Having kicked off the DTM season with two impressive race weekends at Hockenheim (GER) and the Lausitzring (GER), the BMW drivers failed to make it onto the podium for the first time in race five of the year at the Hungaroring (HUN). Bruno Spengler (CAN, BMW Bank M4 DTM) was the best-placed BMW driver in twelfth place at the end of a difficult race.

 

After a tough qualifying, in which Augusto Farfus (BRA, Shell BMW M4 DTM) drove the fastest BMW to eighth place, the majority of BMW drivers opted for very early pit stops in the race itself. That strategy did not pay dividends, however. Timo Glock (GER, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM) came home 14th and is now second in the Drivers’ Championship with 72 points, behind Gary Paffett (GBR, Mercedes, 79). Farfus, Marco Wittmann (GER, BMW Driving Experience M4 DTM), Joel Eriksson (SWE, BMW M4 DTM) and Philipp Eng (AUT, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM) were 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th.

 

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):

“That was obviously not the result we were looking for. Even as early as qualifying, we had trouble finding the right balance for our cars in today’s conditions. Unfortunately, that continued into the race. We tried to implement an aggressive strategy and bring most of the cars in early for their tyre change, but that did not help very much either. We simply failed to get the tyres working as we needed to. We will have to take a close look at that ahead of tomorrow’s race. In principle, we had the pace to challenge at the front of the field. We showed that in the free practice sessions.”

Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal, BMW Team RMG):

“The race showed clearly just how evenly matched the DTM field is. Our job now is to analyse what went wrong in qualifying and how we can get the tyres working better. We also saw that it is very difficult to overtake here. We had several possible strategies, but none of them helped us climb through the field.”

Marco Wittmann (#11 BMW Driving Experience M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG – qualifying result: 13th place, race result: 16th place, points: 26):

“We had a different strategy to most of the other drivers. We stayed out there and hoped for rain but it did not come. In the bunch, when everyone has DRS, it is difficult to overtake. We had no chance today.”

Augusto Farfus (#15 Shell BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMG – qualifying result: 8th place, race result: 15th place, points: 2):

“That was a tough race for BMW. The pace in the race was not good, and we did not get the strategy right either. I am now hoping for a better race tomorrow.”

 

Timo Glock (#16 DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR – qualifying result: 16th place, race result: 14th place, points: 72):

“The car actually felt really good in the race but, unfortunately, we did not have the top speed we needed. We must now take a close look and determine why that was – and then do better tomorrow.”

 

Bart Mampaey (Team Principal, BMW Team RBM):

“After the difficult qualifying, we tried everything and opted for a bold strategy in the race. Unfortunately, there was not a lot more we could have done today. We will analyse this result and try our hardest to do better tomorrow. Congratulations to Paul di Resta on his win.”

 

Philipp Eng (#25 SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RMR – qualifying result: 17th place, race result: 18th place, points: 26):

“That hurt today. We must now put our heads together to understand what happened out there. We have a new opportunity tomorrow.”

 

Bruno Spengler (#7 BMW Bank M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM – qualifying result: 10th place, race result: 12th place, points: 23):

“I fought like a lion. I wanted to pick up some points with an aggressive strategy. It was worth trying an early stop. However, we were not fast enough to finish in the top ten. Hopefully we will be able to do better tomorrow.”

 

Joel Eriksson (#47 BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM – qualifying result: 15thplace, race result: 17th place, points: 15):

“The start was actually pretty good. After that, however, we were often in the wrong place at the wrong time. Instead of making up positions, I dropped back because somebody forced me off. That made it increasingly difficult.”