DTM: Farfus wins, Spengler increases title chances
Augusto Farfus celebrated his debut victory in the DTM. The BMW racer wins the ninth and penultimate round of the 2012 DTM season at Valencia, Spain. On seeing the chequered flag, the Brazilian had an advantage of 8.406 seconds. The Frenchman Adrien Tambay (Audi) as the runner-up celebrated his podium premiere. Mattias Ekström (Audi) finished in third place with a deficit of 8.967 seconds.
After Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) was forced to retire after 27 laps due to a collision in the starting phase and Bruno Spengler – despite a drive-through penalty for jump-starting – managed to secure eight points for finishing in sixth place, the finale at Hockenheim three weeks from now will see a spectacular showdown for the title. Paffett is taking an advantage of merely three points over BMW driver Spengler into this finale. Strictly in terms of the math, Jamie Green (Mercedes-Benz), who came tenth at Valencia, with an 18-point deficit still has chances for the title as well.
All of the three premium manufacturers involved in the DTM, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, rely on clutch high-tech from ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
Results, Valencia (E), round 9, DTM, Sep 28 – Sep 30, 2012:
1. Augusto Farfus, BMW, 1h 08m 22.522s, ZF
2. Adrien Tambay, Audi, + 8.406s, ZF
3. Mattias Ekström, Audi, + 8.967s, ZF
4. Filipe Albuquerque, Audi, + 23.067s, ZF
5. Mike Rockenfeller, Audi, + 28.066s, ZF
6. Bruno Spengler, BMW, + 39.831s, ZF
7. Rahel Frey, Audi, + 48.318s, ZF
8. Andy Priaulx, BMW, + 49.562s, ZF
9. Dirk Werner, BMW, + 58.327s, ZF
10. Jamie Green, Mercedes-Benz, + 1m 10.596s, ZF
Drivers’ standings:
1. G. Paffett, 127 points; 2. B. Spengler, 124; 3. J. Green, 109; 4. M. Rockenfeller, 85; 5. M. Ekström, 81; 6. E. Mortara, 74; 7. M. Tomczyk, 69; 8. A. Farfus, 54; 9. A. Tambay, 28; 10. F. Albuquerque, 26.
Manufacturers’ standings:
1. Audi, 327 points; 2. Mercedes-Benz, 296; 3. BMW, 286.