BMW seeking to end “disappointing season” with victory at Hockenheim
BMW Motorsport and Marco Wittmann are looking to repeat the results from the beginning of the season in the 2019 DTM season finale at Hockenheim this weekend to round up a “difficult year”.
The Bavarian manufacturer started the 2019 season in strong fashion with pole position and a victory at Hockenheim five months ago, but their results dwindled during the year, with Audi and René Rast securing the titles well ahead of the finale.
“Of course we are not happy with where we find ourselves after 16 DTM races,” BMW Motorsport director Jens Marquardt said. “We started the season well, but, for various reasons, we have run out of steam a little since the middle of the season.”
“We want to be challenging for the title right down to the final round of a championship,” added Marquardt. “The fact that we have not managed that this season is a disappointment for everyone. We want to head into the winter break on the back of at least one victory at Hockenheim. We owe that to our fans, at least. They have supported us brilliantly, despite a difficult year in the DTM.”
Wittmann lies third in the drivers’ championship and with a distant 41-point gap to Nico Müller in second place.
Despite a titanic effort on his part, with four pole positions and four race victories this year, the youngest two-time DTM champion couldn’t challenge for the title and is isntead looking for a good result to finish the season.
“We started the season with a win at Hockenheim, and I hope that we can get a good end there to what has been a difficult season in part,” said Wittmann. “The championship has been decided, but we will try to make the finale a great one for us personally at Hockenheim.”
There will be three guest entries from Honda, Toyota and Nissan of the Super GT at Hockenheim. The three Japanese cars will run two one-hour sessions on Thursday for DTM technical partner Dekra to draft a Balance of Performance for the cars for the weekend.
“We are very excited about the guest appearance of our colleagues from the SUPER GT in Japan,” emphasised Marquardt. “This is a great taste of things to come at the Fuji ‘Dream Race’ in November, which will undoubtedly form a genuine highlight at the end of the motorsport year.”
Timetable
Friday 4th October
13:00 – Free Practice 1
16:30 – Free Practice 2
Saturday 5th October
10:35 – Qualifying for Race 1
13:30 – Race 1 (55 minutes plus one lap)
Sunday 6th October
10:35 – Qualifying for Race 2
13:30 – Race 2 (55 minutes plus one lap)
