Marco Wittmann in the #11 M4 DTM finished fourth on Saturday and sixth on Sunday when the DTM series ran on the Lausitzring in Germany on August 24–25. He was the best BMW finisher in either race.
On Saturday four BMWs finished in the points in a race won by Audi’s Nico Muller. Wittmann was fourth, Philipp Eng was fifth, Joel Eriksson was eighth, and Bruno Spengler was ninth. Points leader René Rast did not finish.
Rast redeemed himself on Sunday, leading a pack of five Audis to the checkered flag. Wittmann in sixth and Eng in tenth were the best BMW finishers. The race was the 500th for the DTM series.
Audi’s performance at the Lausitzring clinched the manufacturers’ championship for the marque with four races remaining in the season, including two at the Nürburgring in September and two for the finale at the Hockenheimring in October. Wittmann is third in drivers’ points and Eng is fourth. Rast and Muller are first and second.
Rudolf Dittrich, general manager BMW Motorsport vehicle development said, “Firstly, congratulations to the DTM for reaching the landmark of 500 races. The great crowd here at the Lausitzring was worthy of such an event. Unfortunately, it was a tough anniversary race for us. After a so-so qualifying session, we weren’t able to produce a significant improvement in hot conditions during the race. Overtaking proved to be very difficult in such a tight field. Despite this, Marco Wittmann once again put in a very strong, battling performance. And Philipp Eng produced a great chasing performance after starting from the pit lane. Congratulations to René Rast on the win, and to Audi on victory in the manufacturers’ championship. Now we will concentrate on securing some top results at the Nürburgring and in the season finale in Hockenheim. We have shown we are capable of this, with six wins in the season so far.”—Brian Morgan
[Photo courtesy BMW Motorsport.]