Farfus scores another point in Austria

Without doubt the DTM race at the Red Bull Ring was the most exciting of the season. From the moment the red lights went out to the time the chequered flag was waived 47 laps later there was action all the way down the field. Pieces of bodywork from Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW cars were littered all-round the 4.326 kilometre Austrian track. Luckily these were not from the Castrol EDGE BMW M3 DTM of Augusto Farfus. 

However, this doesn’t mean the 28-year-old was not in the action as he had some good battles. He managed to avoid the first lap crashes that took out four cars, including his BMW Team RBM team-mate, Andy Priaulx. In the end the car’s speed was good and he crossed the line tenth, a place higher than he started, and was able to pick up a point. 

The team had worked hard on his car over the weekend to improve its performance. In the race, and particularly by the end of it, the car was showing a good pace. His strategy saw him stay out longer than the majority of the drivers before his first pit stop. He came in at the end of lap 21 at the same time as race leader, and eventual winner, Edoardo Mortara, in his Audi. Unfortunately the second pit stop at the end of lap 33 wasn’t smooth as a malfunction with the equipment that drops the car back to the ground lost him some valuable seconds. 

“Unfortunately I think like in Brands Hatch the result doesn’t show the true potential of our package. But we have to be strong at this point and not just look at this specific race result, but rather the broader picture and what we know the car is capable of. We are learning in every qualifying and in every race. We have to evaluate the lesson and what we have learnt and this is positive again, so I am not worried about the performance. 

“Of course in ways it is disappointing as we know what we can do and we know the result, and these don’t match. At the start of the weekend the car didn’t have a good balance, but over the weekend we have managed to improve that and particularly from the warm-up to the race. It was actually the best car I have had for a race since the beginning of the year. So many thanks and congratulations to the team, everyone should be proud of what we have achieved. 

“Our initial target is to improve the car, but of course we tend to forget this and I think we should write that down and stick it on a wall. When the race starts we want to be players. However, we know the prize we are chasing and sooner or later that will come.” 

For further information on Augusto Farfus, please visit his website at www.farfus.com. There you will find all news and background information on the racing driver from Curitiba.