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DTM mid-term report (Part 2)

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In part two of its DTM mid-term review, TouringCarTimes looks at the following five men who make up the top-10 drivers of 2013.

6. Mattias Ekström: Abt Sportsline (Car #11)

It’s not really a secret that the Swede hasn’t had the easiest time of things since Audi switched from the A4 to the A/RS5. However, on the odd occasion when luck has been on his side and the Abt Sportsline team has got everything right, the double DTM title winner has more often that not, been the quickest driver out there. This saw Ekström claim his first victory since Valencia 2011 at the Norisring a fortnight ago, and Audi’s first victory at its home circuit since 2002. However, he was stripped of top spot after he was found to be carrying water bottles in his race suit; a decision which sums up Ekström’s last few seasons.

 7. Timo Glock: BMW Team MTEK (Car #22)

The ex-Formula 1 driver has acquitted himself well in the DTM, and in only his third race, managed to score a podium; something which most of his F1 contemporaries failed to do in a much longer period of time than it took Glock to do so. Despite the obvious speed being there, he needs to find a little more consistency, but if his Spielberg performance – where he was also a victory contender – is taken into account, then he will certainly join the DTM’s winner’s circle. It’s just a matter of time.

8. Dani Juncadella: RSC Mucke Mercedes (Car #18)

Whilst Mercedes rookie team-mate, Pascal Wehrlein, made people sit up and take notice following him impressive DTM debut at Hockenheim, team-mate Juncadella, slowly chipped away at learning how to drive a DTM car. Whilst having not scored in the opening three rounds, After the Norisring, the young Spaniard’s hard work paid off, as he took his debut DTM podium around the streets of Nuremberg, and to add to that, finished an impressive sixth place at the Lausitzring. As a result, Juncadella finds himself in 9th place in the championship.

9. Augusto Farfus: BMW Team RBM (Car #7)

The Brazilian started the 2013 season as the title favourite, following his victory at Hockenheim. At the following race at Brands Hatch, he was also a contender for the win until his BMW M3 gave out, and with that, Farfus’ season also appeared to. With only a sixth place to show from the Red Bull Ring, the Brazilian has not scored since, but he believes this is due to luck, and some poor set-up decisions, rather than a lack of outright speed.

10. Martin Tomczyk: BMW Team RMG (Car #15)

It might seem a strange decision to put a driver who has not scored since Hockenheim last season in the top-10, but Tomczyk’s dismal, and point-free, 2013 is not a fair representation of his season. The 2011 DTM champion took pole at Brands Hatch, only to be stripped of his position after the session had ended. In the race, whilst fighting his way back into the points, he made contact with Mercedes’ Roberto Merhi, which robbed him of any chance of scoring. A similar incident happened in Spielberg, and again at the Lausitzring and the Norisring; the latter when he ended his race in a wall after being forced wide by Jamie Green. Most of the incidents have been beyond Tomczyk’s control. The speed is there, but the luck simply isn’t.