Sheldon van der Linde celebrated his first win of the season on the fifth DTM race weekend at the Nürburgring. In the #31 Shell BMW M4 GT3, the 2022 DTM Champion crossed the finish line first for the first time since the Norisring 2023. His teammate Marco Wittmann also reached the podium, finishing third in the #11 Schaeffler BMW M4 GT3. Thanks to the two podium finishes, the team led by Torsten Schubert reclaimed first place in the team standings.
Sheldon van der Linde experienced a significant relief after his triumph, especially since he had not advanced beyond 13th position on Saturday. Starting from eighth place, the South African quickly moved up to third during the early stages, then overtook Ricardo Feller (Audi) in the battle for second place, and later benefited from a spin by the then-leader Maro Engel (Mercedes). Engel collided with van der Linde's teammate René Rast. Rast, coming out of the pits with cold tyres, slid straight on while braking into turn one with his #33 RoboMarkets BMW M4 GT3 and hit the turning Mercedes. A broken rim and a penalty for the accident dropped Rast back to 17th place. He had finished 11th in Saturday's race.
Marco Wittmann had a strong weekend. On Saturday, he coped better with the rainy conditions than his teammates and finished sixth. In Sunday's race, he started third and maintained that position to the finish – his second podium of the year after winning at Zandvoort. Wittmann's crew also completed the fastest pit stop on Sunday with a time of 6.351 seconds.
In the drivers' standings, van der Linde, Rast, and Wittmann are in fourth, fifth, and eighth places respectively after ten of the sixteen races. In the team standings, Schubert Motorsport is now leading with 242 points and a 19-point advantage.
In ADAC GT4 Germany, Gabriele Piana and Michael Schrey continued their impressive run this season. On Sunday, the duo in the #2 BMW M4 GT4 of Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport celebrated their fifth win in the eighth race of the season, further extending their lead in the drivers' standings. On Saturday, Piana and Schrey finished fifth behind the highest-placed BMW M4 GT4, #46 from FK Performance Motorsport in fourth place. Overall, five BMW M4 GT4s finished in the top ten on Saturday, and three on Sunday.
Congratulations to Sheldon van der Linde, Marco Wittmann, and Schubert Motorsport for a fantastic Sunday race at the Nürburgring! Especially in the team standings, things still look very good after this weekend. In ADAC GT4 Germany, I'm running out of superlatives for the performances of Gabriele Piana and Michael Schrey – wow!
I am very pleased that we made it through with two cars on Sunday and took many points. We are now back on top of the team standings, which is very important. Sheldon had a great start to the race and was then able to convert his pace into a win. Marco also had a very strong weekend.
Comments:
Sheldon van der Linde (#31 Shell BMW M4 GT3): “I am very happy and relieved to have won a DTM race again after such a long time. I was close at the Norisring, but then the weather spoiled it in the last laps. My brother Kelvin won the Saturday race so for both of us, this is a very special weekend that makes the whole family proud. For me, this is one of my best victories in the DTM.”
Marco Wittmann (#11 Schaeffler BMW M4 GT3): “I am happy with this weekend. It went very well on Saturday with sixth place in the rain. That continued on Sunday with third place in qualifying and the race. Together with Sheldon's win, this was of course an outstanding team result, which I am very pleased about. The Sunday race was characterised by many duels. Unfortunately, I didn't quite have the balance in the car to be able to go for the win so I am really satisfied with third place.”
René Rast (#33 RoboMarkets BMW M4 GT3): “Looking at the championship, this is a very bitter weekend. After collecting only a few points on Saturday with an eleventh-place finish, our pace on Sunday was very good. I think I could have been in contention for the podium. Unfortunately, then there was the collision. It was unnecessary and sets me back significantly in the drivers' standings. Nevertheless, I will of course continue to fight.”