Marco Wittmann takes up the first DTM race on the Hungaroring after 26 years from pole position. The BMW pilot dominated the qualifying on Saturday and posted the fastest time in every segment. For the teams, it was no easy task finding the right set-up on the Hungarian circuit, with sand blowing over the track and constantly changing the grip level. The Ventus Race race tyres from the DTM’s exclusive tyre partner Hankook gave drivers the necessary support in their hunt for top times, providing plenty of grip on the narrow, twisty Hungaroring.
Budapest/Germany, 31 May 2014 – Marco Wittmann takes up the race from pole position on the Hungaroring – making it his second pole so far this season. The 24-year-old German concluded the final qualifying segment as the fastest with a lap time of 1:36.518 minutes and has the chance on Sunday of moving up the points and into the overall lead. Sharing the front grid row with him is his brand colleague Timo Glock, with Miguel Molina as the best Audi pilot behind them in third, followed by another BMW driver, Maxime Martin, in fourth position.
For Mercedes-Benz the third qualifying of the season did not run smoothly. The best pilot in the cockpit of the Stuttgart manufacturer’s race car was Pascal Wehrlein in 16th. For the current DTM champion Mike Rockenfeller (Audi), trying to defend his overall series lead will prove difficult from grid position 13, as overtaking on the twisty circuit in Hungary is almost impossible. Hankook’s DTM race engineer Christophe Stucki: “It takes a while to get the racing line clean on the Hungaroring. After free practice, the grip level in qualifying has improved, but the surface changes constantly due to the sand and grass blowing onto the track. Under these special circumstances, it will be interesting to see how long the pilots will be able to race top times on the option Ventus Race Plus tyres.”
Marco Wittmann (BMW): “That was a perfect qualifying and a fantastic result for BMW. I was able to use the Hankook race tyres just as I had imagined. The track became faster as the day went on, so that we managed really well with the slick.”
Timo Glock (BMW): “In practice we experienced a few problems in getting the tyres to build up grip. But in qualifying it worked very well. The grip level over the course of today was constantly changing. And that’s a challenge, of course, but I coped with it well.”
Miguel Molina (Audi): “We had a good qualifying, despite the fact that the BMWs were unfortunately a little stronger. I was very happy with the Hankook race tyres. From the very first lap I was able to get the full performance out of them and set a fast time.”
