Following Lucas Auer’s podium finish at Zolder last weekend, it was Robert Kubica’s turn this weekend, as he took his first podium finish of the season and of his DTM career at Zolder yesterday, finishing third.
Kubica was competing for the privateer BMW customer team ART Grand Prix in the 16th race of the 2020 DTM season in his BMW M4 DTM in an eventful race that saw numerous cars retire. Timo Glock finished fourth in the iQOO BMW M4 DTM.
South African driver Sheldon van der Linde in the Shell BMW M4 DTM and German Marco Wittmann in the Schaeffler BMW M4 DTM also scored points, finishing seventh and eighth respectively.
Retirements included Jonathan Aberdein in the CATL BMW M4 DTM, Austrian Philipp Eng in the ZF BMW M4 DTM and fellow countryman Lucas Auer in his BMW Bank M4 DTM. All of them retiring due to race collisions. As a result, Glock is currently the best-placed BMW driver in the drivers’ standings, in fifth place with 116 points.
Following the race, BMW Group Motorsport Director, Jens Marquardt said:
“Congratulations to Robert Kubica and ART Grand Prix on their first DTM podium with the BMW M4 DTM. I am delighted that the hard work of our privateer customer team has been rewarded with this third place as we approach the end of the season. Like Robert Kubica, Timo Glock drove a faultless race and finished fourth to score some important points in the drivers’ championship. Apart from that, it was a disappointing race for us, even though Sheldon van der Linde and Marco Wittmann did score points by finishing seventh and eighth. We will have to take another careful look at the accidents involving Jonathan Aberdein, Philipp Eng and Lucas Auer. The crucial aspect is that Philipp Eng made it out of his car without injury. Many thanks to the Zolder track marshals who reacted extremely well to the fire on his car. We will do everything in our power to round off the season at Hockenheim with a highlight.”
Robert Kubica summed up the race by saying:
“This is a great moment for the entire ART Grand Prix Team after a difficult season. We had a lot to learn and needed to improve in many areas. Everything worked really well today. We managed to steer clear of all the problems and took our chances. We had really good pace in the decisive stages of the race. The tyres were an important factor today, so I didn’t push too hard after my pit stop and tried to keep them alive. I was able to build up a lead over the cars behind me and get home in third place.”
Timo Glock summed up his disappointing day by saying:
“That was a crazy race. Almost half of the starting field was out by the time we had completed about eight laps. I just concentrated on steering clear of all the incidents and managing the tyres. That worked well and I am pleased with fourth place, although I would have preferred to have reached the podium, of course. At the same time, I am delighted for Robert. He has earned this podium as he drove a great race. He has made progress race by race and his hard work has now been rewarded.”
The ninth and final round of the 2020 DTM season takes place on the weekend of November 7th and 8th at Hockenheim.
Author Bio:
Simon Burrell is Editor of Our Man Behind The Wheel, a professional photographer and former saloon car racing driver.
Photographs courtesy of BMW
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