– Marco Wittmann has just experienced the toughest race weekend of his career: The two-time DTM champion arrived at the home race of his Schubert team in Oschersleben with a gastrointestinal illness and lost five kilograms of body weight in four days!
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“I have never experienced losing five kilograms in such a short time – and accordingly, this was the most difficult race week for me,” says the BMW factory driver after his 220th DTM race, in which he nearly reached the podium finishing fourth, in an interview with Motorsport-Total.com.
Also in the ProSieben interview after the race, which Wittmann conducted sitting on the ground with Matthias Killing, the 36-year-old appeared completely drained – he had even received an infusion beforehand. To this day, he wonders where the illness came from.
“Extreme that I couldn’t keep anything down for four, five days”
“I think it was simply because the vacation was over,” jokes Wittmann, who was on holiday with his family in South Tyrol and Salzburg and suddenly developed symptoms three days after returning on Tuesday evening. “It started at 8 p.m.,” he says.
“For me, it was extreme that I really couldn’t keep anything down for four or five days in a row – and basically hardly any medication worked, which usually works quite well for me,” he recounts. “That was also a contributing factor to the enormous weight loss.”
Wittmann, who is 1.79 meters tall, normally weighs 72 kilograms. “We athletes are all at our weight optimum – when five kilograms drop off, it really takes a toll on the body,” he explains. “That was the main issue.”
How Wittmann countered with nutrition
The condition of the BMW factory driver had at least somewhat stabilized at the start of the race weekend, because after having to go to the bathroom hourly on Wednesday and Thursday, the interval increased to three to four hours from Friday.
“I was able to control the diarrhea quite well while driving,” says Wittmann, who mainly ate easily digestible food like “plain noodles, maybe with some carrots” during the race weekend and was supported by his team and physiotherapist.
“It was especially important to get energy,” says Wittmann. “The training sessions and qualifying weren’t the big problem, but the one-hour race distance was.”
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Infusions for Wittmann: “Handled by doctors Torsten knew”
For this reason, the BMW veteran even received an infusion on both days, which is only allowed in a small dose due to anti-doping regulations. “This was handled by doctors Torsten knew,” refers the Fürth native to the contacts of team principal Torsten Schubert, who is from the region and whose team is based in Oschersleben.
“We did it after qualifying because we had a good buffer,” says Wittmann, who thanks the DTM and his environment for having his back over the weekend.
Because while the BMW driver spent most of the time lying down in the truck or resting, team principal Schubert represented him at the pit walk and signed autographs. Wittmann was also excused from media appointments and the DTM autograph sessions in the fan zone, attending only the most necessary meetings with his engineers and aiming to be there for his fans again at the Nürburgring (SPONSORED LINK: Get tickets now for the 2026 DTM season!).
“I know what my body can do when adrenaline is involved”
Despite the extreme effort, Wittmann was faster than his teammate Kelvin van der Linde, who was just recovering from a Norisring crash, in both qualifying sessions and secured his best starting position in almost a year with third place on Sunday. In the final phase of the race, he almost displaced the dominant Manthey driver Thomas Preining from the podium and finished a strong fourth.
“You definitely notice that it becomes harder to maintain concentration,” Wittmann refers to the duel with Preining, where the extra effort took its toll. However, it is “not all that surprising” to him that he performed so well despite the health problems, he says himself.
“I know myself and my body – and I know what my body can achieve when adrenaline is involved,” explains Wittmann, who is known as a fighter. “I have also had races in the past where I pushed beyond my limits.”
Why there is no chance for Wittmann to recover
Only after the checkered flag was there “a brief moment” when “I got out of the car and had to sit down in the shade for a moment,” says Wittmann. “Drinking, maybe a bit of sugar intake, then a quick interview with Mr. Killing, who was so kind and sat next to me so I didn’t have to do it standing.”
Can Wittmann recover now? No chance, because this weekend the IMSA endurance race takes place in the USA at the Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake. Wittmann shares the LMDh BMW car with Austrian Philipp Eng in the 6-hour race. Since Monday, however, things have been “improving,” he reports.
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