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DTM: Rd. 6 – Brands Hatch

Challenging weekend part of DTM learning curve for Joel Eriksson

Challenging weekend part of DTM learning curve for Joel Eriksson

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Joel Eriksson left a DTM event without points on the table for the first time this season after feeling the effects of a lack of track knowledge at Brands Hatch this weekend.

The Swedish BMW rookie expected the British round of the German-based championship to provide “probably the biggest challenge of the year” as he faced the prospect of tackling the daunting Brands Hatch GP track for the first time of his career, and was proved right with a brace of 14th and 13th place finishes.
 
It marked the first time this season that Eriksson – the youngest driver in the field at 20 – has failed to score in at least one of the two races staged at a DTM meeting.

“I thought this might be a difficult weekend, and unfortunately I was proved right,” says Joel Eriksson. “I normally don’t think coming to a new track for the first time is such a big thing, but Brands Hatch is quite special and one of those places where you do need to build up your confidence. I lacked that experience this weekend and, in such a competitive field, that makes the difference. We’re talking tenths of a second, but it’s enough.

“Still, I have learned a lot this weekend, very concrete things, and towards the end of the second race I was fast again. The next time we come here I’m sure I will be on the pace straight away.” 

The proximity of the DTM pack once again became apparent this weekend, with 17 cars out of 18 lapping within 0.75 seconds in both the Saturday and Sunday qualifying sessions. Eriksson was 16th in both, notably lapping just a tenth off Race 1 winner Daniel Juncadella on the Sunday.

The next DTM round takes place at the Misano circuit in Italy on August 24-26. BMW’s line-up will expand from six to seven drivers at the Adriatic venue, as popular Italian home hero Alex Zanardi joins Joel Eriksson and the others for a one-off guest start.

 

RESULTS (top five)

DTM | Round 6
 Brands Hatch (Great Britain)

Race 1
1: Daniel Juncadella (ESP), Mercedes, 41 laps
2: Augusto Farfus (BRA), BMW, +7.896s
3: Lucas Auer (AUT), Mercedes, +10.040s
4: René Rast (GER), Audi, +14.723s
5: Philipp Eng (AUT), BMW, +23.546s
—
14: Joel Eriksson (SWE), BMW, +42.738s

Full report and results

 

Race 2

1: Paul Di Resta (GBR), Mercedes, 40 laps
2: Gary Paffett (GBR), Mercedes, +1.019s
3: René Rast (GER), Audi, +1.376s
4: Pascal Wehrlein (GER), Mercedes, +11.484s
5: Marco Wittmann (GER), BMW, +14.312s
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13: Joel Eriksson (SWE), BMW, +23.197s

Full report and results

 

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (top five)

DTM | After 12/20 races

1: Gary Paffett (GBR), Mercedes, 177 p.
2: Paul Di Resta (GBR), Mercedes, 148 p.
3: Marco Wittmann (GER), BMW, 110 p.
4: Lucas Auer (AUT), Mercedes, 110 p.
5: Edoardo Mortara (ITA), Mercedes, 101 p.
—
15: Joel Eriksson (SWE), BMW, 27 p.

View full standings

Joel caps challenging weekend with P13

Joel caps challenging weekend with P13

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Joel capped off the Brands Hatch DTM meeting with 13th place in Sunday’s Race 2.

From 16th on the grid, Joel opted for a comparatively long first stint before making his pit stop at roughly the halfway stages, rejoining in 14th.

He later picked up a further two places when Loic Duval suffered a puncture and Jamie Green served a drive-through penalty for forcing Marco Wittmann off the track, but also lost one to Audi’s Robin Frijns who muscled through into Westfield a few laps from the end.

The net result saw Joel take the flag in 13th, adding to his 14th place of yesterday to make this the first weekend this season in which he has failed to score in at least one of the races. 

Sunday’s race was won by home driver Paul Di Resta, who headed a British 1-2 ahead of Mercedes team-mate Gary Paffett.

 

Results – Race 2

Hockenheim-3

Joel finishes Brands Hatch opener in 14th place

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Joel took 14th in the first DTM race of the weekend at Brands Hatch, right behind four-time 2018 podium finisher and BMW stablemate Timo Glock.

Joel started the race from 16th on the grid after getting to grips with the Brands Hatch GP track – which he visits for the first time this weekend – in qualifying, but slipped to 18th and last off the line due to a poor start.

He made his compulsory pit stop on lap eight, and rose to 14th once everyone had pitted. He was then sat behind Glock for the remainder of the race, in which overtaking proved as difficult as many had expected given the fast and tight nature of the British track.

Up front, Daniel Juncadella sealed his first-ever DTM win, the Mercedes man using his considerable experience of the Brands Hatch GP loop from last year’s Blancpain GT Series to good effect. 

Augusto Farfus was the top BMW runner in second place.

While 14th yielded no points for Joel in this race, he won’t have to wait long for another chance, with DTM action resuming in the UK tomorrow with the final leg of the weekend.

 

Results – Race 1

 

WEEKEND TIME TABLE
All times local (GMT+01:00)

DTM | Round 6
 Brands Hatch (Great Britain)

Saturday 11 August
Free Practice 1: 09.00-09.25
Free Practice 2: 09.35-10.00
Qualifying 1: 11.20-11.40
Race 1: 13.30-14.30

Sunday 12 August
Free Practice 3: 10.00-10.20
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

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Joel Eriksson braced for big British challenge as DTM season resumes

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“Probably the biggest challenge of the year” – that’s what waits around the corner for Joel Eriksson as the 2018 DTM season launches into its second half this weekend. Germany’s top-tier racing series sails across the Channel for a visit to Great Britain, where the daunting Brands Hatch GP circuit is ready to greet the field; and Eriksson is under no illusion about the task at hand.
 
While a DTM rookie this season with BMW, Eriksson’s newcomer status has at least been somewhat mitigated so far by previous knowledge of all the tracks attended to date. That comfort zone will be erased for the first time of the season this weekend, however, as the 20-year-old Swede – the youngest driver on the grid – prepares for his first-ever dash around the highly demanding and ultra-fast Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit. 
 
“I think this might probably be the biggest challenge of the year for me,” says Joel Eriksson. “I have never been to Brands Hatch but, based on what the other drivers have told me, it’s a proper tough track. It’s fast, undulating, up and down, blind corners and little or no run-offs. It’s probably one of those tracks where it actually helps quite a lot to have been around before, and to add to that we have less practice time than usual this weekend, but I will certainly push as hard as I can.”
 
DTM returns to Brands Hatch for the first time in five years this weekend, having previously raced at the venue between 2006-2013. Back then, however, it was the significantly shorter – and less spectacular – “Indy” loop that hosted proceedings, with hopes now high that a swap to the full-length Grand Prix layout will boost entertainment.

“It’s an old-school track, a bit like Zandvoort where we raced last time out, and that’s something I always enjoy,” Joel Eriksson continues. “It will be a lot of fun trying out Brands Hatch for the first time. I do have high expectations for the driving thrill. There appear to be two or three corners which are very high speed, very high risk – and that’s always exciting. I hope I can be in the mix for points again this weekend, but I do think it will be a challenge and my first priority is to maximise practice and rack up the laps for qualifying.”
 
The British round of the championship brings with it a revised time table, with Friday’s free practice outing scrapped in favour of two 25-minute sessions on Saturday morning. The weekend then takes on its regular shape, however, with qualifying and race doubles on Saturday and Sunday.

The DTM standings are currently headed by Mercedes’ Gary Paffett – racing on home soil in the UK this weekend. Joel Eriksson sits 14th overall, having scored points for top ten finishes at each of the opening five rounds of the season.

 

TIME TABLE
All times local (GMT+01:00)

DTM | Round 6
 Brands Hatch (Great Britain)

Saturday 11 August
Free Practice 1: 09.00-09.25
Free Practice 2: 09.35-10.00
Qualifying 1: 11.20-11.40
Race 1: 13.30-14.30

Sunday 12 August
Free Practice 3: 10.00-10.20
Qualifying 2: 11.20-11.40
Race 2: 13.30-14.30


CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (top five)

DTM | After 10/20 races

1: Gary Paffett (GBR), Mercedes, 148 p.
2: Paul Di Resta (GBR), Mercedes, 121 p.
3: Timo Glock (GER), BMW, 101 p.
4: Marco Wittmann (GER), BMW, 98 p.
5: Edoardo Mortara (ITA), Mercedes, 97 p.
—
14: Joel Eriksson (SWE), BMW, 27 p.

View full standings


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