BMW Motorsport News – Issue 16/13.
Whether in the DTM, the American Le Mans Series, or countless other championships: week after week BMW teams and drivers around the world do battle for points, victories and titles. Away from the track too, members of the large BMW Motorsport family around the world are also creating headlines. The “BMW Motorsport News” now allows us to regularly summarise all the action for you in a compact and informative manner. This way, you are always up to speed.
DTM: Perfect start to the new season.
BMW Motorsport made a dream start to the 2013 DTM season at the Hockenheimring (DE). Augusto Farfus (BR) and Dirk Werner (DE) came home first and second to present BMW with its first one-two since returning to the series in 2012. Defending champion Bruno Spengler (CA), Joey Hand (US) and rookie Marco Wittmann (DE) were also in the points, finishing fifth, seventh and ninth at the 4.574-kilometre circuit.
Three questions for … Augusto Farfus.
Augusto, one year on from your first ever DTM race and here you are again on the podium. Can you talk about your emotions?
Augusto Farfus: “Saying I am happy seems almost insufficient. A year ago I was a rookie. I was also starting from 19th on the grid. I had to be realistic about my first race, but I was still disappointed not to have a better start in the series. Now I am ecstatic. I have realised a dream and a very important one. I am proud to be driving the best racing car in the world in the best touring car series in the world.”
There was a lot of speculation about how the introduction of the DRS and soft option tyres would affect the racing. What is your opinion on their effect?
Farfus: “Both have proved a hundred per cent successful. Any fan who was sitting in the grandstands today must have been thrilled by the show we put on. I never seemed to stop fighting for my win. The DRS was doing its job. Hankook worked hard on producing the option tyre and just look at the results and you can see they also spiced up the racing.”
With all the action what sort of strategy was the best today?
Farfus: “I think one where the team was ready to react to any circumstances. Who knew that on lap six two cars would need to be retrieved from the track and so this would affect the strategy. It gave the green light for all but very few of the drivers to pit, and this set the course for the race. The only problem from my point of view was that I was never sure who I should be racing with, and it gave the team a pretty hard job to read the race properly and keep a very close track of who was a threat. On many occasions I would see someone in front or behind and have to ask if I was racing them. Luckily I have a great team in BMW Team RBM and so got the correct advice.”
--
FIA WTCC: Bennani on the podium in Hungary.
Following victory for Tom Coronel (NL) a week ago, the BMW teams also enjoyed a successful weekend when the FIA World Touring Car Championship pulled into Budapest (HU) for its latest round. In race one at the Hungaroring, Proteam driver Mehdi Bennani (MA) and Coronel finished fifth and sixth to score valuable points in their BMW 320 TCs. Bennani fared even better in race two, coming home in second place to secure his place on the podium for the second year in a row. He was also the best-placed privateer in both races. Coronel was sixth, with his ROAL team-mate Darryl O’Young (HK) finishing tenth. BMW driver Franz Engstler (DE) was involved in an accident and was examined in a nearby hospital in Budapest. He has now been discharged.
BTCC: More good results for Turkington.
Colin Turkington (GB) of the ebay Motors Team in Thruxton (GB) was once again the most successful BMW representative in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). At the wheel of the BMW 125i M Sport, the 2009 champion finished sixth, 11th and tenth in the day’s three races.
Italian GT Championship: BMW Z4 GT3 in action at season-opener.
This season’s Italian GT Championship got underway with two races in Misano (IT). Last year’s champions, ROAL Motorsport, are once again flying the flag for BMW in the series with two BMW Z4 GT3s. In the first race, Stefano Comandini (IT) and Stefano Colombo (IT) crossed the finish line in fourth, with team-mate Michela Cerruti (IT) finishing seventh. In race two, Cerruti finished sixth to earn the bragging rights within the team, as Comandini/Colombo came home in eighth.