DTM: Mike Rockenfeller wins DTM round at Brands Hatch
After 98 laps on the high-speed track at Brands Hatch, England, Mike Rockenfeller is the beaming winner of the second DTM round in 2013. The Audi driver, who had started from the pole position, finished with an advantage of 7.641 seconds over last year’s DTM Champion Bruno Spengler (BMW). Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) crossed the finish line in third place. However, after the checkered flag had come down, the Briton received a 5-second time penalty for disregarding a yellow flag which caused him to drop to sixth place. The place on the podium was inherited by his brand colleague Robert Wickens.
Augusto Farfus (BMW), the winner of the opening race at Hockenheim, was running in second place for 65 laps but then had to stop his BMW M3 DTM on the finish straight due to a technical defect. All of the three premium manufacturers involved in the DTM, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, rely on clutch high-tech from ZF Friedrichshafen AG. The series continues in two weeks from now with the third race of the season at Spielberg (Austria).
Results, Brands Hatch (GB), round 2, DTM, May 17-May 19, 2013:
1. Mike Rockenfeller, Audi, 1h 11m 28.719s, ZF
2. Bruno Spengler, BMW, + 7.641s, ZF
3. Robert Wickens, Mercedes-Benz, + 24.368s, ZF
4. Marco Wittmann, BMW, + 24.964s, ZF
5. Joey Hand, BMW, + 26.076s, ZF
6. Gary Paffett, Mercedes-Benz, + 27.071s, ZF
7. Mattias Ekström, Audi, + 36.523s, ZF
8. Christian Vietoris, Mercedes-Benz, + 38.940s, ZF
9. Timo Scheider, Audi, + 39.519s, ZF
10. Pascal Wehrlein, Mercedes-Benz, + 40.290s, ZF
Drivers’ standings:
1. M. Rockenfeller, 29 points; 2. B. Spengler, 28; 3. A. Farfus, 25; 4. G. Paffett, 20; 5. C. Vietoris, 19; 6. D. Werner, 18; 7. J. Hand, 16; 8. R. Wickens, 15; 9. M. Wittmann, 14; 10. T. Scheider, 10.
Manufacturers’ standings:
1. BMW, 101 points; 2. Mercedes-Benz, 56; 3. Audi, 45.
Nürburgring 24 Hours: BMW Z4 with brilliant recovery in second place
About half an hour before race end, the BMW Z4 of the BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS, in which a clutch from ZF Friedrichshafen AG is installed, grabbed second place in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring and commandingly defended it to the finish. In the end, the drivers, Maxime Martin, Andrea Piccini, Yelmer Buurman and Richard Göransson, were only trailing the winning car by around two and a half minutes.
Six other cars – the #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra, the #20 BMW Z4 GT3, the #18 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, the #4 and #3 Audi R8 LMS ultra plus the #7 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 #7 – whose teams rely on clutches from ZF Friedrichshafen took positions five to ten.
The 41st running of the German endurance classic will go down in history as a race with a seemingly never-ending break. Between 23:00 on Sunday and 08:00 on Monday, the cars were stopped. Race control had interrupted the event after torrential rains due to catastrophic visibility.
Results, 41st ADAC Zurich 24-hour race Nürburgring, May 19-May 20, 2013
1. Bleekemolen/Edwards/Schneider/Thiim, Mercedes-Benz, 88 laps
2. Buurman/Göransson/Martin/Piccini, BMW, + 2m 39.781s, ZF
3. Bastian/Graf/Jäger/Seyffarth, Mercedes-Benz, - 1 lap
4. Arnold/Jäger/Roloff/Seyffarth, Mercedes-Benz, - 1 lap
5. Fässler/Rockenfeller/Stippler/Winkelhock, Audi, - 1 lap, ZF
6. Adorf/Hürtgen/Klingmann/Tomczyk, BMW, - 1 lap, ZF
7. Bernhard/Dumas/Lieb/Luhr, Porsche, - 1 lap, ZF
8. Ammermüller/Stuck/Stuck/Stippler, Audi, - 2 laps, ZF
9. Biela/Jöns/Ludwig/Rusinov, Audi, - 2 laps, ZF
10. Lamy/Mücke/Simonsen/Turner, Aston Martin, - 2 laps, ZF
Other results:
Results, Nürburgring, Nordschleife (D), round 2, Porsche Carrera Cup, May 17-May 19, 2013:
1. Jaap van Lagen, Porsche, 34m 51.206s, ZF
2. Philipp Eng, Porsche, + 0.896s, ZF
3. Nicki Thiim, Porsche, + 1.258s, ZF
4. Kévin Estre, Porsche, + 1.865s, ZF
5. Norbert Siedler, Porsche, + 7.399s, ZF
6. Sean Edwards, Porsche, + 7.896s, ZF
7. Christian Engelhart, Porsche, + 24.951s, ZF
8. Pieter Schothorst, Porsche, + 34.876s, ZF
9. Connor de Phillippi, Porsche, + 39.446s, ZF
10. Christopher Zoechling, Porsche, + 42.361s, ZF
Drivers’ standings:
1. K. Estre, 54 points; 2. S. Edwards, 46; 3. J. van Laagen, 44; 4. N. Thiim, 42; 5. C. Engelhart, 41; 6. N. Siedler, 34; 7. P. Eng, 33; 8. R. Lukas and C. de Phillippi, 18 each; 10. F. Fernández Laser and A. Riberas, 16 each