Augusto Farfus leaves the Hockenheimring with a spring in his step, after finishing third in Sunday’s DTM race in the Upper Rhine valley. The Brazilian can also be buoyed by the news he was joined by five other BMW M4 DTMs in the top ten finishers.
It was important for the BMW Team MTEK driver to bounce back after a disastrous Saturday race, and he did just that. He qualified on the front row of the grid with his Shell BMW M4 DTM, and, despite a disappointing start and a hectic race, converted it to his first podium of the season. “I think it was good to get back on the podium,” he enthused afterwards. “Yesterday was a disaster, but today BMW managed to capitalise and get all the points we could have done today.”
Farfus was the best of the BMWs for much of the race, passing Maxime Martin on the back straight early on, then running consistently and gaining places until he found himself in second place. “Once I passed Maxime, it looked good, as we did a great pitstop and a good out lap, and from there it looked pretty good. With something like 14 laps to go, I felt the rear tyres were starting to go and I knew it would be difficult.”
He was reeled in by fellow BMW Motorsport driver Timo Glock and had to settle for third behind the German, whose car was faster as the race drew towards the end. “It’s a shame; I didn’t have the pace at the end because I lost grip at the rear. The tyre drop off was beyond what I expected, Timo had the best car today and he managed to catch me, pass me and then pull away a bit too. I always want to win every race, but if we’re looking at the championship we have to be careful, and move step-by-step. It’s a decent result for myself, for the team and for BMW Motorsport. Getting a good haul of points today was brilliant, I’m very pleased for BMW, it was a beautiful job from everyone.”
It was a story of continued improvement throughout the weekend for Farfus and the MTEK team after a torrid Saturday race saw him finish outside of the points, having qualified outside the top-ten. He never gave up, and the rewards were presented at the finish. “In today’s qualifying, even in the free practice, I could feel the car was in better shape, and we were closer to the frontrunners. Being on the front row after qualifying was great, and it gave me confidence that this could be our race.”
Augusto lies seventh in the drivers’ standings with 15 points after the first weekend of the season, the third best placed BMW driver.
The DTM circus now moves to picturesque Austria, where he and BMW Team MTEK will look to continue their season’s upward curve and begin to present a challenge in the championship. “Going to Spielberg, we have to be careful. It’s not going to be easy, but consistency is the key to a championship challenge. It’s not a particularly great track for us, but, with all these new formats, with the points changing, everything is possible.”
