BMW prepares for a difficult weekend in Nürburgring

BMW Motorsport heads for this weekend’s round of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters at the Nürburgring as leading manufacturer, after dominating the event in Oschersleben. The Bavarian squad, however, doesn’t expect an easy time at the Eifel circuit.

The 2015 DTM season is heading for its last legs, with the penultimate event of the season taking place at the short layout of the Nürburgring this weekend. The Eifel track has been a winning ground for BMW in the past, with Marco Wittmann setting the lap record around the 3.629-kilometre track two years ago.

Timo Glock and Tom Blomqvist took their M4 DTMs to the victory in the Motorsport Arena, with BMW putting seven cars in the top ten at each of the races. The result, together with the difficulties from Mercedes and Audi, allowed the contingent led by Jens Marquardt to leave Oschersleben as leader of the Manufacturers’ standings.

BMW has gained weight because of their results at the last event, with Marco Wittmann, António Félix Da Costa and Augusto Farfus now on 1,117.5 kilos, just ten below Audi’s Mattias Ekström and 12.5 behind standings leader Pascal Wehrlein.

Still, the Bavarian manufacturer is hopeful that history will be on their side and allow them to come out of the Nürburgring with a decent result.

Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director, is realistic about the current situation and expectations of his cars: “After the successful weekend in Oschersleben, we now arrive at the Nürburgring leading the Manufacturers’ Championship. This is obviously only a snap-shot, and we will not let it go to our heads. We remain realistic, as there is a very thin line between success and defeat this season in the DTM. Whatever happens, I am very pleased that we are proving to be strong across the broad in 2015. When our overall package allows it, we have taken our chances to win and scored valuable points with many drivers. It will certainly not be easy in the Eifel Mountains. Despite this, we will do everything in our power to score as many points as possible.”

BMW Team RMG, reigning champions, come to their ‘home event’ this weekend. Team Principal Stefan Reinhold is looking forward to maximising the results: “We will always remember our victory at the Nürburgring in 2014. That success, on our own doorstep, was very special. The DTM remains exciting, and the latest results have shown that anything is still possible. We will be fully focussed on that fact again at the Nürburgring. We have to remain on the ball.”

Bruno Spengler arrives to the Eifel mountains as BMW’s best placed driver in the standings, despite not having won a single race this year. The Canadian from Team MTEK has been very regular and, although farfetched, he is still in mathematical contention for the title. Spengler is weary of how the performance weights will affect the M4 DTMs this weekend: “I really like the circuit and have won there a few times. Despite this, it is difficult to say how we will get on, as we will have more weight in the car. Regardless of this, we will obviously do our best and try to score plenty of points for BMW.”

BMW Motorsport leads the Manufacturers’ standings with 488 points, 66 over Audi Sport, who are again favourites at the Nürburgring. Mercedes AMG is just a further 5 points away, which makes the fight for the title one of the tightest in recent seasons.

DTM action at the Nürburgring starts on Friday afternoon, with the first free practice session scheduled for 12:05 CEST (GMT + 2).