The penultimate round of the 2021 DTM season took place at the Hockenheim circuit in Germany on the weekend of October 1–3, with mixed results for the BMW teams. In the DTM Trophy category, which features GT4-spec cars, British driver Ben Green had a commanding weekend driving for the FK Performance Motorsport team. Driving the #1 M4 GT4, Green set the pace all weekend, topping both practice sessions and both qualifying sessions (DTM Trophy holds two races per race weekend). Green finished ninth in the first race of the weekend, but stormed back in the second race, winning from pole despite a switch to rain tires with six minutes left. It was Green’s fourth win of the season and puts him in the lead in the DTM Trophy drivers’ championship with one race remaining at the Norisring.
Things didn’t go nearly as well the BMW drivers in the top DTM category that features GT3-spec cars. There are three M6 GT3’s entered in this championship, with Rowe Racing campaigning cars for works drivers Timo Glock and Sheldon van der Linde, and Walkenhorst Motorsport entering one car for works driver Marco Wittmann. Wittmann was second in the championship after a win in the previous race meeting at Assen, but could only manage a best finish of eleventh at Hockenheim. The best finish by any M6 GT3 over the weekend was tenth for Glock in the first race.
The M6 GT3’s were off the pace all weekend after recent BoP (balance of performance) adjustments that were handed down, as they only cracked the top ten once in the practice and qualifying sessions leading up to the races. “No performance this weekend for several reasons,” said Wittmann on his Facebook page after the race. “Going home without scoring a single point which put us pretty much out of the championship. Still, I will go to my home race at the Norisring and try to finish on a high.”
Wittmann was still theoretically in contention for the championship going into the finale at the Norisring but it’s highly unlikely, as he now sits fourth in the championship, well behind leader Liam Lawson, who drives a Ferrari for Red Bull Racing. Mercedes has already clinched the manufacturer championship, with Lucas Auer’s win in the second race at Hockenheim.—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy DTM.]
