BMW Motorsport and Wittmann poised to pounce: DTM leader starts from seventh at the Lausitzring
Seventh place in the Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM meant that Marco Wittmann (DE) was once again the most successful BMW Motorsport driver in DTM qualifying at the Lausitzring. The BMW Team RMG driver clocked his fastest time of 1:18.143 minutes in the deciding third qualifying session. Pole position went to Pascal Wehrlein (DE, Mercedes).
Timo Glock (DE, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM) missed out on Q3 by a few thousandths of a second and will start Sunday’s race from ninth on the grid. The remaining BMW drivers had to settle for starting positions outside the top ten. Augusto Farfus (BR, Castrol EDGE BMW M4 DTM) was 15th fastest, followed by Maxime Martin (BE, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM), Bruno Spengler (CA, BMW Bank M4 DTM), António Félix da Costa (PT, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM) and Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM) in 16th, 17th, 19th and 21st. Joey Hand (US, Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M4 DTM) got stuck in a gravel trap after a mistake, causing Q1 to be suspended. He starts from the back of the field in 23rd.
The heavy fog, which meant it was impossible to fly the rescue helicopter for several hours, meant the DTM drivers had only 15 minutes of practice time in the afternoon, after which they went straight into qualifying.
Facts and figures from the Lausitzring:
| Circuit / Date | Lausitzring / 14th September 2014 |
| Laps / Distance | 52 laps / 3.478km |
| 2014 Pole Time | Pascal Wehrlein (DE), 1:17.547 minutes |
| 2013 Winner | Gary Paffett (GB), Mercedes |
| 2013 Fastest Lap | Mike Rockenfeller (DE), 1:18.268 minutes |
| Driver | FAR | HAN | SPE | TOM | GLO | DAC | WIT | MAR |
| Country | BR | US | CA | DE | DE | PT | DE | BE |
| Number | 3 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 18 | 23 | 24 |
| Team | BMW Team RBM | BMW Team RBM | BMW Team Schnitzer | BMW Team Schnitzer | BMW Team MTEK | BMW Team MTEK | BMW Team RMG | BMW Team RMG |
| Practice | 1st | 5th | 11th | 23rd | 3rd | 15th | 2nd | 9th |
| Qualifying | 15th | 23rd | 17th | 21st | 9th | 19th | 7th | 16th |
| Race | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2014 points | 33 | 7 | 42 | 24 | 33 | 4 | 120 | 39 |
| Current position | 9th | 20th | 5th | 15th | 10th | 21st | 1st | 7th |
| Weights | +10kg | +7.5kg | +10kg | +10kg | +10kg | +5kg | +10kg | +10kg |
DTM standings after 7 of 10 races.
Drivers’ Championship.
1. Marco Wittmann (120 points), 2. Mattias Ekström (56), 3. Edoardo Mortara (56), 4. Mike Rockenfeller (53), 5. Bruno Spengler (42), 6. Christian Vietoris (41), 7. Maxime Martin (39), 8. Adrien Tambay (36), 9. Augusto Farfus (33), 10. Timo Glock (33), 11. Jamie Green (28), 12. Robert Wickens (27), 13. Miguel Molina (26), 14. Paul di Resta (24), 15. Martin Tomczyk (24), 16. Timo Scheider (19), 17. Pascal Wehrlein (15), 18. Daniel Juncadella (10), 19. Nico Müller (10), 20. Joey Hand (7), 21. António Félix da Costa (4), 22. Gary Paffett (4).
Team Championship.
1. BMW Team RMG (159 points), 2. Audi Sport Team Abt (92), 3. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (82), 4. Audi Sport Team Phoenix (72), 5. BMW Team Schnitzer (66), 6. Original-Teile Mercedes AMG (65), 7. BMW Team RBM (40), 8. Audi Sport Team Rosberg (38), 9. BMW Team MTEK (37), 10. EURONICS / FREE MAN’S WORLD Mercedes AMG (31) , 11. gooix Mercedes AMG (15), 12. Petronas Mercedes AMG (10).
Manufacturers’ Championship.
1. BMW (302 points), 2. Audi (284), Mercedes-Benz (121).
2014 calendar.
4th May – Hockenheim (DE), 18th May – Oschersleben (DE), 1st June – Budapest (HU), 29th June – Norisring (DE), 13th July – Moscow (RU), 3rd August – Spielberg (AT), 17th August – Nürburgring (DE), 14th September – Lausitzring (DE), 28th September – Zandvoort (NL), 19th October – Hockenheim (DE).
