For Marco Wittmann, the home race at the Norisring comes at just the right time. The two-time DTM champion has probably almost forgotten what ‘home’ actually means in recent weeks. The 34-year-old can look back on an incredible racing schedule that is still not over after the DTM weekend in Nuremberg.
Marco Marathonmann! Three DTM events at the Lausitzring, in Zandvoort and at the Norisring, plus three 24-hour races at the Nürburgring, in Le Mans and in Spa-Francorchamps, and last but not least a WEC race in Sao Paulo: Wittmann will have completed seven races in eight weekends from the end of May to mid-July. 50 days of absolute full throttle! The BMW star only had a short break between the 24-hour races in Le Mans and Spa.
7 races in 50 days: Marco Wittmann’s marathon program
| Date | Run | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 24-26.05.2024 | DTM Lausitzring | P13/P9 |
| 01.-02.06.2024 | 24h Nürburgring | P7 |
| 07.-09.06.2024 | DTM Zandvoort/Le Mans test | P7/P1 |
| 12-17.06.2024 | 24 Hours of Le Mans | DNF |
| 28.-30.06.2024 | 24-hour spa | DNF |
| 05.-07.07.2024 | DTM Norisring | ? |
| 12-14.07.2024 | WEC Sao Paulo | ? |
Marco Wittmann celebrates first DTM victory since 2022
Hardly any other international top driver has been in the car as often as Wittmann during this period, we can only think of his BMW brand colleague Sheldon van der Linde. While the three 24-hour races did not go as hoped for Wittmann and his Munich-based employer – seventh place at the Nürburgring subject to the Rowe protest and retirements in Le Mans (Hypercar) and Spa – there was reason to celebrate at the DTM race in Zandvoort.
On the Dutch dune circuit, Wittmann managed a huge comeback from 14th place on the grid to victory in the Schubert BMW M4 GT3. The Franconian won his first DTM race since the 2022 season finale in Hockenheim and celebrated his 19th race victory in the traditional German series. This means that Wittmann currently ranks seventh in the all-time winners statistics; among active racing drivers, only Schubert teammate Rene Rast (26 wins) is more successful.
Wittmann: “Had the winner’s trophy in my luggage for three weeks”
“I had the winner’s trophy from Zandvoort in my luggage for three weeks and only put it in the display case yesterday. There was little time to enjoy the beautiful moments,” said Wittmann on Tuesday in a DTM press conference before the Norisring weekend. “The month was extremely stressful with three 24-hour races, and it keeps coming thick and fast. Nevertheless, it’s nice when you’re on the road a lot and do a lot of races.”
For Wittmann – the most successful BMW driver of the decade – the Zandvoort triumph must have been a great relief. The last two DTM seasons with the inferior BMW customer teams Walkenhorst and Project 1 did not leave him unscathed. With the move to the former champion team Schubert Motorsport, a new opportunity opened up alongside his strong teammates van der Linde and Rast.
With confidence come victories
However, the start for the racing team from Oschersleben was bumpy: Wittmann only scored 25 points in the first five races of the season – he scored just as many with the victory in Zandvoort, which put him in eleventh place in the drivers’ table. Van der Linde (59 points, 8th place) and Rast (57 points, 9th place) are now within striking distance again as the first targets.
“It’s never easy when you change teams,” Wittmann reflected. “You start from scratch. You have to get to know yourself first and the team also has to get to know you in order to understand what you need. In Zandvoort we reached the point where we trust each other and we know what setup I need. We can build on that to ensure that things go in the right direction.”
Wittmann: Norisring podium would be a dream
The goal for the Norisring is clear: to confirm the upward trend in his green BMW M4 GT3 and attack at the front. Wittmann knows exactly what a victory in his DTM living room feels like: “My success at the Norisring in 2018 was by far the most emotional victory I have ever experienced in my career. Celebrating with all the fans in the stands and with the family was something very special. It would of course be a dream if that, or at least the jump onto the podium, worked out this year.”
The chances of a good result at the Norisring are not bad: Last year, Schubert-BMW achieved a double victory in the Saturday race with van der Linde and Rast, and on Sunday the duo again scored big points with second and third places. In both qualifying sessions, the drivers from Torsten Schubert’s team also grabbed pole position.
Wittmann: “I hope we can build on last year. Speed and acceleration are crucial, but so are the brakes, because we brake down to 60 km/h. In the Schöller-S you have to make sure you get through with little downforce. You need a bit of everything. BMW has always been relatively good here. We have a concept that is well sorted out on the straights. A small weakness is the deceleration.”