Now into his 13th season, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters veteran, Gary Paffett, was not completely satisfied with the results he secured at the Hockenheim season opener this past weekend.
The Team ART driver would have to settle for fourth place in the main race of the weekend, but on general race pace, he was very strong, and could have potentially challenged eventual race winner Paul Di Resta for the victory.
After qualifying saw the Suffolk-based racer put his EURONICS C63 AMG DTM third on the grid, he was able to fight his way past for second place, closing the gap to the Scot rapidly.
This was before he received a drive-through penalty for an “unsafe release” into the path of Stuttgart stablemate Robert Wickens.
With time fast running out for the Briton, he would find his good run of form come to an end behind Team RBM’s Maxime Martin, having scythed his way through the field from 11th place.
“I had one of the fastest cars in today’s race and was in with a chance of winning it. To be honest, I’m really upset,” said the 2005 champion.
Along with being unable to progress further in the second race, he also had a fierce battle with Audi’s Mattias Ekström in the first race.
The Brit would finish 11th in a very heated exchange with the Swede, which saw damage to the front of his Mercedes, but he was still able to continue.
With the series now heading to the Red Bull Ring in just under a fortnight’s time, Paffett is currently eighth in the drivers’ standings on ten points, just ahead of Mücke Motorsport’s Christian Vietoris.