2013 Spielberg Race

2013 Spielberg Race
The Red Bull Ring was unchanged for 2013.
Race Information
Date	2 June 2013
No.	142
Event	DTM Spielberg 2013
Location	Red Bull Ring Spielberg, Styria, Austria
Format	Championship Race
Lap length	4.326 km (2.688 mi)
Distance	47 laps / 203.322 km (126.338 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Bruno Spengler
Team	BMW Team Schnitzer
Time	1:24.836
Fastest Lap
Driver	Marco Wittmann
Team	BMW Team MTEK
Time	1:25.505 on lap 6
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Bruno Spengler	Marco Wittmann	Timo Glock
Winner Team	BMW Team Schnitzer
Time	1:08:35.249
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2013 Brands Hatch Race		2013 Lausitzring Race

The 2013 Spielberg Race, formally known as the DTM Spielberg 2013 Race served as the third round of the 2013 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria, Austria on 2 June 2013. The race, which was the second race of the season to be staged outside of Germany, would see Bruno Spengler claim his first win to ignite his bid to retain the Championship.

Qualifying had seen Spengler win the shootout, as BMW and Audi dominated the session for the second race in succession. Indeed, Marco Wittmann would secure second ahead of Edoardo Mortara and Augusto Farfus, while Robert Wickens was the best of the Mercedes pilots in seventh.

The start of the race would see Spengler jet into an early lead, as the rookie Wittmann failed to fend off a lunging Mortara into the first corner. Otherwise the start and opening tour would be surprisingly clean, with Martin Tomczyk the only notable beneficiary as he leapt from ninth to sixth.

Spengler eased clear during the opening stages of the race, with Mortara having to keep Wittmann at bay instead of chasing after the Canadian. Elsewhere, Tomczyk would make a move on Timo Scheider stick to claim fifth, while Wickens managed to scramble ahead of Filipe Albuquerque to re-secure seventh.

Wittmann eventually managed to elbow his way past Mortara for second as the first drivers made very early stops, with Dirk Werner the first to stop on lap five. Championship leader Mike Rockenfeller was another early pit-caller, although it was not longer before the rest of the field swept in for their stops.

Amidst the stops Wickens would be in the wars, with a failed lunge at Scheider resulting in him slipping behind Tomczyk and Albuquerque, only to immediately fire his Mercedes back past the pair of them. Tomczyk then began a slow tumble down the field with Albuquerque, Paffett and Pascal Wehrlein moving past, although the stewards would penalise Paffett for his move after the Brit was adjudged to have elbowed the #15 BMW off track.

Indeed, Tomczyk would ultimately retire as the result of damage sustained by his battles with the Mercedes, with the #15 BMW ultimately finished off after contact with Roberto Merhi. Elsewhere, Timo Glock would quietly climb up the field to move into contention for the podium, while Wickens was the last man to stop as several drivers began making their second stops.

Once the second round of stops were complete the race was effectively over, with Spengler dominating the final third to secure a comfortable victory and the Championship lead. Wittmann and Glock were next up ahead of Rockenfeller, while a pair of well-timed stops put Mattias Ekström into fifth ahead of Farfus. Christian Vietoris was next up as the best Mercedes pilot ahead of Dirk Werner, while Paffett and Wehrlein secured the remaining points.

Background

No major news stories affected the grid in the aftermath of the battle at Brands Hatch, meaning attention could focus on the emerging title battle. Victory in the UK had given Mike Rockenfeller the lead of the Championship ahead Bruno Spengler, the man attempting to defend his crown. Farfus' retirement meant he sat in third having looked set to finish as high as second and build a fair sized gap after just two races at Brands before the fateful gearbox failure. Gary Paffett, meanwhile, was leading the Mercedes contenders in fourth, after his post-race demotion at his home race cost him seven points.

The Teams' Championship was beginning to spread out even at this early stage of the season, with BMW Team Schnitzer five ahead of BMW Team RBM, despite having not won a race. HWA Team I, meanwhile, were slipping behind in third, under pressure from Audi Team Phoenix in fourth. Mücke Motorsport, meanwhile, had added their names to the scoresheet at Brands Hatch after Pascal Wehrlein had secured his first points of the season.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2013 Spielberg Race is displayed below:

2013 Spielberg Race Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Livery
1	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team Schnitzer	BMW	M3 DTM 12	File:SPE 13 Livery.png
2	Dirk Werner	BMW Team Schnitzer	BMW	M3 DTM 12	File:WER 13 Livery.png
3	Gary Paffett	Euronics/Thomas Sabo Mercedes AMG	AMG Mercedes	C-Coupé 12	File:PAF 13 Livery.png
4	Roberto Merhi	Euronics/Thomas Sabo Mercedes AMG	AMG Mercedes	C-Coupé 12	File:MEH 13 Livery.png
5	Edoardo Mortara	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi	RS5 DTM 12	File:MOR 13 Livery.png
6	Filipe Albuquerque	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi	RS5 DTM 12	File:ALB 13 Livery.png
7	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RBM	BMW	M3 DTM 12	File:FAR 13 Livery.png
8	Joey Hand	BMW Team RBM	BMW	M3 DTM 12	File:WER 13 Livery.png
9	Christian Vietoris	STIHL/AMG Mercedes	AMG Mercedes	C-Coupé 12	File:VIE 13 Livery.png
10	Robert Wickens	STIHL/AMG Mercedes	AMG Mercedes	C-Coupé 12	File:WIC 13 Livery.png
11	Mattias Ekström	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	RS5 DTM 12	File:EKS 13 Livery.png
12	Jamie Green	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	RS5 DTM 12	File:GRE 13 Livery.png
15	Martin Tomczyk	BMW Team RMG	BMW	M3 DTM 12	File:TOM 13 Livery.png
16	Andy Priaulx	BMW Team RMG	BMW	M3 DTM 12	File:PRI 13 Livery.png
17	Daniel Juncadella	Stern/AMG Mercedes	AMG Mercedes	C-Coupé 12	File:JUN 13 Livery.png
18	Vitaly Petrov	Stern/AMG Mercedes	AMG Mercedes	C-Coupé 12	File:PET 13 Livery.png
19	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi	RS5 DTM 12	File:ROC 13 Livery.png
20	Miguel Molina	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi	RS5 DTM 12	File:MOL 13 Livery.png
21	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team MTEK	BMW	M3 DTM 12	File:WIT 13 Livery.png
22	Timo Glock	BMW Team MTEK	BMW	M3 DTM 12	File:GLO 13 Livery.png
23	Timo Scheider	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi	RS5 DTM 12	File:TSC 13 Livery.png
24	Adrien Tambay	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi	RS5 DTM 12	File:TAM 13 Livery.png
Source:

Qualifying

A dry but overcast Saturday afternoon saw the track temperature just peak above 20°C before the start of qualifying, after practice had been dominated by BMW. No adjustments were made to the format after Brands Hatch, so the fifteen minute Q1 session would see six drivers eliminated, before a further six would drop out in Q2. Q3 would see six more drivers eliminated from qualifying, before the final four hit the circuit one at a time to try to set pole position.

Q1

Mike Rockenfeller lit up his Audi RS5 DTM as he got onto the track first to signal the start of qualifying, setting fastest lap before being toppled by Augusto Farfus. Martin Tomczyk was the next man to top the times before Farfus responded a few moments later, before both were beaten after a stunning lap by Filipe Albuquerque. By the halfway mark, Gary Paffett had seemingly joined the pole fight by going second, with times beginning to come down across the field.

Marco Wittmann went under the 1:25.000 barrier for the first time in qualifying, before Bruno Spengler joined him a few moments later, the Canadian having completed his first lap. The familiar final shuffle saw all six Mercedes cars move themselves up into the safety zone, before the rest of the field completed their times. Amazingly, all bar Roberto Merhi survived for the three pointed star despite their struggles earlier in the weekend. Audi, on the other hand, lost Jamie Green, Adrien Tambay and Miguel Molina, while BMW saw Andy Priaulx and Joey Hand fall.

Q2

Canadian Robert Wickens hit the circuit first at the start of Q2, although his time was immediately beaten by Albuquerque. Edoardo Mortara then went fastest, before his time was blown apart by Spengler, who went three tenths faster than he had earlier to top the session. At the end of the session, Dirk Werner and Timo Glock were relegated for BMW, while Mattias Ekström fell for Audi. Pascal Wehrlein, Daniel Juncadella and Christian Vietoris, meanwhile, were all removed for Mercedes, leaving them with two drivers in the top ten.

Q3

Rockenfeller again signalled the start of a quali session by launching out of the pitlane first, before his time was beaten by Wittmann. Spengler, meanwhile, was on a role and went even faster than he had before, setting the fastest time of the weekend, meaning he was almost guaranteed to go through. By the end of the session, Spengler had indeed survived as fastest, with Wittmann, Mortara and Farfus also going through.

Further down the top ten, Wickens qualified as the fastest Merc driver, after Paffett had failed to set a time after an engine failure. Rockenfeller, meanwhile, ended Q3 in eighth, but would be relegated to thirteenth after a penalty awarded earlier in the weekend.

Pole Shootout

Farfus was first out in the Shootout, but was unable to set a time as quick as his Q3 time. That began a trend in the Shootout, but Mortara still managed to beat him, before the Italian himself was beaten by Wittmann, who again broke the 1:25.000 barrier. Spengler then showed his class, the Canadian topping the times by over a tenth to take his first pole of the season.

Post-Qualifying

The final qualifying result for the 2013 Spielberg Race are outlined below:

2013 Spielberg Race Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team		Q1			Q2			Q3			Q4		Grid
					Pos.	Time		Pos.	Time		Pos.	Time		Pos.	Time
1st	1	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team Schnitzer		2nd	1:24.901		1st	1:24.675		1st	1:24.588		1st	1:24.836	1
2nd	21	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team MTEK		1st	1:24.836		4th	1:25.043		2nd	1:24.755		2nd	1:24.947	2
3rd	5	Edoardo Mortara	Audi Team Rosberg		3rd	1:25.027		3rd	1:24.988		3rd	1:24.807		3rd	1:25.036	3
4th	7	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RBM		12th	1:25.234		2nd	1:24.915		4th	1:24.856		4th	1:25.183	4
5th	23	Timo Scheider	Audi Team Abt		4th	1:25.063		9th	1:25.121		5th	1:24.887				5
6th	6	Filipe Albuquerque	Audi Team Rosberg		5th	1:25.066		5th	1:25.062		6th	1:24.922				6
7th	10	Robert Wickens	STIHL/AMG Mercedes		14th	1:25.279		10th	1:25.127		7th	1:24.973				7
8th*	19	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix		16th	1:25.317		8th	1:25.101		8th	1:24.986				13*
9th	15	Martin Tomczyk	BMW Team RMG		9th	1:25.172		7th	1:25.076		9th	1:25.245				8
10th	3	Gary Paffett	Eur/TS Mercedes AMG		7th	1:25.120		6th	1:25.065		NC	—				9
11th	2	Dirk Werner	BMW Team Schnitzer		10th	1:25.211		11th	1:25.130							10
12th	18	Pascal Wehrlein	Stern/AMG Mercedes		11th	1:25.233		12th	1:25.146							11
13th	22	Timo Glock	BMW Team MTEK		15th	1:25.303		13th	1:25.168							12
14th	17	Daniel Juncadella	Stern/AMG Mercedes		13th	1:25.240		14th	1:25.259							14
15th	11	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline		8th	1:25.153		15th	1:25.497							15
16th	9	Christian Vietoris	STIHL/AMG Mercedes		6th	1:25.095		16th	1:25.518							16
17th	12	Jamie Green	Audi Team Abt Sportsline		17th	1:25.351										17
18th	24	Adrien Tambay	Audi Team Abt		18th	1:25.406										18
19th	8	Joey Hand	BMW Team RBM		19th	1:25.451										19
20th	20	Miguel Molina	Audi Team Phoenix		20th	1:25.552										20
21st	4	Roberto Merhi	Eur/TS Mercedes AMG		21st	1:25.761										21
22nd	16	Andy Priaulx	BMW Team RMG		22nd	1:25.763										22
107% Time: 1:30.774
Source:

• Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
• * Rockenfeller handed a five place grid penalty.

Race

Another overcast day over the Red Bull Ring would play host to the DTM on Sunday, although temperatures were higher than they had been during qualifying. Low cloud also meant there was a dampness in the air, but not enough to concern the drivers as the cars pulled away to begin the formation lap.

Report

Bruno Spengler sprinted clear off the line as Marco Wittmann tried to keep Edoardo Mortara from taking second, but to no avail. Further down there was a good start for Martin Tomczyk, who leapt up four places before the first corner, as Wittmann tried to retake second from Mortara into turn two. All 22 cars incredibly survived the first lap with no damage despite the three hairpins that made up the first three turns of the Red Bull Ring restricting the amount of space available.

Spengler was already beginning to stretch his legs at the head of the field as lap two started, while Tomczyk completed a move on Timo Scheider for fifth. That left Mortara as the lone Audi in a top five otherwise full of BMWs, remaining under pressure from Wittmann throughout the early stages. Robert Wickens held onto seventh for Mercedes, taking Filipe Albuquerque after Tomczyk blasted by at the start, while Gary Paffett remained in ninth with his new engine.

Revenge was served by Wittmann on lap three, as he managed to sweep past Mortara to retake second on lap three, before several drivers opted to make their first mandatory stops a lap later. Dirk Werner led in a group of six cars to swap tyres, among them Mike Rockenfeller whom had gone backwards in the early stages, running down in fourteenth. Scheider, meanwhile, was putting pressure back onto Tomczyk in his pursuit of fifth, the German beginning to slip away from the back of Farfus as the top four pulled a small gap.

Scheider made his move for fifth on lap seven, getting past his compatriot at Remus, also opening the door, partially, for Wickens. The Canadian darted on the brakes a fraction too late, however, and slid along the outside of Tomczyk before running wide on the exit of turn two, allowing Tomczyk back past. Albuquerque slip past Wickens as well, completing the move into turn three with Paffett also looming in the wake of the Canadian. At the front of the field, meanwhile, Wittmann was drawing in Spengler, with Mortara and Farfus also starting to close.

Off camera, Wickens took both Albuquerque and Tomczyk in short order a couple of laps later, before Paffett and Pascal Wehrlein began to close. Albuquerque also slipped past before Paffett slung his car down the inside of Tomczyk into turn three on lap ten, before running the German wide and onto the grass. As Tomczyk struggled for traction Paffett blasted away without making contact, while Wehrlein also snuck past with little issue. Paffett was left in seventh, but was handed a two second penalty a few laps later for deliberately running Tomczyk off the track.

Joey Hand stopped at the back of the field amid the scrapping in the mid-pack, rejoining near the back of the field. Unfortunately for the American racer, the pitcrew had failed to secure his front left wheel, meaning it came off of the car as he approached Remus, forcing him out of the race. The next few laps saw the leading cars begin to head into the pitlane for tyres, the now struggling Tomczyk heading in as Hand fell out.

It was not long before the cameras were back on Tomczyk, however, as he emerged in a scrap with Roberto Merhi for seventeenth. The German was defending from the Spaniard into Remus, managing to grab the inside of the corner, before drifting across the front of the Mercedes on the exit. Merhi kept his foot on the throttle, forcing Tomczyk into a spin with Merhi losing out to Daniel Juncadella, before the DMSB awarded Merhi a ten second penalty for causing a collision.

Wittmann and Mortara were exchanging blows down the back straight into Remus in their battle for second, both moving across the track and into the side of each other. Mortara bailed later that lap to complete his second stop, with Wittmann continuing on for several laps more. Timo Glock, meanwhile, had been quietly going about his business from the middle of the pack, and by the halfway stage was the first of those to have made one stop, as Spengler continued to pound round the circuit.

Wickens became the latest man to stop from the leaders as Mattias Ekström pulled in to complete his second stop, becoming the first man to complete both stops. The following laps saw more action in the pitlane than on track, with dramas for Scheider costing him valuable time after a stuck rear wheel. Tomczyk also limped into the pits to retire as Scheider was sent on his way, while Werner and Farfus battled for eighth, amid a constant flow of cars now completing their second stops.

Spengler stopped without losing the lead, leaving Miguel Molina as the only man yet to stop with fifteen laps to go. Glock ran in third ahead of Wittmann, with Rockenfeller in fifth and Wehrlein the best Mercedes in seventh. Glock then pitted for his second and final stop on lap 33, but lost time after a problem, meaning he slipped behind team mate Wittmann once the German made his stop. Molina made his first stop a lap later, dropping him well down the field, as problems for Jamie Green delayed the Brit and dropped him out of point scoring contention.

The final laps saw little movement in the order as drivers trickled in to complete their second stops, the last major battle seeing Ekstrom force his way past Farfus for fifth on the penultimate lap. That left Spengler to take a calm victory at the front of the field, Wittmann closing but unable to catch him in the remaining time. That said, it remained a terrific result for the rookie as second place meant he would stand on the podium for the first time, a feat equalled by team mate Glock who held on to third.

Results

The final classification of the 2013 Spielberg Race is displayed below:

2013 Spielberg Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Time	Strat.	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	19	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team Schnitzer	47	1:08:35.249	--	1:25.897	25
2nd	21	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team MTEK	47	+1.550s	--	1:25.505	18
3rd	22	Timo Glock	BMW Team MTEK	47	+6.504s	--	1:25.573	15
4th	19	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	47	+9.183s	--	1:25.957	12
5th	11	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	47	+10.260s	--	1:25.587	10
6th	7	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RBM	47	+14.299s	--	1:25.725	8
7th	9	Christian Vietoris	STIHL/AMG Mercedes	47	+14.884s	--	1:26.207	6
8th	2	Dirk Werner	BMW Team Schnitzer	47	+15.548s	--	1:25.626	4
9th	3	Gary Paffett	Eur/TS Mercedes AMG	47	+16.207s	--	1:26.393	2
10th	18	Pascal Wehrlein	Stern/AMG Mercedes	47	+17.462s	--	1:26.321	1
11th	24	Adrien Tambay	Audi Team Abt	47	+21.550s	--	1:26.174
12th	10	Robert Wickens	STIHL/AMG Mercedes	47	+26.499s	--	1:26.411
13th	17	Daniel Juncadella	Stern/AMG Mercedes	47	+26.927s	--	1:26.018
14th	20	Miguel Molina	Audi Team Phoenix	47	+27.704s	--	1:26.125
15th	5	Edoardo Mortara	Audi Team Rosberg	47	+29.113s	--	1:25.651
16th	23	Timo Scheider	Audi Team Abt	47	+29.470s	--	1:26.283
17th	6	Filipe Albuquerque	Audi Team Rosberg	47	+31.834s	--	1:26.316
18th	12	Jamie Green	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	47	+32.854s	--	1:25.997
19th	16	Andy Priaulx	BMW Team RMG	47	+1:10.907	--	1:26.265
20th	4	Roberto Merhi	Eur/TS Mercedes AMG	47	+1:19.828	--	1:26.439
Ret	15	Martin Tomczyk	BMW Team RMG	29	Damage	--	1:26.643
Ret	8	Joey Hand	BMW Team RBM	9	Wheel	--	1:26.657
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
• Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.

Milestones

• Fifteenth victory for Bruno Spengler.
  • It would also be his last win until the 2017 Norisring Race 1.
• Maiden podium finishes for Marco Wittmann and Timo Glock.
• Team MTEK secured their maiden DTM podium finish.

Standings

Victory gave defending Champion Bruno Spengler the lead in the DTM Championship, and a twelve point advantage over Mike Rockenfeller. Augusto Farfus remained in third, continuing to lose ground to the leaders despite winning the opening race, while Marco Wittmann climbed to fourth after his first podium. Christian Vietoris stayed in fifth and took over the Mercedes challenge, but with less than half the total points of Spengler out front.

BMW Team Schnitzer established a strong lead in the Teams' Championship, now holding a 26 point lead over BMW Team RBM. The podium for Wittmann and Timo Glock meant BMW Team MTEK leapt into third, with Audi Team Phoenix holding on to fourth. The second HWA Team led the Mercedes challenge, as the marque left Austria at the back of the Manufacturers' Championship. Audi had overtaken them, leaping two points ahead, as BMW continued to build an early lead, and had moved over 120 points clear of their rivals. 

2013 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Bruno Spengler 53 ▲1 2nd Mike Rockenfeller 41 ▼1 3rd Augusto Farfus 33 ◄0 4th Marco Wittmann 32 ▲5 5th Christian Vietoris 25 ◄0 6th Dirk Werner 22 ◄0 7th Gary Paffett 22 ▼3 8th Mattias Ekström 16 ▲4 9th Joey Hand 16 ▼2 10th Robert Wickens 15 ▼2 11th Timo Glock 15 ▲3 12th Timo Scheider 10 ▼2 13th Pascal Wehrlein 2 ▼1 14th Roberto Merhi 1 ▼1

2013 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st BMW Team Schnitzer 75 ◄0 2nd BMW Team RBM 49 ◄0 3rd BMW Team MTEK 47 ▲3 4th Audi Team Phoenix 41 ◄0 5th STIHL/AMG Mercedes 40 ▼2 6th Eur/TS Mercedes AMG 23 ▼1 7th Audi Team Abt Sportsline 16 ▲1 8th Audi Team Abt 10 ▼1 9th Stern/AMG Mercedes 2 ◄0 2013 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st BMW 171 ◄0 2nd Audi 67 ▲1 3rd Mercedes 65 ▼1

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.

References

Videos and Images:

References: