The first race of the 2017 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters saw a great battle between eventual race winner Lucas Auer and runner-up Timo Glock, with the pair trying to outwit each other in the last six minutes of the race at Hockenheim.
Glock, who is now running with Team RMG alongside defending champion Marco Wittmann, is at the sharp end of the points table after a great showing around the 4.574-km circuit.
It was the first time since Spielberg last season that the 35-year-old has seen the podium, where he also took a win in the second race of that weekend. He dedicated the result to Stefan Reinhold’s outfit, who he said “absolutely deserve this result.”
“To stand on the podium after the opening race is fantastic,” said Glock, who admitted that his M4 DTM was only just ready before the weekend, but felt it was working from the moment it hit the track.
“My guys at BMW Team RMG have a lot of hard work behind them. I had a good start and a good opening lap. I passed Gary [Paffett] straight away, but wasn’t able to pull clear and get him out of the DRS window.
“That meant I had to defend hard – with everything I have learned in the past. It was really good fun.”
Glock had no real answer for the sensational pace shown by Auer in the opening stages of the race, but the German was able to close the gap to the Mercedes driver in the final stages, before the pair really started their battle for the win.
“Towards the end, I thought that Lucas was playing games with me and simply saving his tyres,” said Glock, who said that the race was a good show for the fans, with the top seven separated by just under seven seconds at the end of the race.
“However, he was actually having real difficulties, so I gave it everything. It was not quite enough in the end, but I am definitely happy with second place.”