Press Release

  • Motorsport

Excitement down to the final corner: Marco Wittmann claims his fourth win of the DTM season at Brands Hatch

Marco Wittmann won race eleven of the 2019 DTM season at Brands Hatch to make up more ground in the Drivers’ Championship. The BMW driver dominated for much of the race, before his closest rival René Rast (Audi) closed in on the final lap. However, Wittmann was able to defend his lead and, after 42 laps of racing, crossed the finish line first with a lead of 0.374 seconds. The 29-year-old came in for his mandatory pit stop on lap 14 of the demanding circuit, before completing the remaining two thirds of the race on one set of Hankook race tyres. This successful strategy allowed Wittmann to claim his fourth win of the season and the 15th victory of his DTM career.
Excitement down to the final corner: Marco Wittmann claims his fourth win of the DTM season at Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch/Great Britain, 10th August 2019 – It was not pole-sitter Marco Wittmann (BMW), but Scotland’s Paul di Resta who made the best start in the Saturday race at Brands Hatch. The Aston Martin driver rocketed through from fourth place on the grid to take an early lead. However, he was subsequently handed a time penalty for a jump start, which saw him plummet back down the field. From that point on, the race was dominated by Wittmann, who came in for a new set of Hankook race tyres on lap 14. 

Second-placed René Rast (Audi) did close the gap to Wittmann on the final lap, but it was too little too late and he ran out of time to launch an attack on the BMW driver. Wittmann was followed over the finish line by a quartet of Audi drivers – Rast, Nico Müller, Robin Frijns and Loic Duval – in positions two to five. Sixth place went to the second best BMW driver, Philipp Eng. The best-placed Aston Martin was that of Daniel Juncadella in tenth place.

Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook Motorsport Director Europe: “We witnessed another exciting DTM race at this iconic Brands Hatch circuit. It showed once again just how important the pit stop strategy is. The first three drivers did a long second stint on one set of Hankook Ventus Race tyres, at the end of which the desired drop-off effect kicked in. The driver and the way he manages his tyres play an important role in the DTM. When it comes down to it, the spectators want to see the races decided out on the track by the drivers.”

Marco Wittmann (BMW): “Tyre management is very important this season, as the turbo engine, which is over 100 hp more powerful, means that tyre wear is far greater than last year. We coped well with the situation and were able to push from the start and open up a gap on the Hankook race tyre. That proved to be the right tactic, although it did get rather close again at the end. We did enough to get the win and I am delighted.”

René Rast (Audi)“Tyre selection was tough in qualifying, when the track was wet in places. However, slicks were definitely the right way to go in the race, when we had dry conditions. The Hankook race tyres worked well and I should have pushed earlier on them. If I had, we could have done even better. However, it is easy to say that after the race.”

Nico Müller (Audi): “I started on a used set of tyres from qualifying. That was not easy, as all the other drivers around me were on new Hankook race tyres. I was able to push on a new set of tyres in my long second stint, and am happy with the race and third place.” 

Daniel Juncadella (Aston Martin): “As in Assen, the tyres were put under a lot of strain here at Brands Hatch. However, as a driver, you have to be able to cope with and adapt to the wear, which is nothing out of the ordinary. I was able to gain a lot of positions because I managed the good Hankook race tyres properly.”

Hankook Tire manufactures globally innovative, award-winning radial tyres of proven superior quality for passenger cars, light trucks, SUVs, RVs, trucks, and buses as well as motorsports (circuit racing/street circuits/rallies).

Aspiring to bring consumers the utmost excellence in product quality, technological excellence and driving satisfaction, Hankook Tire continuously invests in research and development maintaining five R&D centres and eight production facilities around the world. Bespoke tyre solutions for the European markets as well as European Original Equipment according to the requirements of leading premium car manufacturers, are developed in the company’s regional Technical Centre in Hanover/Germany. Production for the European region is taking place in the state-of-the-art manufacturing site in Rácalmás/Hungary which was inaugurated in June 2007 and is continuously being expanded.

Hankook Tire’s European headquarters are located in Neu-Isenburg near Frankfurt am Main in Germany. The manufacturer operates further branches in several European countries and sells its products through regional distributors in other local markets. Hankook Tire employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide and sells products in over 160 countries. The company has been the technical partner and exclusive tyre supplier of the Generation 3 for the FIA ABB Formula E World Championship since 2023. Internationally leading car manufacturers rely on tyres made by Hankook for their original equipment. Approximately 38 percent of the company's global sales are generated within the European region.

For more information please visit www.hankooktire-mediacenter.com or www.hankooktire.com

Hankook Tire Europe GmbH | Marketing Communications Europe | Siemensstr. 14, 63263 Neu-Isenburg | Germany

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Excitement down to the final corner: Marco Wittmann claims his fourth win of the DTM season at Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch: DTM Brands Hatch 2019 on August, 10, 2019, (Photo by Hoch Zwei) Rene Rast ( D, Audi Sport Team Rosberg ) Marco Wittmann ( D, BMW Team RMG ) Nico Müller (SUI, Audi Sport Team Abt )

File size: 4 MB

Excitement down to the final corner: Marco Wittmann claims his fourth win of the DTM season at Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch: DTM Brands Hatch 2019 on August, 10, 2019, (Photo by Hoch Zwei) Paul di Resta ( GBR, Aston Martin ) Loic Duval ( FRA, Audi Sport Team Phoenix )

File size: 2 MB

Excitement down to the final corner: Marco Wittmann claims his fourth win of the DTM season at Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch: DTM Brands Hatch 2019 on August, 10, 2019, (Photo by Hoch Zwei) Marco Wittmann ( D, BMW Team RMG )

File size: 2 MB

Excitement down to the final corner: Marco Wittmann claims his fourth win of the DTM season at Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch: DTM Brands Hatch 2019 on August, 10, 2019, (Photo by Hoch Zwei) Start

File size: 1 MB

Contacts

Sabine Riedel

PR Manager Marketing Communications

 +49 (0) 6102 8149-178

Sabine Riedel

PR Manager Marketing Communications

 +49 (0) 6102 8149-178

Lisa Schmid

PR Manager Marketing Communications

+49 (0) 6102 8149-172

Alexander Nevinny-Stickel

PR Manager Marketing Communications

+49 (0) 6102 8149-173

Annika Malcherek

Annika Malcherek

Digital Lead Marketing Communications

+49 (0) 6102 8149-176

Stefan Prohaska

Stefan Prohaska

Digital Marketing Communications

 +49 (0) 6102 8149-171

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