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Marco Wittmann ready to defend championship lead in Zandvoort

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Circuit Park Zandvoort hosts the fifth round of the 2016 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season this weekend. BMW Motorsport and Marco Wittmann arrive in the Netherlands as standings leaders, hoping to continue the form shown at the Dutch track in recent years.

BMW dominated the Dutch weekend in 2015, achieving record-breaking performances, including a full lock of the two front rows on both grids, and a top seven and top five blocks in the races.

Marco Wittmann claimed his only win last season in Saturday’s race held in Zandvoort. The 2014 champion has already visited the top spot of the podium this year at the Red Bull Ring and leads the Drivers’ standings with 75 points, two more than Audi’s Edoardo Mortara. Wittmann has always achieved good results at the Dutch circuit, and hopes to continue the season’s momentum: “Zandvoort has always suited me so far. Therefore, I hope we can put on another good show and be successful this time too. It is fantastic to compete as the championship leader again. It is now important for us to push hard and again score points in Zandvoort.”

António Félix Da Costa scored his first and only DTM win so far last year in Zandvoort’s Sunday race. A special moment for the Portuguese, who has been competitive this year but has found his progress hampered by a myriad of in-race troubles. The Team Schnitzer driver vows to fight to get another good result: “Zandvoort is a genuine highlight. I won there last year and am now putting a bit of pressure on myself to score another strong result. However, it is a nice pressure. I hope that my team-mates and I can be very strong again, and that we can go on the attack again.”

The importance of consistency has been highlighted by Maxime Martin who, in fifth position in the standings, is BMW’s second best driver this season. The Belgian from Team RBM hopes for a good collective team result: “Zandvoort is a good circuit for BMW. We showed that last season, but also in the previous years. We will try to score as many points as possible. I made it onto the podium once there in 2015, so my goal is to be strong there once again this year.

BMW Motorsport leads the Manufacturers’ standings with 310 points, 34 ahead of Audi Sport and 88 over Mercedes AMG. The M4 DTM will start the Zandvoort weekend as the lightest car on the field, with a base weight of 1,115 kg.

Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director, is looking forward to the weekend: “The first half of the 2016 DTM season draws to a close in Zandvoort. Dutch fans can definitely expect two exciting races at this iconic circuit. Zandvoort is always a bit special. We are battling for points and race wins where others go to enjoy their holidays. The atmosphere on the North Sea coast is unique. Therefore, we are very much looking forward to returning to the Netherlands.”

On track action at Zandvoort for the DTM kicks off at 17:00 CEST on Friday afternoon for the first free practice session.