The BMW M Motorsport teams decided to risk it all on Sunday when it looked like the track was drying out at the start of the race, prompting van der Linde and Rast to put on slicks. Wittmann followed suit after the first of two warm-up laps, while the remainder of the field started on wet-weather tyres. The three BMW M works drivers initially fell back on the moist surface, but were able to progress as conditions improved.

Had the weather held until the pit-stop window opened 20 minutes into the race, the tyre gamble may have paid off. However, the strategy was torpedoed by a rain shower after about a quarter of an hour. During the laps preceding the regular pit stop, the BMW trio lost so much time that a points finish was now out of reach. Wittmann finished 16th, with van der Linde and Rast in 17th and 19th positions. On his debut DTM weekend, Sandro Holzem was the best-placed BMW driver in 15th position, a result that saw him score his first DTM point. The second Project 1 driver had started on wet-weather tyres. This bad luck with the weather was a particularly bitter pill to swallow for van der Linde and Wittmann, as they had qualified in second and fifth respectively.

“In principle, we made pretty decent progress this weekend and scored good points on Saturday as the best-placed BMW. Things also looked very good after qualifying on Sunday. Unfortunately, the team and I then made the wrong strategy decision at the start of the race. We thought it would stay dry for longer, which is why we came in after the first warm-up lap to put on slicks. That helped me to be the fastest car out there for the early laps, but when the rain returned it put paid to our strategy. That is very disappointing, but it can happen sometimes.”