Hello! Well, the DTM goes to the finish line. Welcome to Brands Hatch for the 11th and 12th race of the championship. After a four-year hiatus, Brands Hatch returns to the DTM calendar. The track, located in Kent, is considered a difficult test of the old school. On the Brands Hatch track, eight DTM races were held from 2006 to 2013, but all these races took place on the 1,773 km. However, this time DTM drivers will have to go all the way, the length of 3.908 km. For the first time in the season, a racing weekend will be held in two days due to noise restrictions around the track. This is a very difficult test for the riders, because not all are familiar with this route and get acquainted with it will have to quickly.
On Saturday, pilots tried to explore the rather complex British route as much as possible. The longest time in free practice was Robin Frijns, although it did not help him much. In qualifying races, he was only 11th. But pole position on Saturday for the second time in his career DTM was won by Daniel Junkadella showing the time of the circle 1.18,069 seconds. In the top three were also Lucas Auer (1.18,161) and Rene Rast (1.18,255). The best driver of BMW was on the fourth line, it was Philipp Eng (1.18,257).
The very same Saturday race was the triumph of the Spanish racer. He showed outstanding skills by conducting an impeccable race and finishing with an almost 8-second lead. The second place was taken by Augusto Farfus, for whom it was also a success, as he was last on the podium in 2016 in Hockenheim and then he also took the second place. Third came to the finish line Lucas Auer and for him it was the first race on this track. Leader of the championship Gary Paffett came to the finish of the sixth and was able to add a few more points to his advantage. But his opponent Timo Glock came to the finish line only the thirteenth and did not add any points. Unsuccessful here was the appearance of Loic Duval, who already on the third lap failed to manage and flew off the track hitting the wall of tires.
On Sunday, it's time for local racers to show what they are capable of. And Gary Paffett fighting this season for the title was the best in qualifying. Having shown the time at 1.17,948 seconds. he won pole position. The second place on the starting grid was occupied by Paul Di Resta (1.18,021). The third place was taken by Pascal Verlaine (1.18,034), the fourth René Rast (1.18,052). The best of the BMW pilots Augusto Farfus became the seventh (1.18,182).
In Sunday's race, like the day before, Mercedes was on top. This time, Paul Di Resta in a tense struggle with Gary Paffett became the winner. This day also was not without incident and after the appearance of the safe car Di Resta won the first line from Paffett and kept it to the finish. Gary Paffett did not strongly resist this turn of events. It was not worth the risk, because even after finishing second, he seriously increased the gap from the pursuers in the championship. Well, the third came to the finish lineup champion René Rast. The fourth came to the finish line Pascal Wehrlein, the best of the BMW drivers was Marco Wittmann, finishing fifth. Getting into an accident at the very beginning of the race Augusto Farfus was forced to get off the track because of the heavy damage to the body. Timo Glock and in this race did not smile luck and he came to the finish line 11th.
And here so at the moment the table of the championship looks.
DTM Table.
| Place | Driver | Nation | Car | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Paffett | England | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 177 |
| 2 | Paul Di Resta | Scotland | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 148 |
| 3 | Marco Wittmann | Germany | BMW M4 DTM | 110 |
| 4 | Lucas Auer | Austria | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 110 |
| 5 | Edoardo Mortara | Italy | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 101 |
| 6 | Timo Glock | Germany | BMW M4 DTM | 101 |
| 7 | Pascal Wehrlein | Germany | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 84 |
| 8 | Philipp Eng | Austria | BMW M4 DTM | 83 |
| 9 | René Rast | Germany | Audi RS 5 DTM | 77 |
| 10 | Daniel Juncadella | Spain | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 57 |
| 11 | Mike Rockenfeller | Germany | Audi RS 5 DTM | 43 |
| 12 | Bruno Spengler | Canada | BMW M4 DTM | 43 |
| 13 | Augusto Farfus | Brazil | BMW M4 DTM | 40 |
| 14 | Nico Müller | Germany | Audi RS 5 DTM | 30 |
| 15 | Joel Eriksson | Sweden | BMW M4 DTM | 27 |
| 16 | Robin Frijns | Netherlands | Audi RS 5 DTM | 25 |
| 17 | Loic Duval | France | Audi RS 5 DTM | 17 |
| 18 | Jamie Green | England | Audi RS 5 DTM | 11 |
