Bruno Spengler starts from the second row for BMW – Three BMW M3 DTMs in the top ten.
Brands Hatch, 19th May 2012. The DTM qualifying at Brands Hatch (GB) lived up to its expectations and saw Bruno Spengler (CA) of BMW Team Schnitzer secure a place on the second row of the grid. The 28-year-old, at the wheel of the BMW Bank M3 DTM, clocked a time of 41.462 seconds to qualify third. Spengler was just 0.194 seconds behind Mercedes driver Gary Paffett (GB), who starts Sunday’s third race of the season from pole position.
Martin Tomczyk (DE) and Augusto Farfus (BR) also made it into the top ten at the 1.929-kilometre “Brands Hatch Circuit”. Having set the fastest time in his BMW M Performance Parts M3 DTM in the second qualifying session, Tomczyk set exactly the same time as Christian Vietoris (DE) in fourth place. This would have been sufficient for the BMW driver to progress to the final session, had Vietoris not been the first to set his time. As such, the Mercedes driver went through to the top-4 shootout in place of the reigning DTM champion. Farfus also impressed with excellent times in Q1 and Q2, eventually ending the third session in ninth in his Castrol EDGE BMW M3 DTM.
Joey Hand (US, SAMSUNG BMW M3 DTM) and local favourite Andy Priaulx (GB, Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M3 DTM) were unable to progress beyond the second qualifying session, and will start the race from 13th and 14th on the grid. Dirk Werner (DE) had to settle for 19th in the E-POSTBRIEF BMW M3 DTM.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):
“That was a good qualifying on a circuit, which we did not know at all before this weekend. We once again have three drivers in the top ten. We are very happy with Bruno’s third place. It was still looking very good for us towards the end of Q2. However, we have seen over the course of the weekend that it is very close here, and absolutely everything has to fall into place. Unfortunately that was not the case for us in the end. Despite this, Bruno put in a good performance on used tyres in Q4. Congratulations to the entire team.”
Bruno Spengler (car number 7, BMW Team Schnitzer, 3rd place):
“I can live with third place. It was very close here again. My lap in the fourth qualifying session was okay. My tyres already had one more lap under their belt, which made it a bit difficult. Qualifying was tough, but great fun. I think third place is a nice present for Charly and Dieter Lamm, whose birthday it is today. I am looking forward to the race now. I had Gary Paffett breathing down my neck the whole time at the Lausitzring. Hopefully I can annoy him a bit tomorrow and put him under pressure.”
Martin Tomczyk (car number 1, BMW Team RMG, 5th place):
“I am not a hundred per cent happy with my qualifying. My BMW M Performance Parts M3 DTM was really quick and perfectly set up. I’d like to thank my BMW Team RMG. The crew has worked brilliantly. The free practice sessions and the first qualifying sessions went really well. Unfortunately I did not manage to produce a better time at the crucial moment. There was more in it for us today.”
Augusto Farfus (car number 16, BMW Team RBM, 9th place):
“I had a chance to be further ahead, but unfortunately we could not squeeze the maximum out of the car in qualifying. I had a little bit too much oversteer and it cost me a few hundredths of a second, which means P4. In Brands everything is so tight so a small amount of time can make the difference, and here it did. I think we have a good car and the race pace is definitely good, so I am looking forward to tomorrow. Ninety eight laps here are definitely a lot, but with a good strategy and good race pace we can climb up the field.”
Joey Hand (car number 2, BMW Team RMG, 13th place):
“I set my fastest time of the weekend in qualifying. The car felt great. Unfortunately I still didn’t manage to get a better grid position. I just have to get to know the track better. It will be extremely important to get off to a good start in tomorrow’s race, in order to make up a few places.”
Andy Priaulx (car number 15, BMW Team RBM, 14th place):
“We have good performance in the BMW package and so I hoped to be higher up the grid. I had a few issues in qualifying and you can’t afford to have a single one. It is obvious the car has great potential. But I am really optimistic about the performance as a very small amount would have put me right in the top ten. We have got to learn from this and will try something more radical for me in warm-up. Maybe that can bring the performance I am looking for.”
Dirk Werner (car number 8, BMW Team Schnitzer, 19th place):
“I am disappointed with my qualifying. Everything looked very good on the first set of tyres. I was in 14th and would have made it into Q2. Then I got stuck in traffic on my flying lap. It was difficult to find a gap and that cost me a better place. Tomorrow’s race will not be easy from this position on the grid. It is almost impossible to overtake here.”
