Marco Wittmann heads into the Sachsenring weekend aiming to keep himself firmly in the DTM title fight after significantly reducing his championship deficit at the Nürburgring.
The BMW driver sits fifth in the standings, 25 points behind the championship leader with four races remaining. A strong Nürburgring weekend, highlighted by victory in Sunday’s race, helped him cut a deficit that had previously stood at 56 points.
Attention has already shifted to the Sachsenring, a circuit where BMW has struggled in recent seasons. Wittmann and the team completed a test at the venue shortly after the Nürburgring round, giving them valuable preparation ahead of the penultimate weekend of the campaign.
Nürburgring success quickly followed by next challenge
Despite the significance of his Nürburgring victory, Wittmann explained during the pre-event press conference that his busy racing schedule left little time to dwell on the result.
“Actually, not that long, because with my programme in America, things usually move on very quickly after a DTM weekend, and I was back in action in America again straight away. But of course, the win on Sunday at the Nürburgring was very special. Overall, it was a very good weekend for me and we took home a lot of points. But as I said, that feeling fades relatively quickly because you immediately move on to the next thing.”
Sachsenring test offered BMW valuable preparation
Wittmann and BMW also completed a test at the Sachsenring one week after the DTM Nürburgring event. The circuit has proved challenging for BMW in recent seasons, making the additional running particularly valuable as the team looked to improve its package before the penultimate weekend of the campaign. However, Wittmann remained cautious about drawing firm conclusions from the test because of the variables involved when comparing programmes across different teams.
“It’s difficult to say. I mean, overall the test was quite good for us and it was also important, because in the past we have always struggled quite a lot at the Sachsenring with the BMW package. So it was important for us to have the full day of testing and maybe try a few different things.”
“I think we were relatively competitive in the midfield. We were still missing quite a bit compared to the front, but testing is always difficult to judge in general. You don’t know who is running what, when people are using new tyres or how much fuel they have in the tank. So it is generally difficult to assess where you stand compared to the competition. We will find out at the latest on Saturday in the first qualifying session where we really are. As I already mentioned, it has never really been one of our strongest tracks. So it will be a difficult weekend, but we will simply try to give everything and see where we end up. We’re getting towards the end of the season now, so there can always be a bit of chaos here and there, and maybe we can benefit from that as well.”
Wittmann focused on staying in title contention
Despite BMW’s previous difficulties at the Sachsenring, Wittmann remains firmly involved in the DTM championship battle. With 112 points still available across the final four races and their respective qualifying sessions, the two-time DTM champion believes the key objective this weekend is ensuring he reaches the Hockenheim finale with a realistic opportunity still intact.
The Nürburgring round transformed his position in the standings, with Wittmann reducing his deficit by more than half over the course of the weekend.
“Yes, I think we simply need to remain within striking distance after the Sachsenring weekend. That is the most important thing for us. If we look at how much we were able to reduce the gap at the Nürburgring, it was an extremely good weekend for us. I think we were 56 points behind and now we are only 25 points back, so we managed to reduce the deficit significantly. Now it is simply about still being within striking distance after the Sachsenring, because we all know that anything can happen at Hockenheim. At the finale, we saw it last year and we have also seen it in previous years that there can still be a lot to play for, even if you only have a theoretical chance.”
“That is basically going to be our approach. Of course, right now it is difficult for me to assess where we stand at the Sachsenring and how strong we will be. Maybe there will be a surprise and we are in a better position than we have been in previous years, but we will find out this weekend.”
Wittmann praises DTM’s Behind the Grid series
Wittmann also discussed DTM’s Behind the Grid series during the press conference after the first two episodes gave fans additional insight into life away from the track. Although Wittmann and fellow BMW driver Lucas Auer have not yet featured prominently in the series, he praised the access it provided, particularly around Maximilian Paul’s rehabilitation process.
“Yes, I’ve watched them and followed the series. I think Luggi [Auer] and I haven’t really been part of it yet, so I can’t say too much until maybe we become involved at some point. But I think the first two episodes were quite cool because you get a bit of an insight behind the scenes, including Max’s [Paul] rehabilitation. That was really interesting. I think a lot of people in the paddock didn’t even know about it. For example, I didn’t know that he had spent so much time with the physio. I thought it was a really cool insight that he gave us, or rather the fans, allowing them to see what goes on behind the scenes.”
For Wittmann, however, the immediate focus remains the Sachsenring. After taking a major step back towards the championship fight at the Nürburgring, avoiding a costly weekend at one of BMW’s traditionally more difficult circuits could prove crucial before the title battle heads to Hockenheim.
