Augusto Farfus ended Saturday at Austria’s Spielberg track with mixed emotions. He finished the first of the two races at the Red Bull Ring, host of the second weekend of the 2016 DTM season, in ninth, adding two more points to his tally. However, the BMW Team MTEK driver aims to do much better tomorrow, as the fast and flowing circuit in the Styrian mountains proved to be a good hunting ground for BMW today. Marco Wittmann and Tom Blomqvist secured a one-two for the German manufacturer, and a total of six BMW M4 DTM cars finished in the top ten.
The day started quite late for Augusto and BMW Team MTEK. The first practice was held in the early afternoon and qualifying for race one followed at 15.25 local time. The driver from Curitiba qualified 11th on the grid in his Shell BMW M4 DTM. The race itself did not start before early evening. In conditions that were still sunny and warm, Augusto improved by two positions over the 40-minute sprint and crossed the line in ninth.
“It was not an easy day,” Augusto summarised. “At least we managed to score some points, but, when you look at the potential of the BMW M4 DTM, we could have done a better job. Having said that, I started 11th, made up positions and finished ninth, iso it is okay. But we have to find some speed in the car. We are not where we should be, so it is good to have a Sunday where we can turn the page.”
The Brazilian hopes for a repetition of the season opener two weeks ago in Hockenheim, when he was second on the podium on Sunday after a difficult Saturday. “We have a good package and I think we can squeeze a little bit more out of it and get some more points. It would be great to follow the trend of Hockenheim from a bad Saturday to a good Sunday.”
The DTM cars will be back on the 4.326 kilometre track on Sunday for a third free practice session from 10.20 to 10.50. This is followed by qualifying for race two from 12.50 to 13.10. The fourth race of the 2016 season, which is 60 minutes long, starts at 15.10.
