2014 DTM: Wittmann and Glock on the front row at the Hungaroring

Budapest (HU), 31st May 2014. BMW Motorsport enjoyed an impressive return to the Hungaroring (HU), culminating in the 41st pole position of its history in the DTM. Marco Wittmann (DE) claimed pole position in the Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM in qualifying for the third race of the season. After starting from the very front of the grid in Oschersleben (DE), this was the second pole position in a row for the BMW Team RMG driver. With a best time of 1:36.518 minutes, Wittmann was around two tenths of a second ahead of Timo Glock (DE), who was second fastest in the DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM to claim the best qualifying result of his DTM career. With six BMW M4 DTMs in the top ten and five cars in the first six, BMW Motorsport was left celebrating its best overall qualifying result so far with the BMW M4 DTM.

Maxime Martin (BE) will start from the second row of the grid, thanks to his fourth fastest time in the SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM. This also marks the best starting position in his fledgling DTM career. The third row consists of the Red Bull BMW M4 DTM of António Félix da Costa (PT, 5th) and Augusto Farfus’ (BR, 6th) Castrol EDGE BMW M4 DTM.

For Bruno Spengler (CA, BMW Bank M4 DTM), Joey Hand (US, Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M4 DTM) and Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM), qualifying was over after the second session. Spengler narrowly missed out on progressing to Q3, qualifying ninth. Hand and Tomczyk will start the race from 14th and 18th on the grid. The race begins at 13:30 on Sunday (live on ARD). 

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):

“We are obviously very happy with today’s qualifying result. It is the best result we have had to date with the BMW M4 DTM. That is a great pole position for Marco Wittmann, who is absolutely flying at the moment and already has his second pole in only the third qualifying of the year. Timo Glock and Maxime Martin also produced top displays and both achieved their best qualifying results in the DTM. We also saw another impressive qualifying from António Félix da Costa, and Augusto Farfus, while Bruno Spengler ensured we have a total of six cars in the top ten. That is obviously an excellent starting position for tomorrow’s race at the Hungaroring. We feel very comfortable here in Hungary, and are looking forward to the first DTM race at this circuit since 1988.”

Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal BMW Team RMG):

“For our team, today feels as though we have secured two pole positions. Marco Wittmann produced another outstanding performance. However, Maxime Martin’s fourth place was evidence that he is also on great form here. We have two absolutely top-class drivers in our team. Marco’s car was perfect from the first lap today, and he showed his usual strong nerves to convert that into a superb result. We have worked very hard on Maxime’s car since free practice – and the team’s efforts paid dividends. I would like to say a huge thank you to the entire team, and obviously to BMW Motorsport for the great support.”

Marco Wittmann (car number 23, BMW Team RMG, 1st):

“Qualifying went perfectly for me. I clocked the fastest time in every session. However, I had to stay focussed in Q2 when my flying lap was disallowed for exceeding the track limits. The car was absolutely fantastic today and did exactly what I wanted. I was able to push it to the limit whenever I wanted. This is a magnificent day for me and my team. We claimed our second pole in three races and Maxime Martin qualified fourth. All in all, six BMWs in the top ten is a fantastic result. However, we must now wait and see where we are after the first corner.”

Timo Glock (car number 17, BMW Team MTEK, 2nd):

“The Hungaroring seems to really suit me. I have always enjoyed good results here in Budapest in the past. Second on the grid is now the best qualifying result of my DTM career. Perhaps I should get myself a second passport and take on Hungarian citizenship, given how well it is going here. My team deserves great thanks for the super job it did in setting the car up so well. However, we start tomorrow’s race from the dirty side of the track, so let’s wait and see what the third round of the season has in store.”

Maxime Martin (car number 24, BMW Team RMG, 4th):

“This is awesome! I really had a very good qualifying. Congratulations to Marco Wittmann on pole position. He did a superb job again. We both achieved a great result for BMW Team RMG. I am happy to have reached Q3 for the first time, and to have shown what I am capable of. I am now hoping to score the first points of my DTM career in tomorrow’s race.”

António Félix da Costa (car number 18, BMW Team MTEK, 5th):

“This is a good starting position, but I’m not 100 per cent happy. My fastest lap was disallowed, because I made a mistake and exceeded the track limits. Otherwise, it could have been even better – especially as the lap time that ultimately counted was on used tyres. Hopefully I have the potential to attack in the race.”   

Augusto Farfus (car number 3, BMW Team RBM, 6th):

“It is good to see so many BMWs at the front. For me and the team we are making good progress, moving on and learning a little bit more about the car. It is good to be in Q3 for the first time this year. I think we are going in the right direction. I am just hoping for a good start, a good race and maybe some big points. I shall push hard, as always.” 

Bruno Spengler (car number 9, BMW Team Schnitzer, 9th):

“I can obviously not be happy with ninth place on the grid. Unfortunately I just missed out on Q3. Even in practice we struggled to find the perfect set-up. It will definitely not be easy to progress through the field from ninth, as it is difficult to overtake here. But I am absolutely determined to try my very hardest. I will definitely be an exciting race.” 

Joey Hand (car number 4, BMW Team RMG, 14th):

“We are definitely struggling in qualifying so far this year, and that is not from lack of hard work. However, we got much closer today, but then we just lost a little bit in Q2 when I really struggled on the second set of tyres. We have got the car much better than in Oschersleben, and so I think we have a good car for the race. They call me ‘Mr Option Tyre’ at BMW Team RBM, and if I have option tyres on I am pretty sure I can make my way to the front.”

Martin Tomczyk (car number 10, BMW Team Schnitzer, 18th):

“In my case, the combination of car and driver was simply not quick enough today. My fellow BMW drivers showed what is possible here in Budapest. I was driving to the limit, but it was just not enough. I had two lap times scratched, which I accept. With these lap times we would have been far further forward. We must now move on from this qualifying and focus on tomorrow’s race.”

Facts and figures from Budapest:  

Standings after 2 of 10 races.  

Drivers’ standings.
1. Mike Rockenfeller (30 points), 2. Christian Vietoris (25), 3. Marco Wittmann (25), 4. Mattias Ekström (18), 5. Adrien Tambay (16), 6. Edoardo Mortara (15), 7. Augusto Farfus (14), 8. Paul di Resta (12), 9. Timo Glock (10), 10. Bruno Spengler (8), 11. Miguel Molina (8), 12. Timo Scheider (8), 13. Martin Tomczyk (8), 14. Gary Paffett (4), 15. Joey Hand (1). 

Team standings.
1. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (38 points), 2. Original-Teile Mercedes AMG (37), 3. Audi Sport Team Abt (31), 4. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (26), 5. BMW Team RMG (25), 6. BMW Team Schnitzer (16), 7. BMW Team RBM (15), 8. BMW Team MTEK (10), 11. EURONICS / FREE MAN’S WORLD Mercedes AMG (4.). 

Manufacturers’ standings.
1. Audi (95 points), 2. BMW (66), Mercedes-Benz (41).

2014 calendar:

4th May – Hockenheim (DE), 18th May – Oschersleben (DE), 1st June – Budapest (HU), 29th June – Norisring (DE), 13th July – Moscow (RU), 3rd August – Spielberg (AT), 17th August – Nürburgring (DE), 14th September – Lausitzring (DE), 28th September – Guangzhou (CN), 19th October – Hockenheim (DE).