Marco Wittmann looking forward to his home race

BMW Motorsport heads to the Norisring, host of the fourth round of the 2016 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season, as leaders in the Manufacturers’ standings. Marco Wittmann is especially delighted as the 2014 champion will be racing in front of his home crowd this weekend.

The Bavarian manufacturer has had a blissful season so far, with a strong start in Hockenheim, a sail in more than favourable winds at Spielberg and a neat damage limitation exercise at Lausitzring. The time comes now for the only street circuit in the DTM calendar, which wasn’t favourable to BMW in 2015.

“Last year, we struggled to get the tyres in temperature” Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director, told TouringCarTimes. “The track is very bumpy and the tarmac is smooth, and it takes a special setup to get the necessary grip.”

“The track is unique, and very short, which will mean that the cars will be bunched up closer than usual together. This means that our teams and drivers must be fully focussed on the job in hand as the Norisring punishes any carelessness immediately”, concluded Marquardt.

Marco Wittmann arrives in Nuremberg as the best placed BMW driver in the standings. The Team RMG driver, born in Fürth, just 10 kilometres away from the historic town, is looking forward to a very special weekend for him, and has taking a haul of points as a target: “I am really looking forward to my home races. The atmosphere both on and off the track is absolutely unique. I know an awful lot of people there, such as the marshals and members of Motorsport Club Nuremberg. Many friends and relatives will also be there. I am particularly pleased to go into the weekend with plenty of momentum, on the back of good results that have taken me to second in the Drivers’ Championship.”

BMW Motorsport leads the Manufacturers’ classification with 228 points, 30 ahead of Audi Sport and 48 in front of Mercedes AMG.

DTM action kicks off at 17:00 on Friday afternoon for the first free practice session.