Joel Eriksson moves on from difficult Dutch weekend
Joel Eriksson endured a weekend to forget as the DTM paid its first-ever visit to Holland’s TT Circuit Assen for round five of the 2019 season.
The Swedish BMW driver struggled to 16th place in a rain-hit first race of the weekend, his vision severely compromised by a broken windscreen wiper, and was then forced to retire from Sunday’s Race 2 – staged in dry conditions – following an engine failure eight laps from home.
Eriksson had been running inside the points-paying top ten before slipping back as his eventual terminal issues gradually worsened.
“A weekend to forget,” says Joel Eriksson. “The first race was really tricky with basically zero visibility or grip, and on Sunday, we could see the engine cutting out already in qualifying. It then got worse in the race until, about ten laps from the end, I felt a big bang as I came down the main straight. That was it – game over. A tough weekend for us, but these things are part of racing. We will be back, stronger, at Brands Hatch.”
BMW clinched an historic victory in the inaugural Assen DTM race on Saturday courtesy of Marco Wittmann (GER), while Audi’s Mike Rockenfeller (GER) triumphed in the Sunday encounter.
Despite this weekend’s outcome, Joel Eriksson retains tenth place in the overall DTM standings, with René Rast (Audi, GER) currently in the lead.
The DTM season resumes at Brands Hatch in the UK on August 10-11.
RESULTS (top five)
DTM | Round 5/9
TT Circuit Assen (the Netherlands)
Race 1
1: Marco Wittmann (GER), BMW, 31 laps
2: Nico Müller (SUI), Audi, +3.137s
3: René Rast (GER), Audi, +8.094s
4: Philipp Eng (AUT), BMW, +25.313s
5: Timo Glock (GER), BMW, +25.534s
—
16: Joel Eriksson (SWE), BMW, +1:01.197s
Race 2
1: Mike Rockenfeller (GER), Audi, 37 laps
2: Marco Wittmann (GER), BMW, +4.518s
3: Nico Müller (SUI), Audi, +6.398s
4: Jonathan Aberdein (RSA), Audi, +17.000s
5: René Rast (GER), Audi, +19.348s
—
DNF: Joel Eriksson (SWE), BMW, +8 laps
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (top five)
DTM | After 10/18 races
1: René Rast (GER), Audi, 158 p.
2: Nico Müller (SUI), Audi, 136 p.
3: Marco Wittmann (GER), BMW, 118 p.
4: Philipp Eng (AUT), BMW, 111 p.
5: Mike Rockenfeller (GER), Audi, 94 p.
—
10: Joel Eriksson (SWE), BMW, 43 p.
FURTHER INFORMATION
The championship: DTM 2019
Rules and regulations: how DTM works
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