Priaulx stays out of trouble in Hockenheim
Andy Priaulx’s sixth-place finish at the Hockenheimring was BMW’s best in its much heralded return to the DTM Series. The next BMW M3 DTM across the line was the thirteenth-place car of Joey Hand. Gary Paffett won the race in his Mercedes AMG-C Coupe ahead of his teammate Jamie Green and Mattias Ekström in an Audi A5-DTM.
Dirk Werner, who had started his BMW a strong third on the grid, got off to a slow start, and was spun by Mercedes racer Ralf Schumacher early in the race. BMW’s Bruno Spengler, directly behind Schumacher at the time, could not avoid running into the Mercedes; he soon retired from competition. Schumacher was given a drive through penalty for avoidable contact.
BMW’s Martin Tomczyk, the reigning DTM champion, retired after being forced off the track. Joey Hand was spun by Audi’s Edoardo Mortara, while Augusto Farfus, who finished fifteenth in the sixth BMW in the field, was set back by what he later described as “a miscommunication ahead of the pit stop.”
The fastest race lap turned by a BMW M3 DTM driver was Priaulx’s 1:35.406. Green’s Mercedes turned the fastest lap of the race, a 1:34.901. The fastest lap for Audi was a 1:35.342 set by Mortara.
Reflecting on BMW’s return to DTM, BMW motorsport director Jens Marquardt said, “On the whole, I am very happy with our DTM comeback. Nobody really knew what the balance of power would be at the start of the new DTM era. The unexpectedly strong performance in qualifying on Sunday, and the good sixth place achieved by an in-form Andy in Sunday’s race are just reward for the hard work put in by our entire team. A huge compliment and thank you to all the BMW teams and everyone at BMW Motorsport. We have taken the first step – and we will continue to pursue our path. It is good news for the fans that the three manufacturers are at a similar level. We will have to wait and see how we fare at the other circuits on the calendar. We are well aware of the huge challenge we face in such a fiercely competitive series as the DTM. Our competitors have many more years of experience than we do. We want to overcome that advantage as soon as possible.”
The series runs again next weekend on the Lausitzring.—Brian S. Morgan, motorsports editor, bmwcca.org
