It was a promising Saturday for Augusto Farfus at the Hungaroring near Budapest. The stage was set for the BMW Team RMG driver to score his first points of the season after no luck in the rounds at Hockenheim and the Lausitzring. In qualifying Augusto was the fastest BMW driver, securing sixth on the grid in his Shell BMW M4 DTM. But in the end, he once more had to overcome disappointment. Another driver’s mistake cost him the well-deserved points and he had to settle with 12th.
After qualifying Augusto was satisfied and confident: “I managed to get clean runs on both sets of tyres, and so I did two good laps. We managed to close the gap to the competitors and it is good to be back at the front after a long time fighting at the back. Now we just have to hang in there.”
In fact, the driver from Curitiba had a great opening stage of Saturday’s race. He even improved by one position and was lying comfortably in fifth, keeping up with the leading group. There was every chance for him to score a strong points paying position. But then lady luck left him again. At the re-start after a Safety Car period, another driver lost control of his car and hit Augusto’s Shell BMW M4 DTM, forcing it into a spin. Augusto was able to re-join the race, but had dropped back to 16th when he returned to the track from the gravel trap. After 34 laps, he crossed the line in 12th.
“What can I say? I am very disappointed,” Augusto commented after the race. “The weekend had started very well for us and we were on course for a good points finish. Then the Safety Car came out and I was hit and spun when the race was re-started. Again we are left empty handed.”
But he hopes that he and BMW Team RMG will be rewarded for all the hard work in tomorrow’s second race of the weekend: “Overall, we had a good race pace and the car was working well. It could have been a good race, and this fact makes us confident for tomorrow. I just need to look forward now.”
The action at the Hungaroring will start with a free practice session from 10.00 to 11.30. Sunday’s qualifying will be held from 12.00 to 12.30 and the 55-minute race will start at 15.18.
