BMW leaves Oschersleben as leading manufacturer
The BMW M4 DTMs were the lightest cars of the field at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, host of the seventh round of the 2015 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season. But what few could adventure was that the Bavarian manufacturer would finish the weekend leading the standings.
Both races had the same template for BMW: top four lockout and seven cars in the top ten meant the Munich squad outscored their rivals by an ample margin during the weekend.
Tom Blomqvist became today the youngest ever race winner for BMW in the DTM. The Briton did a superb start and pulled during the race, not making any mistakes, to lead the 1-2 finish for Team RBM. Blomqvist was beaming after the race: “I am incredibly happy. This is perhaps the biggest day of my career so far. To win a race in my rookie season is fantastic. I noticed at the start of the season just how difficult it is to be successful in the DTM. Now everything came together this weekend and I managed to take the opportunity. It has made me hungry for more success.”
Bart Mampaey, Team Principal at Team RBM, was exultant that his formation achieved their first ever 1-2 result in the DTM: “I am really pleased for Tom Blomqvist, as it is a really exceptional effort to win a race in your rookie season. I am also very happy for Augusto Farfus. I would like to say a big thank you to BMW Motorsport and every single member of our team. We have worked extremely hard to get back to winning ways in this incredibly evenly-matched racing series. And we have now done that with a one-two. This is a very special day.”
Augusto Farfus was on pole position, but lost one place at the start. The Brazilian blamed a technical issue, giving credit to his team-mate: “I am very happy with this weekend: I scored 30 points and made a big move up the Drivers’ Championship standings. I am also very pleased for Tom Blomqvist. He literally flew round the track, and deserved his first win. I had slight problems with the clutch at the start, and had to let him past. It is fantastic that we ended up with a one-two for our team.”
Marco Wittmann completed the podium for BMW. The reigning champion had a trouble free race, climbing positions at the start and bringing home the car to score another podium. Wittmann also congratulated Blomqvist for his maiden win: “I got off to a superb start, immediately passing two of the cars in front of me. After the pit stop, I put António Félix da Costa under pressure and was able to overtake him. Our goal was to finish on the podium. We achieved that with third place. Today we have good cause for celebration after the second top-four lock-out for BMW. Congratulations also to Tom Blomqvist on his first DTM win. That was a great performance from him.”
António Félix Da Costa was fourth after spending the entire race defending from Pascal Wehrlein’s attacks. Timo Glock was seventh, with Maxime Martin and Bruno Spengler closing the points-scoring positions.
BMW Motorsport now leads the Manufacturers’ standings, with 488 points, 66 more than Audi Sport and 71 over Mercedes AMG. The results from the weekend have allowed Team MTEK shoot to second in the Teams’ table, having overtaken Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline. Bruno Spengler remains the best placed BMW driver in the standings, in fifth position with 104 points, 36 behind the leader.
Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director, was full of praise for his men, with an special mention to today’s winner: “That was a sensational first win by our DTM rookie Tom Blomqvist. To find his feet so quickly in his first year, and to win a race in such dominant fashion, deserves the utmost respect. He is also one of the youngest winners in DTM history. I am very happy with the outcome of the weekend here. We were able to make the very most of our opportunities, right across the teams. I would like to pay a huge compliment to the entire team.”
The DTM is back in action in two weeks’ time, meeting at the Nürburgring from the 25th to the 27th of September.
