The battle for the title in the DTM remains exciting: Bruno Spengler (CA), at the wheel of his BMW Bank M3 DTM, was first across the finish line at the “Motorsport Arena Oschersleben” to claim his third victory of the season in the eighth race of the year. After 51 laps of racing, the BMW Team Schnitzer driver, who started from pole, came home 0.629 seconds ahead of Mercedes driver Gary Paffett (GB).

Dirk Werner (DE) finished fourth in the E-POSTBRIEF BMW M3 DTM to record his best result in the DTM. He was followed over the line by Augusto Farfus (BR, Castrol EDGE BMW M3 DTM) in fifth, with the Brazilian also scoring valuable points. In total, BMW picked up 47 points in Oschersleben – more than in any other DTM race in 2012.

Joey Hand (US, SAMSUNG BMW M3 DTM) narrowly missed out on a place in the top ten after finishing 11th. However, Hand can still be happy with the way he fought his way back through the field having started from 20th on the grid. The race was less successful for Andy Priaulx (GB, Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M3 DTM) and Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M3 DTM), who both had to retire before the end of the race.

In the drivers’ standings, Spengler now has 116 points to his name and has reduced the gap to leader Paffett to just 11 points. Tomczyk is sixth on 69 points. Farfus (29) has moved up to eighth place, while Werner (17) climbed to 11th. Priaulx (14) and Hand (2) are currently 13th and 19th respectively.

Over the course of the race weekend, 71,000 fans followed the action at the “Motorsport Arena” and witnessed the 52nd win since 1984 for BMW in the DTM. Spengler had previously tasted victory at the Lausitzring (DE) and the Nürburgring (DE) this season. This was the first time BMW had finished the race with three cars in the top five. BMW Team Schnitzer celebrated a milestone: Spengler’s success in Oschersleben was the 20th victory in the DTM for Team Principal Charly Lamm’s (DE) outfit.

The stage is now set for a thrilling finish to the 2012 DTM. The ninth race will take place in Valencia (ES) in just two weeks, before the season draws to a close with the finale at the Hockenheimring (DE) on 21st October.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):

“That was an absolutely sensational weekend for us. Bruno Spengler claimed his third win of the season, while Dirk Werner and Augusto Farfus also scored excellent results. Joey Hand also produced a great race and just missed out on finishing in the points. On top of all that, we have scored more points this weekend than at any previous race. Our BMW M3 DTM completed its first test here in Oschersleben just over a year ago. If anyone had told us back then that we would have three pole positions and three victories to our name within a year, we probably would not have believed it possible. As such, this is a very emotional success for us.”

Charly Lamm (Team Principal, BMW Team Schnitzer):

“We have had a perfect weekend here in Oschersleben. It is unbelievable – the dream goes on. Compliments to both my drivers. Bruno Spengler and Dirk Werner were flawless and produced a sensational race. The strategy our engineers came up with also worked perfectly and the pit crew did a fantastic job. The triumph in Oschersleben is a bit of a milestone for us. Bruno has presented us with the 20th Schnitzer victory in the DTM. I can hardly find the words to express how happy I am. This season has been fantastic so far.”

Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal, BMW Team RMG):

“This weekend has been more difficult than we expected because in the end we were in a good position with Martin Tomczyk to score some decent points. But he had an accident at the start and then he lost some water and had to stop. The penalty for Martin certainly harmed us, but for the 00next weekend we start from zero again and he will be able to start where he would normally be. I am happy with Joey Hand, because he had struggled all weekend. However, Joey never gives up – and he almost finished in the points thanks to a great fight back.”

Bart Mampaey (Team Principal, BMW Team RBM):

“All in all I have mixed feelings again. Both our cars had a good start and Augusto Farfus made it through the first few corners cleanly. Andy Priaulx, on the other hand, was extremely unlucky to be blocked on the outside of turn one and suffer damage to the car. This meant he was not able to get a result. For Augusto it was a great race. We did well with our pit stop strategy. First, fourth and fifth for BMW in Oschersleben is fantastic.”

Bruno Spengler (car number 7, BMW Team Schnitzer, 1st):

“Today is a great day for BMW. We produced a fantastic team result. I have often been on the podium in Oschersleben, and now I have finally managed to win here. It was really close again at the end. Gary Paffett was getting closer and closer and really put me under pressure. However, my car was fantastic. I could not afford to make any mistakes – and thankfully I didn’t. Thanks to my team. They gave me an unbelievable car again.”

Dirk Werner (car number 8, BMW Team Schnitzer, 4th):

“I am really chuffed with my fourth place. That is my best DTM result so far. Unfortunately I did not quite make it onto the podium. I got off to a great start and tried to put the cars in front of me under pressure. However, it was not quite possible to catch Jamie Green today. Despite that, I think I have had a great weekend. Congratulations to my team-mate Bruno Spengler. He drove an outstanding race and fully deserved to win.”

Augusto Farfus (car number 16, BMW Team RBM, 5th):

“My start was the key to the result, but I also had a very strong pace, which definitely helped. Unfortunately we only found such a good set-up in time for the race. I think we have to learn from that. We were able to match the pace of the front runners. This gives me a lot of confidence. It was a great race.“

Joey Hand (car number 2, BMW Team RMG, 11th):

“The race for me was just a ton better than the rest of the weekend. I had a good start and a good clean couple of laps. I fought hard and managed not to get hit. In the last couple of races I have had aerodynamic parts knocked off the car in dog fights at the back of the field. The BMW Team RMG guys have really worked hard for me. I never thought I would be so happy with 11th, but I will take it today. I learnt a lot and have still finished every lap of the DTM this year.”

Andy Priaulx (car number 15, BMW Team RBM, 17th):

“I made a fantastic start and was up with Augusto Farfus and Martin Tomczyk, but then I got hit and fired off on the first corner. That immediately damaged my car with the splitter and the side taking the brunt of it. Then the car just wasn ‘t quick enough and I was a sitting duck. It was such a shame as I was up for a big race today. It is annoying as up to then the pace of the car had been good. Anyway, the good news is that BMW has won, so congratulations to Bruno Spengler.”

Martin Tomczyk (car number 1, BMW Team RMG, DNF):

“That just wasn’t my weekend. First the penalty for the incident in Zandvoort, then I hit the kerbs too hard in practice and damaged my car. In the race we had a problem with the cooling. In the end I just couldn’t match the pace of the others. It did not make sense to continue. We must now determine exactly what caused the fault.”