Saturday’s DTM race at Hungaroring was one of major dissatisfaction for Joel and BMW, who are now eagerly looking ahead to Sunday in a bid to strike back at the Hungarian venue.
In a race where the top BMW came home in 12th place, there was not much reason to celebrate in Budapest this afternoon, with Joel taking the chequered flag in 17th.
Joel had started the race in 15th on the grid, and opted for the undercut strategy by pitting as early as lap two; his fellow BMW stablemates adopting similar strategies (with the late-stopping Marco Wittmann being the exception).
Strategy, however, would make little difference in this race, where a general lack of pace was more of the defining factor.
With the order finally settled following the spread-out pit stop phases, the BMW contingent of cars unfortunately found themselves at the foot of the timesheets, with only Bruno Spengler managing to beat one of the Mercedes cars (Pascal Wehrlein) for 12th.
Joel finished closely behind team-mates Timo Glock, Augusto Farfus and Wittmann – less than two seconds covering the quartet across the line – with Philipp Eng bringing up the rear in a more distant 18th.
Paul Di Resta transformed pole position into his first win of the season, leading home a one-two for Mercedes ahead of Lucas Auer.
The deck of cards is now reset for Sunday, when another qualifying and race double will be coming up – providing a welcome chance for retaliation.
Results – Race 1
WEEKEND TIME TABLE
All times local (GMT+02:00)
DTM | Round 3
Hungaroring (Hungary)
Friday 1 June
Free Practice 1: 16.05-16.35
Saturday 2 June
Free Practice 2: 08.35-09.05
Qualifying 1: 11.20-11.40
Race 1: 13.30-14.30
Sunday 3 June
Free Practice 3: 08.30-09.00
Qualifying 2: 11.20-11.40
Race 2: 13.30-14.30
FURTHER INFORMATION
Entry list: DTM 2018
Rules: how the championship works
FOLLOW JOEL (IF YOU CAN…)
Website: www.joelerikssonracing.com
Facebook: JoelErikssonRacing
Instagram: JoelEriksson
Live streaming: www.dtm.com/live
