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BMW

DTM Opener in Oschersleben: Schubert Motorsport experiences rollercoaster of feelings at house spherical.

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Oschersleben. Schubert Motorsport kicked off the 2024 DTM season with their house spherical at Oschersleben (GER) and skilled a rollercoaster of feelings simply outdoors their headquarters. Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) completed the 2 eventful races on Saturday and Sunday in fourth and sixth positions, respectively. René Rast (GER) additionally scored factors with two seventh-place finishes in each races. Marco Wittmann (GER) led the Saturday race within the closing phases, however retired simply earlier than the end resulting from gas strain points. On Sunday, Wittmann secured factors with a tenth-place end.

The first race on Saturday already offered followers at Oschersleben with loads of pleasure. With a tactical masterpiece, Schubert Motorsport introduced Wittmann within the #11 Schaeffler BMW M4 GT3, ranging from nineteenth, into the lead. However, simply earlier than the tip, with victory in sight, Wittmann rolled to a cease on the start-finish straight resulting from gas strain points. Van der Linde fought within the #31 Shell BMW M4 GT3 till the end line for a podium end, in the end ending fourth with a slim hole. Rast secured factors in seventh place within the #33 RoboMarkets BMW M4 GT3.

After a difficult qualifying session on Sunday, all three BMW M works drivers staged a comeback within the second race, shifting up from the again of the sector. However, van der Linde suffered an early setback when he couldn’t keep away from a collision forward of him initially. The South African resumed the race in final place and labored his manner up place by place. Eventually, he completed sixth, adopted straight by Rast, who once more was seventh. Wittmann accomplished the factors positions in tenth place.

In the assist programme, the ADAC GT Masters and the ADAC GT4 Germany additionally kicked off the 2024 season – with successes for the BMW M4 GT3 and the BMW M4 GT4. In the ADAC GT Masters, Maxime Oosten (NED) secured pole place for FK Performance Motorsport in Saturday’s qualifying. In the primary race, he celebrated victory along with teammate Leon Köhler (GER) within the #54 BMW M4 GT3. In the ADAC GT4 Germany, Gabriele Piana (ITA) and Michael Schrey (GER) within the Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport #2 BMW M4 GT4 secured pole place and victory in race one on Saturday. Their teammates, Leon Wassertheurer and Tim Reiter (each GER), secured third place on the rostrum within the #3 BMW M4 GT4. In Sunday’s qualifying, Reiter claimed pole place. Piana and Schrey celebrated their second win of the weekend in Sunday’s race.

Comments after the DTM season opener:

Björn Lellmann (Head of Customer Racing at BMW M Motorsport): “Unfortunately, it was a rather mixed start for us in the DTM. On Saturday, thanks to a superb strategy, Marco Wittmann could have achieved a clear victory, but he unfortunately lost it due to a team error. However, Sheldon van der Linde fought for the podium until the end, and René Rast also scored points by finishing seventh in both races. Sunday’s qualifying didn’t go well, but all three fought back, and with P6, P7, and P10 in the end, we’re really satisfied. Congratulations to the successful BMW M Motorsport teams in the ADAC GT Masters and ADAC GT4 Germany. With pole positions, wins, and the podium, they really impressed.”

Torsten Schubert (Team Principal Schubert Motorsport): “After qualifying, I said: If we have all three cars in the top ten I’m satisfied. We achieved that on Sunday. I’m pleased that we could take these points. It’s not only important to win races, but also to collect points. We knew this weekend that the track wasn’t quite optimal for us. Nevertheless, we were able to show consistent race performances with all three cars. The retirement of Marco on Saturday due to fuel issues was frustrating. Now we have to continue collecting points throughout the season, starting with the Lausitzring.”

Sheldon van der Linde (#31 Shell BMW M4 GT3): “I think it was a really good weekend. The car didn’t really suit this track and, considering that, we had very good results with fourth and sixth. It was definitely unexpected considering where we ended up last year with basically almost not getting into the points. I am very proud of the guys, the strategy was clearly the key point in the race. At the end of race two, we jumped like five or six cars. I am generally very happy with the points this weekend.”

René Rast (#33 RoboMarkets BMW M4 GT3): “It was a challenging weekend, especially on Sunday. For some reason, we didn’t have the pace in qualifying. Still, it was seventh place in the race, just like on Saturday. We scored points twice, but, of course, that’s not what we envision. We want to fight for podiums. But we knew that Oschersleben would be a tough track for us. So we made the best out of it.”

Marco Wittmann (#11 Schaeffler BMW M4 GT3): “It was, of course, frustrating that due to an error on Saturday, which is human, we threw away the victory and 25 points after we had taken the lead through the right call, strategy, and a bit of luck. On Sunday, nothing went right. We didn’t have the pace; the balance was very difficult. So, it was just about finishing the race, but there wasn’t really anything to gain. It was a tough weekend.”

BMW

BMW M Motorsport Struggles in the Season Opener at Oschersleben

The BMW M Motorsport team had a tough start to their title defence in the DTM season opener at Oschersleben in Germany. Despite their best efforts, the BMW M4 GT3 was unable to compete for top positions, making it difficult to make up positions on the tight circuit where overtaking is challenging.

The best results for BMW M Motorsport came from Schubert Motorsport at their home race, with René Rast finishing fifth on Saturday and Sheldon van der Linde, the reigning DTM champion, finishing eleventh on Sunday. Marco Wittmann, on the other hand, retired from both races.

Schubert Motorsport used the race weekend to treat their guests to a diverse programme of events off the racetrack, including the handover of a limited-edition BMW M4 DTM Champion Edition to van der Linde by the team’s principal, Torsten Schubert, BMW M CEO Franciscus van Meel, and Head of BMW M Motorsport Andreas Roos. The Champion Edition, based on a BMW M4 Competition, boasts a special design inspired by the colours of van der Linde’s BMW M4 GT3.

Andreas Roos, the Head of BMW M Motorsport, acknowledged that the Oschersleben race was not the start to the season that they had hoped for. He assured that they would analyse the data and prepare for the next race weekend at Zandvoort, particularly taking a closer look at the damage to René Rast’s car.

René Rast was pleased with his performance, managing to match the pace of van der Linde and Wittmann during Saturday’s qualifying session and finishing fifth on the race debut as a BMW M works driver. Sheldon van der Linde acknowledged that it was a difficult weekend for the team, and they needed to work on their qualifying performance. Marco Wittmann lamented the disadvantage caused by his car’s top speed and the penalty that impacted his chances of scoring points.