Zolder. At Zolder (BEL), Philipp Eng (AUT) enjoyed the most
successful DTM weekend of his career to date. After his first win on
Saturday, he crossed the line behind René Rast (GER, Audi) on Sunday
to claim second place in his ZF BMW M4 DTM. He has now taken the
lead in the drivers’ standings, with 59 points. In the fourth DTM
race of his career, Sheldon van der Linde (RSA, Shell BMW M4 DTM)
entered the history books as the youngest BMW driver of all time to
claim a pole position. The DTM newcomer finished the race in fifth place.
In third place for some time, van der Linde appeared to be on course
to reach the podium but dropped two places on the final lap. Bruno
Spengler (CAN, BMW Bank M4 DTM) and Joel Eriksson (SWE, CATL BMW M4
DTM) also reached the top ten, finishing in seventh and tenth
positions. Timo Glock (GER, JiVS BMW M4 DTM) was in the running but he
was forced to retire just before the end of the race after a series of
battles damaged his car. He was classified as finishing in
14th place.
On lap 23, Marco Wittmann (GER, Schaeffler BMW M4 DTM) hit the rear
of Robin Frijns’ (NED) Audi during a battle. Frijns had to retire and
the BMW M4 GTS DTM safety car appeared on the track. Wittmann received
a drive-through penalty and fell back to 13th place.
Reactions to the fourth DTM race of the 2019 season at Zolder.
Rudolf Dittrich (General Manager BMW Motorsport Vehicle Development):
“After two race weekends in the 2019 DTM season, we can be very
satisfied. We have reached pole position in all four races so far, we
have won two races and recorded a total of four podiums. That clearly
shows what a good job everyone involved did over the winter during
development of the new car and the turbo engine. BMW Team RBM has
enjoyed a fantastic home event at Zolder; after the win for Philipp
Eng and the second place for Joel Eriksson on Saturday, we added pole
position for Sheldon van der Linde and second place for Philipp Eng on
Sunday. Congratulations to Bart Mampaey and his crew, and to Philipp
for his sensational weekend. Congratulations are also in order for
Sheldon, who has entered the history books as the youngest BMW driver
to claim a pole position in just his fourth DTM race. It is a shame
that he just missed out on his first podium in the race. After the two
races in Belgium, we are now leading the drivers’ standings with
Philipp. We are aiming to build on that at Misano in two weeks.”
Bart Mampaey (BMW Team RBM Team Principal):
“Third on the grid and second place for Philipp Eng in an exciting
race are very good results. That also represents a big step forward in
the championship. Regarding Sheldon van der Linde, it was a slightly
disappointing finish as he had started from pole position and had
defended his third place very well until just before the end. It was a
big shame that he dropped two places just two turns from the end of
the race. Nonetheless, he gave an outstanding performance to secure
pole position, recorded another good points finish and kept pace with
the experienced drivers. All in all, we are very pleased.”
Philipp Eng (#25 ZF BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR, Grid:
3rd, Race: 2nd, Drivers’ standings:
1st, 59 points):
“That was a very hard race today. Actually, it was one of the
toughest in my career. After a good start, I made a mistake on turn
two and drove straight on. I then had to battle for my position. The
result shows that we have done a very good job in the first four
races. I can only thank everyone at BMW Motorsport and my team for
having such a reliable and fast car – in qualifying and in the race.
We are happy to take the 19 points and the overall lead, even though
it is nothing more than a snapshot.”
Sheldon van der Linde (#31 Shell BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM,
Grid: 1st, Race: 5th, Drivers’ standings:
10th, 21 points):
“I was in third place one lap from the end. Then I left the door open
a bit in a battle with Jamie Green and Mike Rockefeller got past me as
well so, I finished in fifth. Nonetheless, I am absolutely delighted
with the qualifying result and my first pole position in the DTM.”
Joel Eriksson (#47 CATL BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM, Grid:
10th, Race: 10th, Drivers’ standings:
11th, 20 points):
“The race did not go as we had expected. The second pit stop during
the safety car period did not pay off. We tried out an alternative
strategy but unfortunately, it didn’t work out. Now it’s time to
concentrate fully on Misano.”
Stefan Reinhold (BMW Team RMG Team Principal):
“After a so-so qualifying session, we saw a very turbulent race
today. We will have to calm down and take another look at it all. It
was a difficult race in terms of strategy for all of us on the pit
wall. We were very efficient and once again showed just how well our
strategists work. However, we cannot be happy with the result as we
could have achieved more today with the cars performing like they
did. But of course we thank the entire team for their fantastic work
once again.”
Bruno Spengler (#7 BMW Bank M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG, Grid:
15th, Race: 7th, Drivers’ standings:
8th, 24 points):
“It could have been worse. I was in the lead in yesterday’s race but
finished tenth thanks to some bad luck and a safety car period. Today,
I started from 15th position and crossed the line in seventh place.
The team’s strategy was great. We took a lot of risks but it paid off.
Thank you very much. The team did a monumental job. We scored some
important points.”
Marco Wittmann (#11 Schaeffler BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG, Grid:
7th, Race: 13th, Drivers’ standings:
3rd, 43 points):
“We had good pace again but the accident with Robin Frijns resulted
in a drive-through penalty that cost me the race. I was trying to get
past him when he skidded sideways on turn one and came over to my
racing line. I was lapping faster on fresh tyres and hit him, which
spun him around. From my point of view, there was hardly anything I
could have done to avoid it. Of course, that was a shame.”
Timo Glock (#16 BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR, Grid:
5th, Race: 14th, Drivers’ standings:
12th, 20 points):
“Qualifying and the first part of the race went well for me. Later
on, I got stuck behind Robin Frijns and just concentrated on retaining
my position. Unfortunately, I lost a bit of ground with the pit stop
and dropped back behind Philipp Eng. During the restart after a safety
car period the track got very crowded and unfortunately there was
contact with Marco Wittmann. That damaged my car.”