BMW’s Marco Wittmann says he is heading to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters race in Budapest ‘full of confidence’, despite having lost ground in the championship standings with a disastrous race last time out in Oschersleben.
Wittmann, who won the season-opening round at the Hockenheimring, finished 19th in the second round of the season due to a technical problem which saw him have to make an unscheduled pitstop.
“I travel to the race in Budapest full of confidence,” said Wittmann. “The first two races showed that I have the necessary pace. With this in mind, my goal for the third qualifying of the year is to score another strong result, which will then allow me to go on the attack.”
Wittmann will not be saddled with any performance weights this weekend in Budapest as a result of BMW finishing with the worst ‘best-car’ result last time out, and the 24-year-old is unsure if it will be of benefit or not at the downforce-dominant Hungaroring.
“The Hungaroring has a lot of corners, and is similar in character to Oschersleben – even if some of the corners have a different style. Downforce is important again at this track.
“I am racing without the five kilos of Performance Weights I had on board in Oschersleben and I am intrigued to see how much I can benefit from that.”
This weekend’s marks the return of the DTM to the Hungaroring after 25 years away. BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt hopes the ‘special’ return will be in dry conditions.
“I hope Budapest gives us another race in regular conditions, which will allow us to convert our car’s performance into points across the board again,” said Marquardt. “Returning to Budapest after a quarter of a century is very special for the DTM, and for BMW Motorsport.
“The fans in Hungary are incredibly enthusiastic – something Timo Glock experienced on his outing in the city centre a few weeks ago. This passion in the stands will definitely give our drivers and teams an extra boost and encourage them to put on a great show and thrilling race at the Hungaroring.”