[Jason]

BIMMERPOST NEWS

Four BMW M4 DTMs in the points at DTM season opener – Maxime Martin best BMW driver in seventh place

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Hockenheim (DE), 2nd May 2015. The 2015 DTM is up and running: BMW drivers Maxime Martin (BE), Timo Glock (DE), Marco Wittmann (DE) and Augusto Farfus (BR) ended the first of two races in Hockenheim (DE) in the top ten to score their first DTM points of the year.

Martin finished seventh in the SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM, making him the best-placed BMW driver. Farfus worked his way from 23rd on the grid to complete the race in tenth place. Sandwiched between Martin and Farfus were Glock and DTM champion Wittmann in eighth and ninth. Victory went to Jamie Green (GB) in an Audi.

Reactions to the opening race of the 2015 DTM season.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “After a tough qualifying, we made the most of our situation in the race. We had a decent race pace and finished with four cars in the top ten to pick up a few points at least. An exciting race saw fantastic fightbacks from Maxime Martin, Timo Glock, Marco Wittmann and Augusto Farfus. Augusto made up 13 positions after his misfortune in qualifying, while Timo climbed from 20th to eighth. The format produced exactly what it promised: an intense qualifying and an exciting race with plenty of overtaking manoeuvres and a lot of fans. Looking ahead to tomorrow’s race day, we must learn from today’s qualifying, in particular, and analyse what happened very carefully. In this regard, we must make better use of the existing potential, in order to be better positioned going into the race.”
Maxime Martin (BMW Team RBM, 7th): “The race was very intense from the first corner to the last. The safety car phases made for a lot of action, and the fans will undoubtedly have enjoyed a great show. Seventh place is a good result for us, and earns us some valuable points. It is also a nice feeling to be the best-placed BMW driver. However, our opponents were better than us today. We have to acknowledge that. We will work hard to change that for the coming races.”

Facts and figures.

Circuit/length/duration:
Hockenheimring, 4.574 kilometres, 40 minutes plus one lap
Conditions:
Slightly overcast, 18 degrees Celsius

BMW Motorsport results:
#36 Maxime Martin (BE), BMW Team RMG, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM – 7th
#16 Timo Glock (DE), BMW Team MTEK, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM – 8th
#1 Marco Wittmann (DE), BMW Team RMG, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM – 9th
#18 Augusto Farfus (BR), BMW Team RBM, Shell BMW M4 DTM – 10th
#7 Bruno Spengler (CA), BMW Team MTEK, BMW Bank M4 DTM – 11th
#13 António Félix da Costa (PT), BMW Team Schnitzer, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM –13th
#77 Martin Tomczyk (DE), BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM – DNF
#31 Tom Blomqvist (GB), BMW Team RBM, BMW M4 DTM – DNF

Information:
Augusto Farfus made up 13 positions from 23rd on the grid. Timo Glock’s fightback from 20th to eighth was equally impressive.
Maxime Martin was the best-placed BMW driver for the first time since his victory in Moscow in 2014.
The BMW M4 Coupé DTM Safety Car was in action twice during the race following crashes.
Tom Blomqvist and Martin Tomczyk were forced to retire from the race following collisions.
The second qualifying session begins at 10:35 on Sunday. Before that, the 15-minute warm-up is scheduled for 09:00.

[WI_Rob]

Someone with some SKILLS captured those photos. Very nicely done.

Jason, are these images yours?

[Diver]

Great photo series.

[MSPORTWORLD]

Great photos!

What are the engine specs on these DTM BMWs?

[bmw1racer]

It would be nice if the full race results were posted instead of just the BMW positions.

[EmArAsOnS]

This was race1.
Race 2 (60 min) + 1lap was mostly on wets...race starts @18:00

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[Chadfugi]

Is there any way we can watch this in the states ? Is it televised on Direct TV ?

[marcva]

Originally Posted by Chadfugi

Is there any way we can watch this in the states ? Is it televised on Direct TV ?

Youtube is your friend.

[hellrotm]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

It would be nice if the full race results were posted instead of just the BMW positions.

Audi won both races.


Race 1 results
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118755

Race 2 results
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118769

[JYTsky]

I would love to hear those exhaust

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by BlackJetE90

Audi won both races.

Drag.

Thanks for the links.

[mrphil]

So two races per track now?

Poor start for Bmw, bottom of the points board. Fingers crossed they do better in the next race

[Matski]

Originally Posted by MSPORTWORLD

Great photos!

What are the engine specs on these DTM BMWs?

BMW P66... 4000cc 90 degree V8, about 480hp in race trim (restricted for BOP).

It's basically a spec engine, though BMW and Mercedes build the engines themselves... I'm not sure about Audi.


_________


This is basically a poor result for BMW. There is no excuse, this is BMWs top line motorsport series, and to be dead last in all three championships is not good enough...Mercedes have F1, Audi have Le Mans... BMW neeeeeed to dominate in DTM. Easier said than done I'm sure given the spec format of the tech regs, but the qualifying pace is clearly not there and that has a knock-on effect throughtout the weekend.

Looking forward to the next round, and to Zandvoort too, which I will be at

[raysspl]

The M4s are looking real buff this season. Well done.

[stubenhocker]

Originally Posted by Chadfugi

Is there any way we can watch this in the states ? Is it televised on Direct TV ?

It was on same day coverage on CBS Sports Network, as most DTM events are...

[Chadfugi]

Originally Posted by stubenhocker

It was on same day coverage on CBS Sports Network, as most DTM events are...

Cool thanks I'll check my guide !

[954Stealth]

Hockenheim highlights just put up by BMW Motorsport