DTM podium for Sheldon van der Linde and Schubert Motorsport in Zandvoort.

0
1773

Zandvoort. The BMW M4 GT3 had its first podium of the 2023 DTM
season with Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) and Schubert Motorsport
finishing runner-up on Saturday, in the first of two races in
Zandvoort (NED). In Sunday’s race, Marco Wittmann (GER) from the
Project 1 team was battling for a spot on the podium right down to
the finish and eventually finished fourth, missing out by mere
tenths of a second. Dries Vanthoor (BEL), who was standing in for
RenΓ© Rast (GER) at Schubert Motorsport and was debuting in DTM, and
secured a top-ten result in the opening race. Rast was in action in
Formula E in Portland (USA) this weekend. The dune circuit in
Zandvoort was the venue for the second event of this season’s DTM.

Β 

The weekend got off to a promising start in the first qualifying
session on Saturday morning. Van der Linde and Wittmann were second
and third fastest, securing good grid positions for race one, while
Vanthoor qualified 16th.

Van der Linde was the biggest threat to eventual winner Maro Engel
(GER / Mercedes) from start to finish in race one. Second place gave
the reigning DTM champion in the #1 BMW M4 GT3 his first podium of the
season. For a long time, Wittmann was hot on the heels of van der
Linde however, he dropped two positions at the pit stop. He crossed
the line in fifth, his best result of the season so far. Vanthoor
fought back strongly in the #33 BMW M4 GT3, coming through from 16th
on the grid to finish ninth.

The second qualifying session on Sunday morning was suspended due to
two crashes, and the pursuit of fast times became something of a
lottery in the remaining three minutes after the re-start. Wittmann
qualified seventh for race two, Vanthoor 14th, while van der Linde had
to settle for 17th place.

Wittmann and van der Linde then showed their class in race two,
delighting fans at the dune circuit with some courageous overtaking
manoeuvres and fightbacks. Wittmann battled his way into fifth and
climbed to fourth after the pit stop. The two-time DTM champion
continued to battle for third place and a spot on the podium right up
to the chequered flag. Ultimately, he narrowly missed out on the top
three, but fourth place was again his best result of the season. Van
der Linde climbed seven positions from 17th and crossed the finish
line tenth. Vanthoor was unlucky and was forced to retire with a
puncture resulting from a collision at the start. The race was won by
Ricardo Feller (SUI / Audi).

The third race weekend of the 2023 DTM takes place from 7th to 9th
July at the Norisring (GER).

Β 

Reactions from the DTM weekend in Zandvoort:

Β 

Sheldon van der Linde (#1 BMW M4 GT3, Schubert Motorsport):
β€œI am very happy to be back on the podium yesterday, that was
definitely the highlight of our season so far. It was not expected to
be honest, which makes a podium even sweeter. It has put right back
into the mix in the championship as well, even if it is still early
days. But it proves that we can still do it and that we have a strong
package. Now we will push for more podiums, and I can’t wait for
Norisring in two weeks.”

Marco Wittmann (#11 BMW M4 GT3, Project 1): β€œIt was a
much better weekend for us compared to the season opener in
Oschersleben; with fifth and fourth places, we got some good points.
Of course, as a new team, we need to continue working hard to be at
the front and challenge for the podium. However, I believe that what
we showed in the races as our battles demonstrated, that we have found
an extremely good balance and set-up for race pace which is very
positive. There are still areas where we need to improve, so we have
some homework to do, but it was certainly a good step forward with two
nice results. We fought hard and gave it our all. Ultimately, there
wasn’t more to achieve but overall, it was a positive weekend.”

Dries Vanthoor (#33 BMW M4 GT3, Schubert Motorsport):
β€œGenerally it was a fun weekend, and I was happy to make my debut in
DTM as I have known the series since I was a little kid. Results wise
it wasn’t the weekend we all wanted. We tried our best to get the car
into the window as best as possible for me. Of course, it is difficult
to come to a different racing series and a different team and
immediately do a good job. But at the end, we had a great race
yesterday. We had great fun coming back from P16 to P9. Today should
have been another good day with a promising qualifying, and the
changes we made overnight, but the red flag ruined our chances in
qualifying and we had to start at the back of the pack.Β 
Unfortunately, I got a touch which led to a puncture early in the
race, but that’s racing. I enjoyed working with the team very much and
had a great weekend with Sheldon.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here