 4. BMW Team RBM (207), 5. Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
BWT (197), 6. BMW Team RMG (195), 7. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (189), 8.
BMW Team RMR (158), 9. Mercedes-AMG Motorsport SILBERPFEIL Energy (150).
Manufacturers: 1. Audi (798 points), 2. Mercedes
(568), 3. BMW (560).