Oschersleben (DE), 15th September 2013. Augusto Farfus (BR) is back on the top step of the podium: the BMW Team RBM driver produced a flawless race in Oschersleben (DE) to win the eighth race of the DTM season, coming home 6.298 seconds ahead of Mike Rockenfeller (DE, Audi). The 30-year-old laid the foundations for his victory at the start, when he got away cleanly from second on the grid to pass Jamie Green (GB, Audi) and take the lead by the time he reached the first corner. It was the 57th win for BMW Motorsport in the DTM and the 49th for the BMW M3. Farfus celebrated his third victory in the popular touring car series, and his second of the season.
In the Drivers’ Championship, Farfus moves up to second on 91 points after his third podium in a row. He is now the only driver still with a mathematical chance of catching championship leader Rockenfeller (124). BMW was able to retain its lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship with 276 points, ahead of Audi (267) and Mercedes-Benz (237).
It was an eventful race for the remaining BMW drivers, and particularly reigning champion Bruno Spengler (CA). The BMW Team Schnitzer driver made an outstanding start from sixth on the grid, immediately making up three places. Over the course of the race, however, he was unable to match the pace of the leaders in his BMW Bank M3 DTM and was forced to retire 11 laps from the end following a collision with Robert Wickens (CA, Mercedes).
Martin Tomczyk (DE) made a jump start from eighth on the grid, resulting in a drive-through penalty that saw the BMW Team RMG driver drop well back down the field. Tomczyk, at the wheel of the BMW M Performance Parts M3 DTM, eventually retired from the race shortly before the end with technical problems.
Marco Wittmann (DE, Ice-Watch BMW M3 DTM), Dirk Werner (DE, SAMSUNG BMW M3 DTM), Timo Glock (DE, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M3 DTM), Joey Hand (US, BMW M3 DTM) and Andy Priaulx (GB, Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M3 DTM) also missed out on the points, coming home 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 19th respectively. Hand did set the fastest lap of the race, clocking a time of 1:21.255 minutes on lap 14.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):
“That was a fantastic performance from Augusto Farfus and BMW Team RBM in an incredibly intense race. It is a great feeling to have one of our drivers back on the top step of the podium. This is Augusto’s third podium in a row and his second win of the year. That is very impressive. Behind him, the race was extremely turbulent at times. Given our grid positions, we should obviously have had one or two more cars in the points. We will now analyse that in greater detail. For now, however, we are celebrating our third win of the season, thanks to Augusto and BMW Team RBM.”
