Two-time DTM champion Marco Wittmann (Team RMG, BMW) had all he needed to score points in this Sunday’s race at the Hungaroring, but a small piece of polystyrene stuck to his car’s air duct forced the German to park his car on the penultimate lap.
“After qualifying I was very happy with the second place on the grid. Ultimately, our performance was good, only the drivers who stopped on the first lap were able to overtake us. That was the better strategy here, and cost us two places,” said the eight-time race winner.
“However, it was quite warm in the car after the pit stop, and we didn’t really know what was causing that to start with. In the end, it turned out that polystyrene got stuck in the right-hand air duct.”
The German almost successfully nursed his overheating BMW to the finishing line, but eventually had to retire on the penultimate lap when his engine finally abdicated.
“The car eventually gave up the ghost, although it battled for a long time. That was very frustrating and disappointing for us.”
Wittmann left the Hungary round of the 2017 DTM championship with only six points being added to his name, placing him 12th in the overall standings.