Sunday’s qualifying session at Hungaroring did not yield the step forward in performance that Joel and BMW had been hoping for following yesterday’s difficulties, with another uphill battle now laying ahead in today’s race.
Joel struggled to 17th place in a session which saw Mercedes lock out the top five positions, and where the BMW charge was again derailed on the second new-tyre runs.
Timo Glock did manage a lap good enough to seal P8, but other than that it was a challenging session for BMW with the remaining five cars slotting in towards the back of the pack.
As it was, Joel is set to share the final row of the grid with stablemate Bruno Spengler when the lights go out at 13.30 local time this afternoon, despite lapping just one tenth (to the thousandth) adrift of 13th place.
“It’s a shame, for sure,” says Joel. “We just haven’t got it right this weekend. OK, I had a lot of traffic on my out-lap on the final run which compromised my preparation of the tyres, but the lap itself was still alright; there is no way I could have found the eight tenths missing for pole. The balance of the car is fine, it’s just a general lack of grip. Timo did a good job for P8, however, so there is more potential to unlock. Hopefully we can do so in the race and bring this weekend to a stronger end.”
Results – Qualifying 2
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
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Website: www.joelerikssonracing.com
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