07/03/2022 BMW M Motorsport
Norisring (GER), 1-3 July 2022. DTM, Walkenhorst Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3, Marco Wittmann.
Norisring (GER), 1-3 July 2022. DTM, Team Schubert, BMW M4 GT3, Philipp Eng.
Norisring (GER), 1-3 July 2022. DTM, Team Schubert, BMW M4 GT3, Philipp Eng, Franciscus van Meel, Andreas Roos.
Norisring (GER), 1-3 July 2022. DTM, Walkenhorst Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3, Esteban Muth.
noris ring . In a chaotic race on Saturday with many retirements, Philipp Eng (AUT) secured important points for Team Schubert with fifth place at the Norisring (GER). The team from Oschersleben (GER) continues to lead the team classification. Marco Wittmann (GER) drove a strong race at his DTM home round on Sunday and in fourth place just barely missed his next podium after third place in Imola (ITA). As presenting partner, BMW M once again celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Norisring this weekend. Franciscus van Meel, Managing Director of BMW M GmbH, and Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport, were there for the occasion. In the DTM Classic Cup, BMW M works driver Bruno Spengler (CAN) gave a successful guest appearance at the wheel of a BMW 320i STW.
Wittmann came back strong on Sunday morning with third place in qualifying after he was involved in a mass crash in the first corner on Saturday through no fault of his own and had to retire. In Sunday’s race, Wittmann defended his third place until the pit stop, where he lost a position. In the end, he finished fourth in front of his home fans. His Walkenhorst Motorsport teammate Esteban Muth also retired on Saturday due to an accident through no fault of his own. While he was fortunately unhurt, his BMW M4 GT3 was so badly damaged that he was unable to start on Sunday.
For the Schubert team, Philipp Eng scored ten points in fifth place on Saturday, which ensured that the team defended its lead in the team classification with 111 points. On Sunday, Eng was eleventh and just missed out on further points. Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) went away empty-handed at the Norisring. On Saturday, like Wittmann, he was a victim of the collision in turn one, on Sunday he fell out of the top 10 after his late pit stop and finished 15th. In the drivers’ standings, van der Linde had to give up the lead. With 80 points he is now in second place.
BMW M is the presenting partner of the DTM at the Norisring.
As a presenting partner on the occasion of the 50th anniversary, BMW M GmbH was very present in the paddock at the Norisring, which appropriately hosted its 50th DTM race on Sunday. BMW M Managing Director Franciscus van Meel and Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport, followed the events on site and were available for many discussions with drivers, teams, the media and partners. The event area M Town caused a spectacle with its organ and was a magnet for the fans with numerous talks and exhibited BMW M series vehicles. In addition, there was the paddock of the BMW M2 Cup and a strong BMW presence in the starting fields of the DTM Trophy and the DTM Classic Cup.
Bruno Spengler was a guest starter in one of the historic vehicles. He started for the Schnitzer Classic team in the BMW 320i STW in which Johnny Cecotto (VEN) had become champion in 1998. In the first race on Saturday, Spengler finished fifth after a strong race to catch up from 13th on the grid. In the second race, Spengler started from pole position and was able to celebrate after the race as second on the podium, which he knows well from his five DTM victories as a record winner.
Quotes about the DTM weekend at the Norisring.
Marco Wittmann (#11 BMW M4 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport): “First of all, the atmosphere at my home round here in Nuremberg was fantastic again – not least thanks to the Schaeffler Green Wall. We did a lot of promotions and it’s just nice to get so much back from the fans. From a sporting point of view, I go into the summer break with mixed feelings. The Saturday with the accident was very disappointing. However, the conciliatory result on Sunday was very good. Above all, third place in qualifying, my best DTM grid position ever at the Norisring, was great. We also had good pace in the race, but unfortunately we lost time during the pit stop. In the end, it ended up being fourth, which brings in important points.”
Philipp Eng (#25 BMW M4 GT3, Schubert Motorsport): “Saturday went great. I stayed out of all the chaos and attacked at just the right moments. I was rewarded with good points for this. Unfortunately, I had a small problem in qualifying on Sunday, without which I would have done better than tenth place. In the race, we quickly noticed that we didn’t quite have the pace we had on Saturday. Nevertheless, I am satisfied with the weekend overall.”
Sheldon van der Linde (#31 BMW M4 GT3, Schubert Motorsport): “I’m disappointed not to have scored points on a weekend for the first time this season. So far I had even scored points in every race. But things didn’t go according to plan for us at all. We now have a lot of time during the summer break to analyze what was the reason. We will also prepare for the second half of the season with some tests. I’m very confident that we’ll find our way back to our old strengths after the break.”
Esteban Muth (#10 BMW M4 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport): “We certainly didn’t expect the weekend to be like this. My pace was really good this time compared to the other BMW M Motorsport drivers. I was able to keep up with them, but unfortunately in the race I was hit by a competitor I had just overtaken and had a serious accident. I’m okay, but unfortunately the car was badly damaged. We are now going into the summer break and will then try everything to continue the positive trend that we have shown here despite everything.”
Bruno Spengler (BMW 320i STW, DTM Classic Cup):“That was an incredibly cool weekend. I had so much fun! Many thanks to BMW Group Classic, BMW M Motorsport and Team Schnitzer Classic for allowing me to take part in this event and drive such a fantastic car on this circuit. These historical vehicles are simply something very special. I was also very happy to see many fans again and to get a lot of encouragement. Being second on top of that and being able to celebrate on the podium was the perfect finish.”