BMW Team RBM’s Augusto Farfus (BR) finished third as the DTM made its debut at the “Moscow Raceway” to claim BMW Motorsport’s first podium finish since the race in Spielberg (AT).
Farfus started from third in the Castrol EDGE BMW M3 DTM and successfully defended this position over the final few laps, fending off the attention of Adrien Tambay (FR, Audi), who was on far fresher tyres. The podium was the fifth of Farfus’ DTM career and marked the seventh time a BMW driver had been on the podium in the 2013 season. Victory went to Audi driver Mike Rockenfeller (DE).
Joey Hand (US) also put on an impressive display in his BMW M3 DTM, fighting back from 15th on the grid to come home seventh. Therefore, both BMW Team RBM drivers finished in the points. Eighth went to Dirk Werner (DE) in the SAMSUNG BMW M3 DTM. The sixth race of the season was less successful for Bruno Spengler (CA), Werner’s team-mate at BMW Team Schnitzer. Starting from fourth, the defending champion’s BMW Bank M3 DTM was hit in the rear by Miguel Molina (ES, Audi) at the start of the third lap. The resulting spin saw Spengler drop to the back of the field. He was able to complete the race, but could do no better than 19th and leaves a DTM weekend empty-handed for the first time since the fourth race of the 2012 season in Spielberg.
It was also a disappointing afternoon for Marco Wittmann (DE, Ice-Watch BMW M3 DTM) in 14th, Timo Glock (DE, DEUTSCHE POST BMW M3 DTM) in 15th, Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M3 DTM) in 16th and Andy Priaulx (GB, Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M3 DTM) in 19th.
Rockenfeller continues to lead the Drivers’ Championship after his victory in Moscow. He now has 94 points to his name, 27 more than Spengler. Farfus moved into fifth on 48 points. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, BMW was able to defend its lead and now has 217 points.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):
“We are happy to be back on the podium after the last two difficult races. Furthermore, we had another two BMW M3 DTMs in the top ten. It was a great race from Augusto Farfus. Joey Hand and Dirk Werner were also in very good form. In contrast, Bruno Spengler’s race was over before it really got started after the collision with Miguel Molina, which was no fault of Bruno’s. That is a real shame. We hope this incident will not have a bigger impact on the Drivers’ Championship over the course of the season and will be looking to make up ground in the next race at the Nürburgring. Congratulations to Rocky and Audi on their deserved victory. Congratulations also to the organisers, who put on a very successful event in front of packed grandstands and 45,000 thrilled Russian fans. We felt very much at home here and would be more than happy to return.”
