Marco Wittmann came within reach of a home podium for Team Schubert Motorsport in the DTM at Oschersleben, but had to settle for fourth in Sunday’s race. Team-mate Kelvin van der Linde took seventh in both races on his return from a heavy accident at the Norisring. There was consolation in the ADAC GT4 Germany, where FK Performance Motorsport scored a double podium and moved to the top of the standings.
BMW M Motorsport and Team Schubert Motorsport fell just short of the podium at the team’s home round of the DTM at Oschersleben in Germany over the 24–26 July weekend. Marco Wittmann fought for a top-three finish for much of Sunday’s race but, according to the team, lacked the pace to apply decisive pressure and ultimately finished fourth in the #11 Schaeffler BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
A near miss on Sunday
Wittmann lined up third after a strong qualifying performance but dropped a place at the start. He stayed within striking distance of the podium and even had fresher tyres, yet was unable to launch a clean attack on the cars ahead. Kelvin van der Linde, returning to DTM action after his heavy crash at the Norisring, was compromised by traffic in qualifying and could manage only seventh on the grid, a position he held to the finish.
A tougher Saturday
Saturday was harder work. Wittmann and van der Linde started 13th and 15th respectively in the #3 Shell BMW M4 GT3 EVO livery for van der Linde, who produced a strong comeback drive to gain eight places and finish seventh — matching his Sunday result. Wittmann climbed to eighth in the early stages before a tyre failure forced him out of the race.
The team welcomed a notable guest on Sunday: Maxime Estève, the French summer signing for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, was invited by BMW M Motorsport and watched from the pit garage.
Double podium in ADAC GT4 Germany
The weekend’s brighter story came in the ADAC GT4 Germany, where Gabriele Piana and Benjamin Sylvestersson secured a double podium for FK Performance Motorsport in the #51 BMW M4 GT4 EVO. The pair finished third on Saturday and second on Sunday, moving into the lead of the drivers’ championship.
What the team said
“Oschersleben is a difficult place to overtake. We need to come back fighting at the next race,” said Björn Lellmann, Head of Customer Racing at BMW M Motorsport.
Team principal Torsten Schubert said he still believed a podium had been within reach and that the team would analyse its first pit-stop timing. Wittmann described a physically difficult weekend, citing stomach issues, and said fourth place was “the maximum we could achieve.” Van der Linde said the team had extracted the most from the package and turned his attention to the next round.
Next up
The DTM heads to the Nürburgring next, where van der Linde says he hopes to fight for another win this season.
Source: www.press.bmwgroup.com