DTM: Wittmann wins at the Sachsenring in a BMW M4 GT3 EVO and keeps his title hopes alive
Marco Wittmann took BMW M Motorsport's first DTM win at the Sachsenring from pole, then charged from 19th to sixth on Sunday to keep his title chances alive.
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What Happened
The 36-year-old Marco Wittmann surprised with his first pole position of the season on Saturday morning, at a circuit where BMW M Motorsport has traditionally struggled. He converted it into the 21st DTM victory of his career in the #11 Schaeffler BMW M4 GT3 EVO, BMW M Motorsport's first-ever win at the Sachsenring and his second consecutive triumph after his 20th DTM victory at the Nürburgring four weeks earlier. Teammate Kelvin van der Linde (RSA) qualified fourth in the #3 Shell BMW M4 GT3 EVO and finished fourth, completing a strong result for Schubert Motorsport.
Sunday's wet qualifying brought much more difficult conditions: van der Linde lined up seventh and Wittmann started 19th. In the race Wittmann climbed quickly into the top ten and gained 13 positions to finish sixth, while van der Linde ran fifth within striking distance of the podium until a rival hit him at a safety car restart shortly before the end, forcing him to retire; he was eventually classified 18th. It was his seventh non-finish of the season, and he said seven retirements in 14 races is not what the team expects, although until the accident it had been a strong race with podium pace and a possible fourth place. Wittmann's result moved him up to third in the drivers' standings, 24 points behind the championship leader, with Schubert Motorsport third in the team standings ahead of the season finale at the Hockenheimring (GER).
- Race 1: 1st (from pole); Race 2: 6th (from 19th)
- Race 1: 4th; Race 2: 18th (retired after a collision)
- Marco Wittmann, his first of the season
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He is third in the DTM drivers' standings going into the season finale at the Hockenheimring.
“Congratulations to Marco Wittmann, who followed up his first win of the season four weeks ago with another triumph here at the Sachsenring. With a sensational recovery drive on Sunday, he kept all his title hopes alive – and did so at a circuit that has not brought us much luck in the past. It was a fantastic performance, also from Schubert Motorsport, who once again delivered a faultless weekend and made some strong strategic decisions. It is a shame that Kelvin van der Linde was not rewarded for his strong performance on Sunday and was once again involved in an accident through no fault of his own. Unfortunately, he continues to be plagued by bad luck this season. Nevertheless, we are now looking ahead to the finale at Hockenheim. We want to attack with everything we have there and make our dream of winning the title come true after all.”
“After the very surprising result on Saturday, today leaves us feeling somewhat disappointed. Unfortunately, Kelvin failed to finish for the seventh time, and once again through no fault of his own. That is frustrating for him, but he has to keep his head up. As a result, we also lost some points in the team standings. Marco scored the points we wanted and even exceeded our expectations for this weekend. In terms of points, we are now in quite a good position ahead of the season finale. Mathematically, everything is still possible. Hockenheim is next, and we want to have a strong finale there and hopefully win the title.”
“It was an incredible weekend for us. The pole position and the victory were completely unexpected for us at this circuit. The fact that we still managed to finish sixth on Sunday despite the difficult qualifying session means a huge number of points for us that we had not expected to score here. When you consider how far behind we were at one stage during the season, everything that comes now is a bonus. We are within striking distance heading to Hockenheim and, of course, we will fight.”
Why this matters
Wittmann heads to the Hockenheim finale third in the standings, 24 points behind the championship leader, so a third DTM title after 2014 and 2016 is still mathematically possible. The weekend also ended badly for teammate Kelvin van der Linde, whose late retirement cost Schubert Motorsport points in the team standings.
Terms in This Story
- DTM
- Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, a German touring car racing series.
- Pole position
- The first starting slot on the grid, given to the fastest driver in qualifying.
- Safety car
- A vehicle that leads the field at reduced speed to neutralise a race after an incident, bunching the competitors together.
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