BMW Motorsport News – Issue 29/14.

Whether in the DTM, the United SportsCar Championship, or countless other championships: week after week BMW teams and drivers around the world do battle for points, victories and titles. Away from the track too, members of the large BMW Motorsport family around the world are also creating headlines. The “BMW Motorsport News” allow us to regularly summarise all the action for you in a compact and informative manner. This way, you are always up to speed.

DTM: Victory number four for Wittmann – BMW Team RMG wins home race.
Coming into the weekend, BMW drivers had won on nine occasions in the DTM at the Nürburgring (DE). BMW Team RMG driver Marco Wittmann (DE) added triumph number ten at the seventh race of the 2014 season. Starting from pole position, he defended his lead throughout the entire 49 laps to clinch his fourth win of the year. Wittmann’s team-mate Maxime Martin (BE) and Martin Tomczyk (DE) of BMW Team Schnitzer also finished in the points, coming home seventh and eighth.

Three questions for … Marco Wittmann.

Marco, you lead the Drivers’ Championship with 120 points. How are you dealing with this situation?
Marco Wittmann: “I am obviously aware that I have a big lead over my closest rivals, so I would be lying if I said I am not thinking about the title. However, I have driven superbly so far by following my tactic of taking things one race at a time. This approach has taken me to four wins so far this season. Therefore, I will stick to my principles. I am now fully focussed on the next race at the Lausitzring. We did not do so well there last season, so we cannot take for granted that we will be up among the front-runners again there.”

You had the maximum performance weight on board your car, but still led superbly from start to finish. How did you do that?
Wittmann: “I did have one worrying moment. I braked too late in the middle of the race and had to take evasive action through the chicane. Apart from that, it was a flawless drive. In my opinion, the additional kilos do not make such a big difference in the race as they do in qualifying. Every thousandth of a second counts in qualifying in the DTM. A few kilos more or less can make all the difference then. Despite the additional weight, my team managed to find the perfect balance for my car this weekend.”

Your victory presented BMW Team RMG with its first home win at the Nürburgring in the DTM. Is that something you are proud of?
Wittmann: “The weekend in the Eifel Mountains was special for my team and me, but also for BMW Motorsport. The loss of Dieter Lamm has deeply affected us all. I dedicate this win to him. The win at the Nürburgring is a dream come true for my guys at BMW Team RMG. I know how much it means to my team principal Stefan Reinhold to have won here. Because of this, I am incredibly proud of this success. We had the perfect weekend, with pole position, first place in the race and the fastest lap.”

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DTM: BMW M4 Coupé DTM Safety Car makes its first appearance.
A ninth BMW M4 made its debut at the seventh DTM race weekend of the season at the Nürburgring (DE): the BMW M4 Coupé DTM Safety Car accompanied the 23 DTM racing cars around the track as the lead car for the first time. The basic car was assembled at the BMW plant in Munich. From there, the BMW M4 Coupé went to the BMW M factory in Garching, where the assembly and modifications continued by hand. These included the technicians removing the rear seat of the car and installing a roll cage and Recaro racing seats with Schroth belts for its outings as a safety car. Furthermore, the car was also equipped with LED lights on the front apron, a radio communication system, LED lights on the roof and a special livery. On top of all this came the extensive use of BMW M Performance Parts – from the exhaust silencer system, front splitter, black front grille, mirror caps, rocker panel attachment and rear spoiler to the rear diffuser.

BMW Motorsport and H&R extend their cooperation.
BMW Motorsport and H&R will continue to take to the track together in the future. The successful partnership between BMW and H&R has been extended in the long term. H&R is one of the world’s leading suppliers of chassis components on the motorsport scene. Together, BMW Motorsport and H&R have already enjoyed numerous successes in the DTM, as well as in the United SportsCar Championship (USCC) and on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (DE). The experience acquired in motorsport is directly integrated into the development and manufacture of production vehicles. H&R’s range of racing springs for over 2,000 models of car is probably the largest in the world. H&R also develops and manufactures shock absorbers, washers, anti-roll bars and other chassis components for customers all over the world.