A tight street circuit and temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius were the key ingredients for Saturday’s 40-minute sprint race at Norisring. The unique, 2.3 kilometre four-corner track in the heart of Nuremberg hosts the fourth round of the 2016 DTM season, where Augusto Farfus finished today’s race in 11th in his Shell BMW M4 DTM.
In this morning’s qualifying, crucial on a short and tight street circuit only consisting of short straights, chicanes and hairpins, the BMW Team MTEK driver was 12th. After 40 minutes of racing in extremely hot conditions, Augusto crossed the line just outside the points. He summed up the day with mixed emotions – on one side, he had hoped for more, on the other side, he sees clear progress after the difficult round three weeks ago at Lausitzring.
“We couldn’t get a good balance for the race,” Augusto reported. “I was hoping to find a better solution for after qualifying and it didn’t happen, unfortunately. It’s a shame, especially as we missed the points by only a really tiny amount; I think we are making some steps, but maybe they weren’t big enough. It’s good to have another race tomorrow where we can hopefully get some points back.”
The conditions, which made the day a real challenge for all who had to work in the hot garage tents and inside the even hotter racing car cockpits, were no problem for Augusto.
“I’m Brazilian, so I like this weather, but I’m prepared for anything,” he mused. Predictions of wild weather proved wide of the mark for today’s race, but storms could play their part for the second race on Sunday. “I heard some rumours about thunderstorms, and bad weather for tomorrow’s race, but I’m sure we’ll make the best of whatever we get.”
Sunday’s programme for Augusto and BMW Team MTEK goes like this: the Shell BMW M4 DTM will rejoin the track for free practice tomorrow morning from 09.00 to 09.30, qualifying will take place from 10.50 to 11.10, and the 60-minute race, the eighth race of the season, will be started at 13.10.
