On Sunday morning, however, we were treated to a downpour accompanied by fog so thick you could slice it with a knife. While it was nothing new for this region, the organizers were forced to push the warm-up heat back. So the whole gang of Mercedes drivers and I spontaneously decided to hop into our little electric smart cars and undertake a reconnaissance mission – and also distract the poor spectators waiting in the rain. We even had an impromptu race amongst ourselves. It was fun, and I think we put on a good show for the spectators.

The warm-up heat was pushed back to noon, but the start of the race hadn’t been rescheduled: the schedule was really tight, as we only had a little over a half hour between the end of the warm-up heat and the start of the formation laps. The track was dry by the time the race started, just as I’d hoped, and I was able to make the hole shot while Ekström cornered wide behind me and lost some time. Then, thanks to the excellent work of my team, I was able to lead the race from beginning to end. This victory allowed me to extend my lead to 16 points in the overall standings. Which is a very good thing, but I couldn’t let it go to my head.

After Nürburgring, I had the pleasure of being invited to the set of the “Motodrom” show on the German tv channel Sport Eins. The show discusses news from the autosports world in general, and I got to put my two cents in. I’d already had the pleasure of appearing on similar shows in Quebec, and it was a great experience. The Saturday after that, I travelled to a Mercedes dealership in the town of Neustadt, where I drove a few guests around in a Class-S 65 V12. It’s a tough life, I know.

Photo: dtm.com

On Thursday morning I set out for Zandvoort, by the North Sea in the Netherlands. It was a good six-hour drive from my apartment in Strasburg. Zandvoort is something of a special stop on the DTM circuit. The track is on the edge of a beach, which is quite unsettling. Because we’re by the ocean, the wind is also quite strong and the weather conditions change constantly. The track is also pretty interesting, with its quick corners and hills. The track is quite hard on the tires, and it’s really important to find the optimal settings that ensure you remain competitive while preserving the rubber as much as possible. But it’s also a track where passing is very difficult: the qualifying heats would be crucial.

And they had actually started well for me, but the final result was disappointing. It was the first time I didn’t make it to Q4, the shoot-out for the pole position reserved for the four fastest drivers. Everything had gone very well in Q1 and Q2, where I clocked the fastest lap and was the first driver to come in under 1”31 in DTM. I finally had to settle for 7th place though, to my incredible disappointment. To make matters worth, I would be starting in the middle of a bunch of Audis. The race was shaping up to be a hard one, but anything was possible.

I had a decent start. I moved up one position after the poleman Timo Scheider botched his start. But Audi had copied its entire strategy off me, and its drivers did everything they could to hold me back, constantly placing a car in my path. However, they played fair throughout and didn’t try any questionable manoeuvres.

At the end of the race there was an incident with Mike Rockenfeller, with whom I was fighting over the 7th spot. He left the door open for me in a left-hand corner, and I charged. He fell back on me and contact was inevitable; he couldn’t avoid spinning out because he was on the dirty side of the track. A classic racing incident, where both parties are equally to blame.

I came in 7th, earning just two points in the end. Though I can count myself lucky: in the middle of that pack of Audis, anything could have happened. I’d like to congratulate my team, who did an incredible job of making the car competitive on a track that at the outset favoured the Audis.

My lead in the standings has dropped from 16 to 9 points. Not great news, of course, but if you had told me at the beginning of the year that I’d have a 16-point lead at mid-season, I would have signed on in a heartbeat! Plus I’d racked up five straight podium finishes, the streak had to end sometime… I can’t let this shake my confidence, though: I have to remain serene and gather as many points as I can, race by race.

With his win at Zandvoort, my teammate, Gary Paffett, is now my closest rival, but I still have to watch out for those Audis and Mathias Ekström, who could well get his second wind in the upcoming races. Starting with Brands Hatch in three weeks.

I did find some consolation at the end of this difficult weekend, in the shape of a lovely birthday cake from Mercedes Sunday at Zandvoort. I had a great time, even if my results that weekend didn’t live up to my expectations.

I will have my revenge at Brands Hatch!

Take care,

Bruno Spengler

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