BMW’s Martin Tomczyk says it was a ‘different story’ for him in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters race at the Red Bull Ring, after he scored his best result of the season so far with fourth.
Tomczyk qualified in 11th position for the sixth round of the season and was up to sixth by the end of the opening lap, thanks to a superb start.
The Schnitzer driver then stood to benefit when Mercedes’ Robert Wickens and Audi’s Jamie Green in front of him were penalised.
Although later passed by championship leader Marco Wittmann, Tomczyk also benefitted from the retirement of Mercedes’ Pascal Wehrlein to score his best result since August 2012.
“BMW’s pace was definitely there today, and we showed that on the track,” said Tomczyk, who moves up to 14th in the championship. “We can be extremely happy with today.”
The German former champion admits that he needs to improve his qualifying performances if he is to emulate Sunday’s performance more often in the future – Tomczyk has been eliminated from qualifying in Q1 for the two meetings prior to Spielberg.
“I always knew we were never lacking speed in the race, but I never started from a good enough position,” admitted the 32-year-old. “It was a different story this time – and look what the result was.
“I still have problems in qualifying, and we must continue to work on this. Today I came through from 11th to fourth. If I can start from even further up the grid, then I can also look to finish even higher. Because of this, I am now looking forward to the next race.”
BMW Team Schnitzer’s Team Principal Charly Lamm praised Tomczyk for putting a performance that saw him return to the sharp end of the field once again.
“We are obviously also delighted that Martin Tomczyk, after some difficult races, was able to challenge at the front of the field again and to finish fourth,” said Lamm. “That gives me a lot of confidence ahead of the rest of the season.”