BMW driver Spengler starts from the front row at the Norisring – Best qualifying result of the year for Priaulx.

July 13, 2013 by BMW

Nürnberg (DE), 13th July 2013. Bruno Spengler (CA) once again proved just how at home he feels on his favourite circuit with another impressive display in qualifying for the fifth DTM race of the season at the Norisring (DE): the BMW Team Schnitzer driver made it through to Q4 at the wheel of the BMW Bank M3 DTM, finishing second-fastest with a time of 48.443 seconds. Only one driver was quicker over the 2.3-kilometre street circuit: Mercedes driver Robert Wickens (CA) claimed pole position, just 0.059 seconds ahead of his fellow Canadian.

In the heat of summer, with temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius, Andy Priaulx (GB) was the second best-placed BMW driver, qualifying sixth in the Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M3 DTM. This was the best qualifying result this season for the three-time World Touring Car Champion, who now drives for BMW Team RMG.

Local favourite Marco Wittmann (DE) narrowly missed out on the top ten in the Ice-Watch BMW M3 DTM. The BMW Team MTEK driver will start his home race in the heart of Nürnberg (DE) from 12th on the grid. His team-mate Timo Glock (DE) qualified 16th in the DEUTSCHE POST BMW M3 DTM, just behind Augusto Farfus (BR, Castrol EDGE BMW M3 DTM) who starts from 15th.

Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M3 DTM) in 17th, Joey Hand (US, BMW M3 DTM) in 18th and Dirk Werner (DE, SAMSUNG BMW M3 DTM) in 20th failed to make it beyond the first qualifying session.

The race gets underway at 13:30 on Sunday, with 83 laps around the Dutzendteich awaiting the eight BMW DTM drivers. TV station ARD will broadcast the race live from 13:15.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):

'That was once again an exciting and incredibly close qualifying, as you would expect at the Norisring. At times, eight cars were within one tenth of a second of each other. Bruno Spengler and Andy Priaulx produced very good performances. Sixth place on the grid equals Andy's best qualifying result in the DTM, and he also clocked the second fastest lap of the whole weekend so far. Bruno is very well placed ahead of tomorrow's race. However, we are not happy with the overall result: too many of our cars went out too early in proceedings. We will look into the reasons for this. Despite this, we are looking forward to an exciting race tomorrow. The atmosphere at the Norisring is unique, and we want to produce a good result for the many BMW fans and employees at the circuit. Congratulations to Robert Wickens and Mercedes-Benz on their pole position.'

Bruno Spengler (car number 1, BMW Team Schnitzer, 2nd):

'Congratulations to Robert Wickens on his first pole position. I know exactly how he is feeling now. Two Canadians on the front row – that is something you don't see every day. Second is a good result for us. I must pay a huge compliment to my team, which has managed to improve my car considerably since the last race. That hard work formed the basis for the good qualifying result here at the Norisring. This is my favourite race, the atmosphere is simply sensational. I have high hopes for tomorrow.'

Andy Priaulx (car number 16, BMW Team RMG, 6th):

'This is a really positive start to my weekend. I feel very comfortable in the car and understand where the time has come from. We have changed a lot since the last race. BMW Motorsport and BMW Team RMG have thought about my situation very hard and made the car much more suited to me. This has really given me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season. I have to thank everyone for pushing so hard since the Lausitzring.'

Marco Wittmann (car number 21, BMW Team MTEK, 12th):

'I am not entirely happy with 12th on the grid. I had hoped for a better starting position at my home race. However, we will now try to get a good result from the sixth row. I think a lot is still possible in the race tomorrow. I am obviously very motivated and will go on the attack.'

Augusto Farfus (car number 7, BMW Team RBM, 15th):

'We could not get the right set-up and balance of the car, and it was really hard to drive. It was difficult to put a lap together, and here you need a perfect lap as the gaps between the cars are so small. It was a pity, as I was expecting a good weekend. However, we still have 83 laps tomorrow, so hopefully we can turn this around.'

Timo Glock (car number 22, BMW Team MTEK, 16th):

'That was not a good qualifying for us. Over the course of the session, we somehow went in the wrong direction and got slower, rather than quicker. I actually had a really good feeling on my first run. After that, however, I was unable to improve, which is a real shame.'

Martin Tomczyk (car number 15, BMW Team RMG, 17th):

'To be honest, I don't know what went wrong. I have started from towards the back of the grid quite often this year and do not want to make a habit of it. The whole season has just been very weird for me. Maybe we can still fight our way through the field.'

Joey Hand (car number 8, BMW Team RMG, 18th):

'I like the Norisring, as I basically love street races. However, I have not had a lot of fun here so far. I just wasn't good today. We have struggled to find our way and just ran out of time in the search for the right set-up. However, I never give up – and neither do the boys in BMW Team RBM. I hope to put on a good show tomorrow.'

Dirk Werner (car number 2, BMW Team Schnitzer, 20th):

'The first run was absolutely fine, and I was getting quicker and quicker towards the end. Then I did not improve as much as we had hoped on the second set of tyres. When it is as close as it is here at the Norisring, every single thousandths of a second counts.'

Photo credit: BMW
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