Assen. Difficult conditions, excellent result: Marco Wittmann
(GER) has triumphed in the ninth race of the 2019 DTM season for BMW
at Assen (NED). At the legendary ‘TT Circuit’, the BMW Team RMG
driver in the Schaeffler BMW M4 DTM celebrated his third win of the
season, from pole position. Philipp Eng (AUT, ZF BMW M4 DTM), Timo
Glock (GER, JiVS BMW M4 DTM) and Sheldon van der Linde (RSA, Shell
BMW M4 DTM) also reached the points, finishing in fourth, fifth and
tenth places. Outside the top ten, Bruno Spengler (CAN, BMW Bank M4
DTM) and Joel Eriksson (SWE, CATL BMW M4 DTM) crossed the line in
15th and 16th positions.
The forecast rain arrived just as the cars were lining up
on the grid. Every practice session up to that point had taken place
in the dry, so the weather conditions meant race control deciding to
start the race behind the safety car. The ninth race of the season was
finally given the green light after three laps, but the safety car
reappeared just one lap later after an Aston Martin had retired. At
the head of the field, Wittmann remained calm and in control. His
overtaking manoeuvre against Nico Müller (SUI, Audi) just before the
end proved decisive. Müller had rejoined just ahead of the BMW driver
after his pit stop, but Wittmann was able to make his move
stick.
This was the 86th DTM win for BMW, and the fifth of
the 2019 season. Wittmann celebrated his 14th triumph in 103 races and
moved into the top ten of the all-time DTM winners’ list. He is now in
ninth place in the standings, together with Johnny Cecotto (VEN) and
Alessandro Nannini (ITA). This was the 20th DTM win for BMW Team
RMG.
Eng now has 111 points under his belt and is still
the best-placed BMW driver, remaining third in the drivers’ standings,
while Wittmann has moved up to fourth position (100). BMW scored 51
points in the manufacturers’ standings and ranks second with 388
points, behind Audi (508).
Reactions to the ninth DTM race of the 2019 season at Assen.
Rudolf Dittrich (General Manager BMW Motorsport Vehicle Development):
“From A to Z, that was a spectacular race here at Assen.
Congratulations to Marco Wittmann and BMW Team RMG on a fantastic
qualifying performance and race victory. Despite the difficult
conditions, Marco showed his real class at the front and was in
control during every phase of the race with a faultless performance
and outstanding pace. That was an important win for him. Of course,
the rain just before the start of the race provided plenty of extra
action. I am happy that we managed to score points with four drivers.
Philipp Eng is still in the leading group in the DTM and Timo Glock
once again performed with impressive pace after a few difficult races
to record a great result. We have had a fantastic race weekend here so
far, starting on Thursday with a wonderful fan event. The circuit
itself proved to be extremely interesting – for fans and drivers
alike. In dry conditions, the cars race through the fastest turn at
over 260 km/h, with lateral acceleration of more than 3g. That is
impressive. The changeable conditions also did nothing to dampen the
enthusiasm of the large crowds. We are now looking forward to Sunday –
hopefully with a similar result to today.”
Bart Mampaey (BMW Team RBM Team Principal):
“It was a very wet race. And of course, we had no experience of
these conditions here at Assen, which turned it into something of a
lottery. Congratulations to BMW and Marco Wittmann on the excellent
performance. The race went well for Philipp Eng; moving up from ninth
to fourth is a good result. He had decent pace and drove an excellent
race. It is great that we managed to score another point with Sheldon
van der Linde. We will have to analyse exactly what the problem was
with Joel Eriksson’s car but I am sure that we will be able to push
him on again tomorrow. Now we are looking forward to tomorrow.”
Philipp Eng (#25 ZF BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR, Grid: 9th, Race:
4th, Drivers’ standings: 3rd, 111 points):
“It was extremely wet at the start and there was a lot of water
on the track. It did dry out very quickly though. My car was good; I
just lost a bit too much time at the start and that meant I was not
able to attack the podium. But those are important points and there is
a long way to go yet in the championship.”
Joel Eriksson (#47 CATL BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM, Grid: 10th,
Race: 16th, Drivers’ standings: 10th, 43 points):
“We had a few problems with the car during the race. We will
have to take a closer look at that. We didn’t have the right pace
today. But you could see that the other BMW drivers were right on the
pace. That is a glimmer of hope for me and we will try to go back on
the attack tomorrow.”
Sheldon van der Linde (#31 Shell BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM,
Grid: 7th, Race: 10th, Drivers’ standings: 12th, 26 points):
“I got through the first few turns after the start pretty well,
but then I felt contact at the back and spun around. Luck was not on
our side. I think we had the speed and now we just need a bit more
luck. In general, the year is going well for me.”
Stefan Reinhold (BMW Team RMG Team Principal):
“When you take the weather conditions into account, that is a
fantastic result. The team did a great job in qualifying this morning.
Bruno Spengler was a bit unlucky. In my opinion, the drive-through
penalty was not entirely justified. Timo Glock is back where he
belongs. Marco Wittmann delivered another masterful performance. The
entire crew deserves great credit for some superb pit stops and a top
strategy. All in all, it was a good day and we are now doubly
motivated for tomorrow.”
Marco Wittmann (#11 Schaeffler BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG, Grid:
1st, Race: 1st, Drivers’ standings: 4th, 100 points):
“Coming back like this to claim pole position and the win after
the difficult race weekend at the Norisring is just magnificent. The
conditions were anything but easy. We had plenty of question marks
about how the set-up and the car would work in the wet but everything
went just fine. The two Audis put me under pressure from time to time
but I was able to build up a comfortable lead by the end. This victory
is just great.”
Bruno Spengler (#7 BMW Bank M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG, Grid: 8th,
Race: 15th, Drivers’ standings: 5th, 77 points):
“Congratulations to Marco Wittmann and the team on this
brilliant win, the second in a row for the BMW Team RMG. That is
brilliant, and everyone did a great job once again. My situation was a
bit unfortunate. I made light contact with Sheldon van der Linde in
turn five. I then received a drive-through penalty, which I think was
a bit harsh as I was on the inside and I couldn’t do very much. I did
just touch him though, spinning him around, and I am very sorry about
that. It was a shame, but tomorrow is a new day.”
Timo Glock (#16 BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR, Grid: 5th, Race:
5th, Drivers’ standings: 11th, 33 points):
“It was a good race. Our pace was very, very good. It was a
shame that I ended up in the gravel trap but there was not a lot I
could do as the rear wheels just locked. However, at the end we showed
that the speed was very good. This allowed us to move up to fifth.”