Marco Wittmann welcomed a return to the front of the 2026 DTM field after securing third place at the Nürburgring, describing the result as an important step following several challenging weeks in the championship.
The BMW driver started fourth and moved into the podium positions around the pit-stop phase before spending much of the remainder of the race defending his position. Matteo Cairoli ultimately claimed victory ahead of Thomas Preining, with Wittmann completing the podium after keeping Ben Dörr behind through the closing stages.
Strong 2026 DTM Nürburgring weekend ends with podium reward
Wittmann felt encouraged by his performance across the entire Nürburgring weekend rather than simply focusing on the final result. Strong pace through practice continued into Qualifying before he converted his starting position into a podium during the race.
“Well, for us it’s been a good weekend, started already well in FP sessions, continued in Qualifying, and also in the race we are now on the podium. I think we can be happy with that.
“Obviously the two next to me, they were a bit too fast for us today, so we mainly had to defend, we had a good battle with Ben [Dörr] around the pit stop, and especially on the out of the control tyres, where we basically moved up from P4 to P3, and then mainly had to look in my mirrors.”
Wittmann could not match the pace of Cairoli and Preining ahead, but the pit-stop sequence gave him an opportunity to improve from fourth to third. Lucas Auer had started one position ahead of him but could not emerge in front of the BMW during the pit phase, allowing Wittmann to establish himself in the final podium position.
From there, his task changed. Instead of chasing the leading pair, Wittmann concentrated on maintaining third and managing the pressure from Dörr behind.
Return to competitiveness at the Nürburgring provides encouragement for remainder of 2026 DTM campaign
Beyond the podium itself, Wittmann highlighted the significance of returning to a position where he could fight for substantial points. Recent rounds had proved more difficult, making the Nürburgring performance particularly encouraging as the season continued.
“But all in all I’m very happy, to be back in a position to fight for good points, for a podium, it’s been difficult weeks for us in DTM, so it’s nice to be back competitive, and trying to fight for strong points.”
The result gave Wittmann a tangible reward after a weekend in which the BMW showed competitive pace from the beginning. Rather than needing to recover from a difficult starting position, he remained among the leading group and converted that performance into third at the chequered flag.
His comments also placed greater significance on the consistency of the weekend. Practice, Qualifying and the race all provided evidence that Wittmann could once again compete towards the front rather than relying on incidents elsewhere to gain positions.
Wittmann back in shape after Oschersleben
Wittmann also addressed his physical condition after facing difficulties at Oschersleben. He explained that he had recovered and regained the weight he had lost, joking that racing in the United States in IMSA had helped with that process.
“All good. I mean I recovered after Oschersleben. Luckily, everything went in the right direction. Usually in the US [races] in between you always gain weight again, with all the food in America. So, I basically gained the 5 kilos I lost around Oschersleben, and [I’m] back in shape.
“So all good, and despite all the heat, the race was still ok, still manageable. I mean I was not in a big fight. As I said I had to look a bit in my mirrors for Ben, but it was not like a demanding race for me. It was mainly keeping the focus high, don’t do any mistakes, and from there we could bring it home in P3.”
Despite the hot conditions at the Nürburgring, Wittmann did not consider the race particularly physically demanding. Instead, maintaining concentration became his main challenge as he defended the final podium position and avoided mistakes that could have opened the door for Dörr.
After several difficult weeks, third place therefore represented more than another podium result for Wittmann. The performance showed a return to competitiveness across an entire DTM weekend and, importantly, put him back in a position to fight for the stronger points he had been missing.
