Photo: DTM Media

Maxime Martin loses his grid spot for Race 2

BMW Motorsport driver Maxime Martin has been demoted to the last starting grid position after breaking the parc fermé regulations in order to have his car repaired, after his accident during qualifying.

The Belgian driver from Team RBM was flying and had set the best lap of the session when, with eight minutes to go, lost the rear of his M4 DTM at Turn 9, crashing heavily sideways against the barriers. The session was red flagged and Martin was unhurt, but his car had to be recovered with damage.

Fellow BMW driver Marco Wittmann went onto scoring the pole position, with Martin falling to third place in the final classification.

The BMW Motorsport mechanics are working on the Belgian’s car, having to break the parc fermé regulations in order to do their best to have it ready for Race 2, with the DTM having a very tight timetable this weekend because of TV coverage issues due to clashes with the Olympics.

The stewards have decided that, due to the parc fermé regulations infringement, Maxime Martin has had his qualifying time deleted, and will have to start the race from the last position on the grid or the pitlane, should the car not be ready in time for the start procedure.

The start of Race 2 is scheduled for 13:13 local time.