Jens Marquarrdt

2019.09.30

Interview with Jens Marquardt: “We must, and will, improve next season”.

The 2019 DTM season is on the finishing straight. The BMW teams’ preparations for the grand finale at the Hockenheimring (GER), with races on 5thand 6th October, are in full swing. The BMW drivers have six wins, a further seven podiums and six pole positions to their name so far this season. Marco Wittmann still has a mathematical chance of finishing runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship. In an interview, BMW Group Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt discusses a difficult season for BMW M Motorsport in the DTM and looks ahead to 2020.

Read more

Mr Marquardt, the final round of the DTM at Hockenheim is almost upon us. What are your goals for the two races?

Jens Marquardt: “We want to head into the winter break on the back of at least one victory at Hockenheim. We owe that to our fans, at least. They have supported us brilliantly, despite a difficult year in the DTM. We want to thank them for that. We have shown over the course of the season that our overall package has what it takes to win races.”

Read more
Marco Wittmann, BMW M4 DTM

How would you sum up the season so far?

Marquardt: “Of course we are not happy with where we find ourselves after 16 DTM races. We started the season well, but, for various reasons, we have run out of steam a little since the middle of the season. This is not what we demand of ourselves. We want to be challenging for the title right down to the final round of a championship. The fact that we have not managed that this season is a disappointment for everyone. At the same time, we will use that disappointment to spur us on and motivate us for next season. We must, and will, improve next season, so that we have a say in who wins the title.”

Read more

What are the reasons for this, and how will you approach the comeback?

Marquardt: “After a season like this, in which we have come up short of our own expectations, we will optimise a number of areas – based on the means we have at our disposal. For example, we are currently examining exactly what configuration and structure the BMW M4 DTM will be run in the future. We must obviously get to grips with such issues as reliability. Our two works teams will continue to play a key role. Although there is always potential for improvements on both sides, the crews of Bart Mampaey and Stefan Reinhold are working at a very high level. For this reason, we are also planning on working with our RBM and RMG works teams next season. At the same time, we are also performing a self-critical analysis in Munich and are pinpointing things we want to do better in the future, in order to also restore some consistency to our results. The prerequisite for all this is passion. That is what made us and our team strong and helped us to titles in the past, and that is what I want to see from every single individual.”

Read more
Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Direktor

How does the driver line-up look?

Marquardt: “Our drivers are just as much a part of the overall DTM package as the car and the teams. As such, we will also be looking closely at this area. Our goal has to be to remain as compact as possible, both in qualifying and the race. This season, we have not always been as successful in this regard as we were in the second qualifying session at the Nürburgring, when five of our six drivers set times within one tenth of a second of each other. We are also performing an analysis to identify the cause of this.”

Read more

Generally speaking, how many seats are up for grabs?

Marquardt: “We are planning on at least six BMW cars for next year’s DTM. Whether there will be a private BMW team remains to be seen. Our premise remains that the private team can cover the running costs itself. BMW will not take on any additional budget. That is not the underlying idea – and would not be expedient, neither for us nor the team. BMW has a very clear philosophy in that regard.”

Read more

Related articles.

BMW Motorsport Website

BMW i Andretti Motorsport present the BMW iFE.20 and its two drivers.

2019.10.15 |
Kick-off for Season 6: Presentation of the new BMW iFE.20 for Season 6 of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship on the social web.
Read more
BMW Motorsport Website

Turner Motorsport wins GTD class with BMW M6 GT3 at IMSA finale – Podium for BMW Team RLL.

2019.10.14 |
GTD triumph for Turner Motorsport with the BMW M6 GT3 at the Petit Le Mans. Connor De Phillippi, Tom Blomqvist and Colton Herta make it onto the GTLM podium at Road Atlanta.
Read more
BMW Motorsport Website

BMW Customer Racing: Highlights of the weekend.

2019.10.14 |
Nick Yelloly and FIST-Team AAI win driver and team titles in the China GT Championship. Six class wins for the BMW teams in the VLN. The BMW Customer Racing weekend at a glance.
Read more
BMW Motorsport Website

Colin Turkington is crowned BTCC champion.

2019.10.14 |
Dramatic British Touring Car Championship finale with title wins for Colin Turkington and BMW.
Read more
BMW Motorsport Website

BMW i Andretti Motorsport Season Kick-Off on Facebook and YouTube.

2019.10.11 |
Stage clear for the new BMW iFE.20: On Monday at 17:00 (CEST), BMW i Andretti Motorsport will present their car for Season 6 of Formula E. The BMW Motorsport #icelebrate challenge on TikTok will also be launched at the same time.
Read more
BMW Motorsport Website

Alexander Sims will continue to represent BMW i Andretti Motorsport.

2019.10.09 |
Driver line-up for Season 6 decided: Alexander Sims will contest his second Formula E season with BMW i Andretti Motorsport and will be Maximilian Günther’s team-mate.
Read more
Show more