BMW Motorsport News – Issue 33/14.

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” allows us to regularly summarise all the action for you in a compact and informative manner. This way, you are always up to speed.

DTM: Wittmann seals the title in the Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM.
Marco Wittmann (DE) took full advantage of his first ‘match point’: the 24-year-old BMW Team RMG driver was crowned the youngest DTM champion of all time after the eighth round of the ten-race 2014 DTM season. Wittmann came home sixth at the wheel of the Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM in Sunday’s race – a result that proved sufficient to hand him the title with two races still to come. In the Drivers’ Championship, Wittmann’s 128 points mean he now has an unassailable lead of 69 points over second-placed Christian Vietoris (DE, Mercedes) ahead of the final two races. This success also marks a historic first title for the new BMW M4 DTM in its debut DTM season. BMW Team RMG leads the Team competition, while BMW also tops the standings in the Manufacturers’ Championship.

Three questions for … Marco Wittmann.

Marco, congratulations on the title. How does it feel to be 2014 DTM champion?

Marco Wittmann: “I am still completely overwhelmed, and it is difficult to put the feelings going through my head into words. I am simply overjoyed. I obviously knew that I could wrap things up here at the Lausitzring, but when I crossed the finish line and my dream became reality, my emotions were all over the place. I am very grateful to BMW Motorsport and BMW Team RMG. Everyone did everything in their power to ensure that we were successful. My goal at the start of the season was to get my first race win in the DTM. Now I am DTM champion – that is absolutely awesome.”

What was the key to this success?

Wittmann: “One very important factor was the car. I have to say that I felt at home in the Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM right from the word go. I felt great in the car during the first tests back in the winter. Then there is all the hard work that BMW Motorsport and BMW Team RMG have put in, both at home and at the circuits. That is what has allowed us to convert the potential of the BMW M4 DTM into good results. The third important factor was the consistency we showed in regularly finishing in the points. For a long time I never even looked at the points totals, but just concentrated on one race at a time. This strategy paid dividends.”

How will you approach the final two races of the season now?

Wittmann: “Now that we have won the Drivers’ Championship, our goal is to win the Team and Manufacturers’ titles with BMW Team RMG and BMW. That would be the icing on the cake. Other than that, I just want to enjoy the races in Zandvoort and Hockenheim – and, if possible, celebrate a bit more success.”

British GT: Marco Attard is the new GT3 champion.
Marco Attard (GB) clinched the Drivers’ title in the GT3 class at the tenth and final round of the British GT Championship at Donington Park (GB). Attard and his team-mate at Ecurie Ecosse, BMW works driver Alexander Sims (GB), started the two-hour race from second place in their number 79 BMW Z4 GT3, but were soon forced to retire. Despite this, the 148.5 points that Attard had amassed over the course of the previous races proved sufficient to win the title. The number 888 BMW Z4 GT3, fielded by the Triple Eight team and with Joe Osborne (GB) and Derek Johnston (GB) at the wheel, finished ninth.

VLN: Thick fog prevents race on the Nordschleife.
The eighth round of the VLN Endurance Championship at the Nürburgring – the 46th ADAC Barbarossa-Preis – was scheduled to have taken place on Saturday. However, the race had to be cancelled due to thick fog. Saturday morning’s qualifying had already been suspended due to the poor weather, and when it failed to improve the organisers took the decision not to start the race. Therefore, the overall standings in the BMW M235i Racing Cup class remain unchanged. Daniel Zils (DE), Norbert Fischer (DE) and Uwe Ebertz (DE) continue to lead the Drivers’ Championship, while first place in the Team competition is currently occupied by the Adrenalin Motorsport team.

USCC: BMW works driver Andy Priaulx launches new fundraiser.
The Priaulx Premature Baby Foundation, a charity founded by BMW works driver Andy Priaulx (GB) and his wife Jo, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year and has raised over £300,000 (376,000 Euro). The latest fundraiser that was launched this weekend is to raise money for a fully equipped apartment for Channel Island parents of premature babies at Southampton Hospital. As the parents of two premature babies, Priaulx and his wife Jo know how important such a facility will be.