The pilot of the Schaeffler BMW M Team, at the wheel of the BMW M4 GT3 EVO number 11, completed in addition to a comeback of 13 positions on Sunday to finish sixth. With these results, Wittmann came to the third position in the drivers ' championship and maintained their mathematical chances to win his third title of the DTM, after the results obtained in 2014 and 2016.

Wittmann converted the pole position into a new victory

The Saturday started in the best way for BMW M Motorsport. In the qualifying session, Marco Wittmann was surprised to get his first pole position of the season at the Sachsenring, a circuit that historically had not favored especially to the mark.

Since the first position of the grid, the German pilot managed to keep control of the race and crossed the finish line in first place. In this way, BMW M Motorsport claimed their first victory at the Sachsenring, while Wittmann joined the second consecutive win of their season, having won their twenty-victory in the DTM four weeks before at the Nürburgring.

The result also represented a good start to the weekend for Schubert Motorsport. Kelvin van der Linde, aboard the BMW M4 GT3 EVO number 3 with decoration Shell, finished in the fourth position, completing a double outstanding result for the team.

For Wittmann, get the pole and later convert it into victory was especially important because of the difficulties in BMW M Motorsport had previously experienced in this path.

“It has been an amazing weekend for us. Pole position and victory were totally unexpected in this circuit,” explained Wittmann after the competition.

A comeback of 13 positions keeps alive the fight

The situation changed dramatically on Sunday. The rain complicated the qualifying session and both Wittmann as van der Linde had difficulties to repeat the performance shown the day before.

Wittmann had to start the second race from the 19th position, while van der Linde broke the seventh. Despite the disadvantage, the driver of the BMW M4 GT3 EVO number 11 reacted quickly and began to recover the positions from the first laps.

His pace allowed him to move up to be placed within the group of the first ten and continue with a comeback that eventually reached the 13 positions. Wittmann crossed the line in sixth place, a result that ended up being the key to their aspirations in the championship.

The performance of the German allowed him to add important points and get to the last race of the year in the third position in the overall classification. With 24 points of difference with respect to the leader, the pilot of Fürth still have mathematical chances of fighting for a third championship of the DTM.

“We're a stone's throw from Hockenheim and, of course, we will fight for it,” said Wittmann.

Van der Linde loses the podium after a contact

Kelvin van der Linde also showed a competitive pace in the second race. After starting from the seventh position, the pilot south african managed to advance to the fifth place and staying close to the fight for the podium.

However, when the race is nearing its conclusion, a new unfortunate situation ended with their chances of getting a good result. During a restart after the safety car, van der Linde received a contact from another competitor and had to leave.

The driver of the BMW M4 GT3 EVO number 3 ended up classified in the 18th position, thus losing the opportunity to add important points to both their individual classification as well as for Schubert Motorsport.

The result turned to leave a bitter taste for van der Linde, who has faced a difficult season in terms of dropouts. After 14 races, the pilot accumulates seven retreats, several of them arising out of events beyond their responsibility.

Even so, the team managed to maintain third position in the constructors ' championship, and will arrive at Hockenheim with chances to fight for the title.

Hockenheim will be the stage of the definition

With the Sachsenring in the past, all the attention of BMW M Motorsport is set in the last race of the season at the Hockenheimring. Marco Wittmann will come to this event in the third place of the championship and with a difference of just 24 points on the leader.

The result achieved at the Sachsenring represents a major boost for the German pilot, especially after a first part of the season in their title options seemed considerably more distant.

Andreas Roos, head of BMW M Motorsport, highlighted precisely the ability of Wittmann to recover and to keep alive their chances of a championship, in addition to the work done by Schubert Motorsport during the weekend.

The team also retained the third position in the team standings, so the last appointment will be important both in the struggle for individual as well as in the classification of collective.

After getting their first victory of the BMW M Motorsport at the Sachsenring and add a stunning comeback on Sunday, Wittmann will come to Hockenheim with the goal of closing the season in the best way possible. With the BMW M4 GT3 EVO again as the protagonist, the championship still has one last battle to define.