MOTORSPORT: BMW's big weekend in DTM

Winning a race in Germany's version of V8 Supercars is a big achievement in itself. But what BMW did on the weekend was just ridiculous, as the Bavarian brand turned Germany's premier racing category into a one-make race.

First, Argentinian racer Augusto Farfus claimed pole ahead of three other BMWs in qualifying for Race One at Zandvoort in The Netherlands. BMW claimed seven of the top 10 qualifying spots. Then Portuguese driver Antonio Felix da Costa backed that up by heading a BMW 1-2-3-4 in qualifying for the second race.

The domination continued in the races, with Germany's reigning DTM champion, Marco Wittmann, heading home a BMW 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. Da Costa finished second, in front of Belgian Maxime Martin, Farfus, ex-DTM champ Bruno Spengler, ex-F1 driver Timo Glock and Tom Blomqvist (the son of 1984 World Rally Champion, Stig).

You had to look down to eighth place to find the first non-BMW, driven by another ex-DTM champ, Mike Rockenfeller in an Audi RS5 DTM, while Pascal Wehrlein could only manage 10th in the leading Mercedes-Benz. Benz did have a contender in the middle of the BMW armada, though Gary Paffett speared into the gravel trying to pass Farfus for fourth, then ended the race in 11th.

To make that result even more astounding, BMW only had eight cars in the 24-car field. The unlucky Bavarian loser, former DTM champ Martin Tomczyk, missed out on the party when he failed to finish.

By those lofty standards, having da Costa lead home a 1-2-3-4-5 in the second race must have almost felt like a disappointment for BMW.

The 25-year-old Wittmann needed the boost, too, lurking down in sixth in the championship without a win all year. British Audi driver Jamie Green still leads the championship despite a 19th and a 13th in Zandvoort.

DTM cars are specialised Formula-style racers with massive aerodynamic downforce, all disguised as Audi A5, BMW 4-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class road cars.