Oschersleben. BMW M Motorsport and Team Schubert Motorsport
narrowly missed out on the podium at the team’s home event at
Oschersleben (GER). Marco Wittmann (GER) battled for a top-three
finish throughout Sunday’s race, but ultimately lacked the pace to
put the competition under decisive pressure. As a result, the
36-year-old had to settle for fourth place in the #11 Schaeffler BMW
M4 GT3 EVO in the second race of the weekend. Kelvin van der Linde
(RSA) finished seventh in both races as he returned to DTM action
following his heavy accident at the Norisring (GER).

Wittmann lined up third on the grid for Sunday’s race after a strong
qualifying performance but lost one position at the start. He remained
within striking distance of the podium for much of the race but,
despite having fresher tyres, was unable to launch a decisive attack
and ultimately narrowly missed out on a podium finish. Van der Linde
was unfortunate in qualifying due to traffic and could do no better
than seventh on the grid, a position he maintained throughout the race.

On Saturday, Wittmann and van der Linde started from 13th and 15th
respectively. In the #3 Shell BMW M4 GT3 EVO, van der Linde produced a
strong comeback drive, gaining eight positions to finish seventh – the
same result he achieved on Sunday. Wittmann worked his way up to
eighth in the opening stages before being forced to retire with a tyre failure.

Team Schubert Motorsport received special support on Sunday from
Maxime Estève. The French summer signing of Bundesliga club RB Leipzig
had been invited by BMW M Motorsport and cheered on the team from the
pit garage during its home event.

 

ADAC GT4 Germany: Piana and Sylvestersson celebrate double podium.

Gabriele Piana (ITA) and Benjamin Sylvestersson (FIN) secured a
double podium for FK Performance Motorsport in the ADAC GT4 Germany.
The duo finished third in the #51 BMW M4 GT4 EVO on Saturday before
claiming second place on Sunday. As a result, Piana and Sylvestersson
moved into the lead of the drivers’ championship.

 

Reactions after the race weekend:

Björn Lellmann (Head of Customer Racing at BMW M Motorsport):
“Unfortunately, it was a disappointing weekend. We had hoped
for more at Torsten Schubert’s home circuit. The team welcomed many
guests throughout the weekend, and we would have loved to reward them
with a podium finish. On Saturday, we had very few opportunities.
Kelvin had a fantastic drive to gain eight positions, but the points
haul was still rather modest. Our strategy on Sunday did not work out
exactly as planned, although it’s always easier to judge in hindsight.
I am proud of the team’s performance – the pit stops were excellent.
Nevertheless, it simply wasn’t enough. Oschersleben is a difficult
place to overtake. We need to come back fighting at the next race. I’m
delighted about the two podiums for FK Performance Motorsport,
Gabriele Piana and Benjamin Sylvestersson in the ADAC GT4 Germany,
which also put them at the top of the drivers’ standings. That’s a
nice consolation.”

Torsten Schubert (Team Principal, Schubert Motorsport):
“We had an incredible number of spectators throughout the
weekend, which was fantastic. It was great to be back racing here at
Oschersleben. Of course, we would have loved to finish on the podium.
After the tyre failure on Saturday, we had a bit more luck with the
cars today. However, Marco showed that, even with better tyres, it
still wasn’t enough. Oschersleben is certainly a very challenging
circuit when it comes to overtaking, but I still hoped we would find a
way through the Porsche. Perhaps we should have stayed out a little
longer during the first pit stop. We’ll analyse that because I believe
the podium was within reach.”

Marco Wittmann (#11 Schaeffler BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Race 1: DNF,
Race 2: 4th place): “It was a difficult weekend, especially
physically – my stomach issues were the biggest challenge. A huge
thank you to BMW M Motorsport, Team Schubert Motorsport and everyone
who had my back throughout the weekend. The tyre failure on Saturday
was simply bad luck. When you start that far up the grid on Sunday,
you naturally want to secure a home podium for Team Schubert
Motorsport, but we just didn’t have the pace. Despite the tyre
advantage from Saturday, we weren’t able to put enough pressure on the
cars ahead. In the end, fourth place was the maximum we could achieve.”

Kelvin van der Linde (#3 Shell BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Race 1: 7th,
Race 2: 7th): “It was a mixed weekend with two
seventh-place finishes in front of Schubert Motorsport’s home crowd.
I’m proud of the team because they extracted the maximum from the
package. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for more. I’m really looking
forward to the Nürburgring and hope we can fight for another win this season.”