Marco Wittmann (born November 24, 1989 in Fürth ) is a German racing driver . From 2009 to 2011 he drove in the Formula 3 Euro Series , where he was runner-up in 2010 and 2011. He has been competing in the DTM since 2013 . There he was the overall winner in 2014 and 2016.
Wittmann began his motorsport career at the age of six in 1996 in kart racing , in which he was active until 2007. Among other things, he won the German Junior Kart Championship in 2004. In 2007 he switched to formula racing and competed for Josef Kaufmann Racing in the German Formula BMW . With two victories, he finished fifth in the overall standings. He also started at the world finals of Formula BMW, where he finished second behind the Austrian Philipp Eng . After the German and British Formula BMW were merged, Wittmann started in the newly created European Formula BMW in 2008 and stayed with Josef Kaufmann Racing. Although he only won one race, he secured the runner-up title behind his team-mate Esteban Gutiérrez thanks to ten further podium finishes .
Wittmann at the Formula 3 Euro Series at the Hockenheimring (2010)
After two years in Formula BMW, Wittmann switched to the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2009 . Starting for Mücke Motorsport , he was unable to keep up with one of his three teammates, and at the end of the season he finished 16th overall. He achieved his best position of the season in the last race of the season, in which he finished fourth. As Mirko Bortolotti, a guest driver, crossed the finish line ahead of him, Wittmann received the points for third place. In 2010 he contested his second season in the Formula 3 Euro Series for the French racing team Signature . After starting the season well with second place, he won his first race in the Formula 3 Euro Series one race weekend later in Hockenheim . At the end of the season, Wittmann lost to his teammate Edoardo Mortara and became runner-up. He also finished third in the 2010 Formula 3 Masters . In 2011 , Wittmann again competed in the Formula 3 Euro Series for Signature. He won five races and was on the podium a total of thirteen times. As the best Volkswagen driver, he finished the season with 285 points in second place in the drivers' standings behind Roberto Merhi , who had scored 406 points. Wittmann also took part in the FIA Formula 3 Trophy 2011 and was only not entitled to points at the first event. He won two races, including the Grand Prix de Pau , and was also runner-up behind Merhi in this competition. If Wittmann had been entitled to points in every race, he would have won the trophy. At the end of the year, Wittmann completed DTM test drives for BMW .
Marco Wittmann winning the 2014 DTM in Hockenheim
In 2012 , Wittmann was a BMW DTM test driver. In addition, he took part in individual long-distance races. In 2013 , Wittmann received a regular DTM cockpit at BMW. He started for the MTEK team . Already in his debut race he scored points in ninth place. After finishing fourth one race later, he achieved his first podium finish in the DTM and his best result of the season with a second place in the third race of the season in Spielberg . He finished his debut season in eighth place overall. In 2014 , Wittmann switched to Reinhold Motorsport within the BMW team . He won his first DTM race at the season opener in Hockenheim. More victories followed on the Hungaroring , in Spielberg and on the Nürburgring . In the third from last race, sixth place was enough for him to win the overall victory early. This made him the youngest German DTM champion to date.
In 2015 Wittmann competed again for Reinhold Motorsport in the DTM. As the defending champion, he decided to use the number 1 as his starting number. For his further career he chose the number 11. In Zandvoort he won the first race. Two more podium placements followed. He finished the season in sixth place overall. In 2016 , Wittmann completed his fourth DTM season for Reinhold Motorsport. He won a race in Spielberg, Wolokolamsk and on the Nürburgring. He prevailed in the title duel with 206 to 202 against Mortara, who had won more races, and again won the overall standings. Wittmann benefited from having finished in the top 8 in 15 of 18 races.
Personal
Wittmann is a trained coachbuilder. In 2007 he was managed by Willi Weber . From 2008 to 2011 Gravity Sport was responsible for its management.