BMW ‘optimistic’ ahead of the Red Bull Ring
BMW Motorsport heads to the Red Bull Ring this weekend for the fifth round of the2015 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season. The Bavarian manufacturer hopes that the good results achieved at Zandvoort three weeks ago will give them the necessary impulse to be on top again in Austria.
The Styrian race track has been a blessed spot for BMW in the recent years, with a top three result in 2013, and a top four last year. Additionally, Martin Tomczyk, engaged with the Bavarian cars since their return to the Series in 2012, will celebrate his 150th DTM race this weekend.
The eight BMW M4 DTMs on track will be, once again, the lightest cars on track, although by a smaller margin than in Zandvoort. The Bavarian manufacturer lies third in the standings, 60 and 12 points behind Audi and Mercedes, respectively.
Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director, prefers to remain realistic, given the strength shown by their opponents this year: “Despite the recent excellent results, we remain realistic: Things could swing the other way in Austria, as our opponents are strong. Nevertheless, we are optimistic going into the two races at the Red Bull Ring. We have regularly celebrated great successes there in the past. We have invested a lot of effort in improving the performance of our overall package since the start of the season. I hope that we can continue the positive trend we have seen in recent races.”
Tem MTEK’s Bruno Spengler is the best placed BMW driver in the standings in sixth position, 29 points behind the leader Jamie Green. The Canadian is excited about driving at the Red Bull Ring, but expects a tough competition: “The track is sensational, the landscape is beautiful and the atmosphere is extraordinary. The fans are totally crazy about motorsport. In terms of our performance, we will have to wait and see what happens. We will be given extra weights, while the others will be allowed to offload a few kilos. That means it could be a bit more difficult for us. But we won’t know until we get there, we will do our best and try to keep on improving.”
Reigning champion Marco Wittmann scored BMW’s first 2015 win at the Saturday race in Zandvoort. The Team RMG’s driver hopes to repeat past successes: “In the last two DTM races there I celebrated first and second place. It’s hard to beat that. I also completed testing for Formula 1 at the Red Bull Ring a few weeks ago. Which is why I am really looking forward to the race weekend in Spielberg. Naturally I hope that we will be successful in Austria once again.”
António Félix Da Costa, who achieved his first DTM victory three weeks ago in Zandvoort, hopes to have a good performance in the home of his title sponsor:”I will do my best once again in Austria and am highly motivated after my first DTM win in Zandvoort. I like the Red Bull Ring with its high-speed passages. Every racing driver loves this type of bend. So the track is pretty much perfect for us.”
The DTM at Spieberg kicks off at 11:25 CEST (GMT + 2) on Friday morning for the Roll Out session.
