BMW M Motorsport is competing once again in the DTM championship this season, with a pair of M4 GT3 EVOs for Kelvin van der Linde and Marco Wittmann entered by Schubert Motorsport. After four races, the pair have three podium finishes, including a win for van der Linde this past weekend at the Zandvoort circuit in Holland.
In the opening rounds at the Red Bull Ring in Austria back in late April, Wittmann had strong performances in both races. He moved up from 15th to 5th place in race one and then went from 9th to 2nd in race two, getting his first podium finish of the season. “It’s a good feeling to start the season so successfully, but ultimately it will be about maintaining this consistency throughout the whole season,” said Wittmann after the race.
Marco Wittmann has two podium finishes in four races.
Kelvin van der Linde has experienced some real ups and downs already this season. He had a technical issue with the car in race one that led to a DNF, then started from pole in the second race but fell back to sixth after pit stops. Race one at the Red Bull Ring was won by Thomas Preining in a Porsche, and race two was won by Maro Engel in a Mercedes-AMG.
The ups and downs continued for van der Linde at Zandvoort. He didn’t set a fast lap in qualifying due to an oil leak and had to retire from the race after just two laps. Wittmann also had an off race, finishing in 12th after starting in the same position, with the race one win going to Matteo Cairoli in a Ferrari.
Kelvin van der Linde started from pole at Zandvoort.
Race two was a different story, as van der Linde got the pole and went on to win the race, despite losing the lead after his first pit stop. “The victory feels in-credible; I’m lost for words,” said van der Linde. “The race was an emotional rollercoaster, but that is exactly why I love the DTM. We fine-tuned the details and spent a lot of time working on pit stops after the opening weekend in Spielberg (Austria). It paid off.”
Wittmann also had a strong race two at Zandvoort, finishing on the podium in third after starting 13th. “A fantastic strategy and good tire management were key to the strong race, which was incredibly intense with lots of wheel-to-wheel racing,” said Wittmann. “I went easy on the tires at the start of the race, which meant I was able to overtake the cars in front of me after the safety car phase. Of course, you’d rather have a comfortable lead, but these battles on the track are great fun.”
Kelvin van der Linde (on left) and Marco Wittmann celebrate after race two at Zandvoort.
With four races done, Wittmann is in third place in the driver’s championship, sitting 15 points behind Mercedes-AMG driver Maro Engel, with van der Linde in seventh. The next two rounds of the DTM championship are at the Lausitzring in Germany on June 19th-21st.
—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy Gruppe C Photography]
