Two weeks ago at the famed Norisring, Team MTEK’s Bruno Spengler took his pole position and podium in the 2015 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) season, bringing BMW nearly back to their best after a difficult season so far.
All four teams had scored points during the two races in Nuremberg, but at an “old school” track such as Zandvoort, there will always be a fair share of challenges for all concerned.
“Everyone will start from scratch in Zandvoort. The circuit basically suits the BMW M4 DTM – one win and two podiums in the last two years have shown this,” explained Motorsport Director, Jens Marquardt, who was aware that the performance of BMW at the Norisring has really helped the confidence of the Munich manufacturer.
“However, we will have to wait until we get there to see what the current balance of power is. We will once again do everything in our power to make the opposition’s life as difficult as possible on the North Sea coast.”
One person that has a memory to last a lifetime from last season, is Team RMG’s Team Prinicpal, Stefan Reinhold, whose Niederzissen-based squad secured the team title at the Dutch track last year.
Defending champion Marco Wittmann finished second behind winner Mattias Ekström during a safety car-filled race, which saw Reinhold and his team emotional after such an impressive achievement of three season in the DTM.
“This is reason enough for us all to be very much looking forward to the races at ‘Circuit Park’,” he explained. “We hope to finally see an upwards trend this weekend. We are very focussed and determined. I am sure the journey to the circuit will bring back a lot of great memories.”
Spengler’s teammate at MTEK, DTM race winner Timo Glock, rates that the Munich manufacturer has a chance of closing the gap to their rivals from Ingolstadt and Stuttgart, especially with the Dutch track suiting the M4 DTM.
“I think we could have a better chance than in previous races. The circuit is a dream and has an outstanding atmosphere,” said the ex-F1 driver, who won the season finale at Hockenheim in 2013. “The wind and the sand that gets blown across the track can be problematic. However, the conditions are the same for everyone. We are really looking forward to the two races.”