Maxime Martin the only BMW driver to score on a tough day at the Lausitzring

Maxime Martin was the only driver to score points for BMW on Saturday at the Lausitzring, after a myriad of race strategies didn’t produce the expected result for the Bavarian manufacturer.

Bruno Spengler had started from the penultimate spot on the grid and pitted on lap seven, but the Canadian went on to only be 14th in the race. 

Timo Glock qualified fifth, but a driving error in pushing too hard on his tyres before they were up to temperature caused him to lose several positions, eventually just missing the points in 11th place.

Martin, the Belgian driver from Team RBM, drove a tidy race, changing tyres on lap 18, but couldn’t resist the attacks of Audi’s René Rast who, on the very last lap of the race and with fresher tyres, overtook Martin for third place, with the BMW driver dropped to fourth.

“It was a tough race for BMW. I did my best but the other teams just had too much pace in the race” said Martin. “I was hoping for a podium finish, and I wasn’t far off. But in the end, it wasn’t quite enough. Nonetheless: I am happy to have scored some points again.”

The day turned sour for motorsport director Jens Marquardt, who celebrated his 50th birthday today: “It was a tough race today. It’s a shame that Maxime didn’t make it onto the podium. Having just one car in the top ten, in fourth place, is not enough. We’ll take that result though, and make sure that we do better tomorrow.”