Photo: BMW Press Club

BMW expects to get back on track this weekend at the Norisring

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BMW Motorsport has had a more-complicated-than-expected start to the 2015 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season. The Bavarian manufacturer is yet to visit the podium, but hopes to change its luck this weekend at the third round of the season taking place in Norisring.

The street circuit has been a fixture on the German calendar for decades, becoming one of the DTM’s more iconic races. Reigning champion Marco Wittmann lives only a handful of kilometres away, and sees this event as his home race: “The Norisring is always a highlight for me. It motivates me to have so many fans, my family, relatives and friends there supporting me. It gives me that extra push. It’s just so much fun driving on the Norisring.”

BMW has had many problems since the beginning of the season, which are pinned on the difficulties for the M4 DTM to adapt to the new standard tyres that have become the only compound available this year. The DTM teams and drivers tested at the Lausitzring last week, seeking to understand the Hankook tyre better. Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director, thinks they have overcomed the issues:  “We have mainly spent the last weeks looking at a solution for the rest of the season with our tyre partner Hankook. With the return to the old tyre standards, as announced by Hankook, the foundation should be laid for focussing purely on sporting matters once again as of the Norisring.  Our clear aim is to return to making things more difficult for our rivals in Nürnberg than we have been doing lately. This will be far from easy. However, we happily accept this challenge at BMW Motorsport.”

The 2.3-kilometre Norisring, located around the Dutzendteich in Nuremberg, presents a challenge for drivers and teams, being described as a “cult track” by Stefan Reinhold, BMW Team RMG Team Principal.

Last year, BMW experienced problems in the street circuit, with Wittmann’s sixth position being their best result. The expectation on their side is to start closing the gap to their rivals this weekend.