DTM: BMW driver Augusto Farfus is first winner in 2013
Augusto Farfus is the first 2013 DTM winner. With an advantage of 3.692 seconds the Brazilian crossed the finish line ahead of his BMW team-mate Dirk Werner, cheered on by the crowd (87,000 spectators throughout the weekend). Remarkably, Farfus started from position two while Werner advanced from grid position 20. That this was possible can, among other things, be ascribed to two innovations in the 2013 DTM: the introduction of the adjustable wing flap called DRS, which makes overtaking maneuvers easier for the driver following a vehicle, plus the new softer and thus faster option tires. Werner made optimum use of both features.
As the best Mercedes-Benz driver, Christian Vietoris took a podium. Behind Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) and the reigning Champion Bruno Spengler (BMW) Timo Scheider finished in sixth place and was thus the best driver of an Audi RS 5 DTM. Scheider had clinched the pole position the day before.
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, Hockenheim (D), round 1, DTM, May 03-May 05, 2013:
1. Augusto Farfus, BMW, 1h 10m 11.583s, ZF
2. Dirk Werner, BMW, + 3.692s, ZF
3. Christian Vietoris, Mercedes-Benz, + 9.675s, ZF
4. Gary Paffett, Mercedes-Benz, + 12.613s, ZF
5. Bruno Spengler, BMW, + 13.212s, ZF
6. Timo Scheider, Audi, + 13.753s, ZF
7. Joey Hand, BMW, + 14.100s, ZF
8. Mike Rockenfeller, Audi, + 14.477s, ZF
9. Marco Wittmann, BMW, + 17.894s, ZF
10. Roberto Merhi, Mercedes-Benz, + 19.537s, ZF
Drivers’ standings:
1. A. Farfus, 25 points; 2. D. Werner, 18; 3. C. Vietoris, 15; 4. G. Paffett, 12; 5. B. Spengler, 10; 6. T. Scheider, 8; 7. J. Hand, 6; 8. M. Rockenfeller, 4; 9. M. Wittmann, 2; 10. R. Merhi, 1.
Manufacturers’ standings:
1. BMW, 61 points; 2. Mercedes-Benz, 28; 3. Audi, 12.
WRC: Sébastien Ogier maintains World Championship lead
The Volkswagen factory drivers Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia finished Rally Argentina in second place and thus maintained their lead in the World Rally Championship. The Frenchmen, who in their Volkswagen Polo R WRC rely on a two-plate clutch and dampers from ZF, had taken the lead early on with five fastest times but lost it again after a driving mistake on the seventh special stage. Their team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala together with his co-driver Miikka Anttila advanced to third place on the final day and also scored important points in the Manufacturer’s World Championship, which continues to be led by Volkswagen. The Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen finished Rally Argentina in eighth place according to Rally2 regulations. His Volkswagen Polo R WRC uses a clutch and dampers of the ZF brand as well.
Results, Rally Argentina (RA), round 5, WRC, May 01–May 04, 2013:
1. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena, Citroën, 4h 35m 56.7s
2. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia, Volkswagen, + 55.0s, ZF
3. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila, Volkswagen, + 2m 00.8s, ZF
4. Evgeny Novikov/Ilka Minor, Ford, + 2m 36.7s
5. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul, Ford, +4m 40.5s
6. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen, Citroën, + 6m 23.9s
7. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson, Ford, + 11m 02.2s
8. Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula, Volkswagen, + 13m 22.1s, ZF
9. Dani Sordo/Carlos del Barrio, Citroën, + 13m 22.3s
10 .Martin Prokop/Michal Ernst, Ford, + 14m 07.6s
Drivers’ World Championship standings:
1. S. Ogier, 122 points; 2. S. Loeb, 68; 3. M. Hirvonen, 57; 4. J. Latvala, 49; 5. M. Østberg, 38; 6. T. Neuville, 35; 7. D. Sordo, 29; 8. E. Novikov, 27; 9. M. Prokop, 21; 10. N. Al-Attiyah, 20.
Constructors’ World Championship standings:
1. Volkswagen Motorsport, 154 points; 2. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT, 140; 3. Qatar M-Sport WRT, 73; 4. Qatar WRT, 46; 5. Abu Dhabi Citroën Total WRT, 29; 6. Jipocar Czech National Team, 23; 7. Volkswagen Motorsport 2, 14; 8. Lotos WRC, 12.
WEC: Audi one-two-three win at Spa-Francorchamps
At round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, Audi achieved a commanding one-two-three victory with the R18 e-tron quattro. All three vehicles, which are equipped with clutches from ZF Friedrichshafen AG, had also taken positions one, two and three in qualifying. After the six-hour race, Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer crossed the finish line as the winners ahead of their team-mates Loïc Duval/Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish and took the lead of the standings. Third place was taken by Marc Gené/Lucas di Grassi and Oliver Jarvis whose hybrid sports car had already been aerodynamically optimized for the Le Mans 24 Hours from June 22 to 23 and thus provided the Audi engineers with important data in preparation for the season’s pinnacle for comparison with the two sister cars. Fourth place went to Anthony Davidson, Stéphane Sarrazin and Sébastien Buemi on the last fielding of the 2012-spec Toyota TS030 Hybrid. ZF is Technical Partner of Toyota Racing.
Results, Spa-Francorchamps (B), round 2, WEC, May 02–May 04, 2013:
1. Lotterer/Tréluyer/Fässler, Audi, 6h 00m 55.971s, ZF
2. Kristensen/Duval/McNish, Audi, + 1m 05.815s, ZF
3. Gené/Jarvis/di Grassi, Audi, + 1m 54.992s, ZF
4. Davidson/Buemi/Sarrazin, Toyota, - 1 lap, ZF
5. Prost/Jani/Heidfeld, Lola-Toyota, - 3 laps, ZF
6. Belicchi/Beche/Cheng, Lola-Toyota, - 3 laps, ZF
7. Leventis/Watts/Kane, HPD, - 7 laps
8. Pérez Companc/Minassian/Kaffer, Oreca, - 11 laps
9. Pla/Heinemeier Hansson/Brundle, Morgan, - 11 laps
10. Dolan/Turvey/Luhr, Zytek, - 11 laps
Drivers’ World Championship standings:
1. M. Fässler, B. Tréluyer and A. Lotterer, 44 points each; 2. T. Kristensen, A. McNish and L. Duval, 43 each; 3. A. Davidson, S. Buemi and S. Sarrazin, 27 each; 4. N. Heidfeld, N. Jani and N. Prost, 20 each.
Manufacturers’ World Championship standings:
1. Audi, 51 points; 2. Toyota, 31.
Other results:
Results, Hockenheim (D), round 1, Porsche Carrera Cup, May 03-May 05, 2013:
Race 1
1. Kévin Estre, Porsche, 26m 35.714s, ZF
2. Sean Edwards, Porsche, + 0.685s, ZF
3. Christian Engelhart, Porsche, + 1.549s, ZF
4. Jaap van Lagen, Porsche, + 1.959s, ZF
5. Nicki Thiim, Porsche, + 2.797s, ZF
6. Norbert Siedler, Porsche, + 2.918s, ZF
7. Robert Lukas, Porsche, + 3.401s, ZF
8. Philipp Eng, Porsche, + 3.692s, ZF
9. Felipe Fernandez Laser, Porsche, + 9.343s, ZF
10. Connor de Phillippi, Porsche, + 10.026s, ZF
Race 2
1. Kévin Estre, Porsche, 34m 31.710s, ZF
2. Sean Edwards, Porsche, + 0.620s, ZF
3. Christian Engelhart, Porsche, + 1.995s, ZF
4. Nicki Thiim, Porsche, + 3.480s, ZF
5. Norbert Siedler, Porsche, + 7.716s, ZF
6. Jaap van Lagen, Porsche, + 8.055s, ZF
7. Robert Lukas, Porsche, + 17.066s, ZF
8. Felipe Fernandez Laser, Porsche, + 17.417s, ZF
9. Philipp Eng, Porsche, + 23.344s, ZF
10. Alex Riberas, Porsche, + 24.205s, ZF
Drivers’ standings:
1. K. Estre, 40 points; 2. S. Edwards, 36; 3. C. Engelhart, 32; 4. N. Thiim, 26; 5. J. van Laagen, 24; 6. N. Siedler, 22; 7. R. Lukas, 18; 8. F. Fernandez Laser, 15; 9. P. Eng, 15; 10. C. de Phillippi, 11.
Results, Hockenheim (D), round 1, Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup, May 03-May 04, 2013:
1. Nicola Larini, Volkswagen, 22m 02.189s, ZF
2. Kasper H. Jensen, Volkswagen, + 0.900s, ZF
3. Michelle Gatting, Volkswagen, + 3.402s, ZF
4. Kelvin van der Linde, Volkswagen, + 7.132s, ZF
5. Lukas Schreier, Volkswagen, + 7.450s, ZF
6. Nicolai Moller Madsen, Volkswagen, + 7.811s, ZF
7. Jordan Lee Pepper, Volkswagen, + 9.013s, ZF
8. Dennis Trebing, Volkswagen, + 10.401s, ZF
9. Jan Lammers, Volkswagen, + 11.721s, ZF
10. Ross Wylie, Volkswagen, + 12.211s, ZF
Drivers’ standings:
1. K. Jensen, 30 points; 2. M. Gatting, 24; 3. K. van der Linde, 20; 4. L. Schreier, 17; 5. N. Moller Madsen, 16; 6. J. Lee Pepper, 15; 7. D. Trebing, 14; 8. R. Wylie, 13; 9. M. Åhlin-Kottulinsky, 12; 10. M. Bäurle, 11.