BMW MTEK never doubted Wittmann and Glock

BMW MTEK team principal, Ernest Knoors, has said he never doubted Timo Glock and Marco Wittmann, despite their rookie status in the DTM.

The Dutchman’s comments come on the back of the double podium for the team, which saw Wittmann and Glock complete a BMW 1-2-3 after they took their maiden DTM career podiums by finishing second and third behind race winner Bruno Spengler in Sunday’s race at Spielberg.

“I had no doubts about running either of them because they’re both big talents; Marco at the start of his professional career and Timo in a new chapter in his,” Knoors told Autosport.

“They are both massively motivated to do a good job here, as are the rest of the team, and that motivation goes a very long way.

“In fact, I probably had more doubts about our team and our ability to put together a strong platform early on, than I did about the drivers.”

Glock echoed his boss’s comments after the race and said he never doubted the MTEK outfit’s ability to be competitive, despite being set up at short notice at the end of last year.

“I realised it [that the team was competitive] in first few tests, and every time last year I was sat at home thinking ‘what are Ralf [Schumacher] and David [Coulthard] doing wrong?’ [in the DTM].

“It’s a proper challenge, [as] I jumped in the car and realised it wasn’t easy.

The ex-Formula 1 driver added that during his time with backmarkers Marussia, his motivation had waned and he felt that the chance with BMW’s DTM programme would help him return to points scoring ways.

“Every time it was a challenge to be in a Formula 1 car, but when you’re at the back of the grid, there’s a lack of motivation, so when the chance came up with BMW, I said I wanted to be top 10.

“It is awesome that it happened so quickly in the DTM, [because] it has taken almost four years for me to finally be back on the podium.”