 race of the weekend at the Norisring.){kind=link}
Bruno Spengler was a content man after the first race of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM)this afternoon at the Norisring, having taken a similar risk as eventual winner Pascal Wehrlein.
The Team MTEK driver was one of the few that decided to go onto slick Hankook tyres for the start, despite rain falling as the grid was lining up.
“Track conditions were difficult to work out today. As such, we needed to choose the correct tyre strategy before the race. My engineer selected slicks, which was precisely the right choice as I came through the field well,” explained the Franco-Canadian, who finished as the highest placed BMW driver in fifth.
“I’m very satisfied with how my race panned out, but I do know that we have a lot of work ahead of us. I’m pleased we were able to score points today.”
This now means that Spengler moves up to 15th in the drivers’ standings on 12 points, just behind defending champion Marco Wittmann.
The weather was also a factor in helping the Munich manufacturer to get four of their BMW M4 DTMs in the top ten, with Team Schnitzer’s Martin Tomczyk finishing behind Spengler, along with Augusto Farfus and Marco Wittmann finishing eighth and ninth respectively.
“By finishing fifth and sixth in adverse conditions, Bruno Spengler and Martin Tomczyk were particularly impressive – although they both started the race on different tyres,” explained Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt, who admitted that the team was expecting the adverse conditions.
“Overall, our speed was okay on a drying track. We have improved since the opening races and can build on this.”
BMW will be looking for a further points haul tomorrow, having outscored current manufacturer leader Audi by 18 points this afternoon, bringing their tally to 72.