Marco Wittmann: maiden pole “absolutely unbelievable”

BMW’s Marco Wittmann has described his qualifying performance at Zandvoort as “absolutely unbelievable” after taking his maiden DTM career pole by 0.085s ahead of Augusto Farfus.

The MTEK team driver was consistently quick throughout today’s free practice and qualifying sessions, and the Q4 pole-shootout eventually became a battle between Wittmann and Farfus as the Audis were unable to match the searing pace of the BMWs.

Wittmann’s first sector time was so strong, it was unbeaten by any of the other Q4 participants.

“To be on pole in my first year in the DTM is absolutely unbelievable,” said Wittmann. “Qualifying was a close affair, [but] I had a virtually perfect lap in the top-four shoot-out.

“This is a great day for me, [so] I would like to thank BMW Team MTEK for providing me with such a superb car.

“I have been working towards this success for a long time.”

Wittmann’s BMW MTEK team-mate, Timo Glock, was also pleased with his performance at Zandvoort.

The former Formula 1 driver scored the best qualifying position of his DTM debut season with eighth on the grid, and said he will be aiming for his first points since he finished third at the Red Bull Ring in June.

These are also the only points that Glock has scored all season.

“I am really happy with my eighth place on the grid here in Zandvoort,” said Glock. “I had a good feeling in qualifying, [but] as a driver, you obviously always want more.

“Congratulations to Marco on his first pole position in the DTM.

“It is now all about scoring as many points as possible in tomorrow’s race.”