Marco Wittmann and BMW celebrate first turbo era win and points lead

BMW Motorsport Team RMG driver Marco Wittmann scored both the pole position and the victory in the DTM season opener at Hockenheim today in difficult conditions, claiming the first win and points lead of the new turbo era.

“It’s always special to win the first race of the year and also the first race with the turbo engine,” Wittmann told TouringCarTimes.

“It was a tough job for all people in the team, we all made a hard effort to win today, specially given the conditions on the track.”

The result was far from easy with a wet track and most drivers struggling to get grip from the tyres.

“It wasn’t easy for us, specially at the start,” said Wittmann. “Mike (Rockenfeller) put a lot of pressure on me and then René (Rast) came. When the track started drying out I was able to open a gap. It wasn’t an easy race and I was hoping it would finish soon.”

The pace shown by both Wittmann and the M4 DTM is promising, but the 29-year-old refuses to be over-confident: “Let’s wait and see how it goes in dry conditions. The weekend started well, the car has a good balance and I was happy from the beginning. It’s nice winning the first race but the season it’s long.”

BMW Motorsport director Jens Marquard praised Wittmann for his result today, especially to claim the first win of the new turbo era: “Today we have made DTM history again with BMW Motorsport, taking the first win of the new turbo era. First the pole position, then victory. Marco did a magnificent job today at the front of the field. We have a tough winter and a tough period of testing behind us. To perform as we have done here at Hockenheim, and to win the first race, is fantastic.”

Wittmann is championship leader on 28 points, followed by Audi’s Mike Rockenfeller on 20. In the manufacturers’ standings, BMW leads with 54 points, Audi five points behind and Aston Martin is third with three points.