Zandvoort DTM: Marco Wittmann wins in all-BMW top seven
Reigning DTM champion Marco Wittmann claimed his first victory of the season at Zandvoort, as BMW broke its 2015 duck with a sweep of the top seven places
From second on the grid, Wittmann got the best of the start, moving down the inside of polesitter Augusto Farfus at Turn 1.
Farfus was shuffled down to fourth, as Antonio Felix da Costa and Maxime Martin also squeezed past through the opening corners.
Wittmann and da Costa edged away at the head of the field, and the Red Bull Formula 1 tester applied pressure throughout the 40-minute race.
He ramped up his efforts in the final 10 minutes - looking down the inside at Turn 1 on several occasions - but couldn't unseat Wittmann, who moves from 15th to sixth in the standings with the victory.
Second is, though, da Costa's first DTM podium, with his previous best race result eighth at the Hungaroring during his 2014 rookie campaign.
Having run the best part of two seconds behind the pair for the majority of the race, Martin settled for a quiet third-place finish.
Farfus finished fourth, after withstanding race-long pressure from Gary Paffett.
The Mercedes driver's challenge came to an end on the penultimate lap, as he made light contact with Farfus's BMW and ran wide on the outside of Turn 7.
He skated through the gravel trap and eventually finished 11th.
That elevated Bruno Spengler, Timo Glock and Tom Blomqvist to fifth, sixth and seventh, completing BMW's rout as Blomqvist claimed his maiden DTM points.
Mike Rockenfeller was eventually the best non-BMW driver in eighth place, ahead of fellow Audi pilot Nico Muller, while Mercedes' Pascal Wehrlein claimed the final point.
Championship leader Jamie Green's race ended in the Turn 9 gravel, after running wide in his Audi while in sixth position.
With Mattias Ekstrom finishing outside of the points in 13th, Green's advantage remains at 11 points.
Green's demise prompted the first use of the DTM's virtual safety car equivalent, slow zones.
ANALYSIS: How DTM's slow zones work
Adrian Tambay was deemed to have sped within the zone and was handed a drive-through penalty, having been on track to score a point.
Paul di Resta's race ended on the opening lap, the Scot finding the back of Robert Wickens' Mercedes and then the tyre wall amid a concertina at Gerlachbocht.
As a result, the opening 10 minutes of the race were run under traditional safety car condtions.
Wickens eventually retired late due to the rear-end damage, while opening lap wounds accounted for Edoardo Mortara and Miguel Molina, and Martin Tomczyk retired with a brake problem in the day's only downer for BMW.
Follow the weekend's second Zandvoort DTM race as it happens with AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live from 1.15pm UK time on Sunday
RESULTS - 25 LAPS:
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Marco Wittmann | RMG | BMW | 42m30.240s |
2 | Antonio Felix da Costa | Schnitzer | BMW | 0.464s |
3 | Maxime Martin | RMG | BMW | 2.229s |
4 | Augusto Farfus | RBM | BMW | 3.768s |
5 | Bruno Spengler | MTEK | BMW | 4.514s |
6 | Timo Glock | MTEK | BMW | 6.054s |
7 | Tom Blomqvist | RBM | BMW | 7.273s |
8 | Mike Rockenfeller | Phoenix | Audi | 7.837s |
9 | Nico Muller | Rosberg | Audi | 8.677s |
10 | Pascal Wehrlein | HWA | Mercedes | 9.041s |
11 | Gary Paffett | ART | Mercedes | 12.217s |
12 | Christian Vietoris | HWA | Mercedes | 12.906s |
13 | Mattias Ekstrom | Abt | Audi | 15.738s |
14 | Timo Scheider | Phoenix | Audi | 17.847s |
15 | Maximilian Gotz | Mucke | Mercedes | 20.492s |
16 | Daniel Juncadella | Mucke | Mercedes | 24.636s |
17 | Lucas Auer | ART | Mercedes | 25.656s |
18 | Adrien Tambay | Abt | Audi | 30.023s |
- | Jamie Green | Rosberg | Audi | Retirement |
- | Robert Wickens | HWA | Mercedes | Retirement |
- | Miguel Molina | Abt | Audi | Retirement |
- | Edoardo Mortara | Abt | Audi | Retirement |
- | Martin Tomczyk | Schnitzer | BMW | Retirement |
- | Paul Di Resta | HWA | Mercedes | Retirement |
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