Exclusive interview with AMG Mercedes-Benz driver Bruno Spengler.
For a second year in succession, Canadian Bruno Spengler of Prevost, Quebec has claimed second place in the final standings of the DTM, Germany's top sedan series. Spengler, one of four Mercedes works drivers, won one race this year and finished the season only three points down to the new champion, Sweden's Mattias Ekstrom of Audi Sport Team. Auto123.com was on location in Germany to witness the action of the decisive round of the series.
Spengler arrived in Hockenheim second in the standings, just two points down to Ekstrom, but two points more than third-place man, Martin Tomczyk of team Audi.
The Canadian qualified in sixth place with both Ekstrom and Tomczyk ahead of him on the grid. During the opening lap of the race, Tomczyk collided with another Audi car and then drove straight off the road at the Mercedes-Benz Tribüne. On lap 6, Spengler made his first of two mandatory pit stops. He then drove like a man possessed, lapping the famed Hockenheimring some five to seven tenths of a second quicker than his main rival, Ekstrom.
However, most Audi drivers made Spengler's life pretty difficult. The Canadian lost ground to Ekstrom every time he had to pass or lap an Audi competitor. Spengler made his second pit stop with just 9 laps to run, returning to the fray just three seconds down to the Swede. The closing laps of the race were a nail-biting thriller. At the finish, Spengler was fourth, just 4/10ths of a second behind Ekstrom who claimed his second DTM title.
One hour after the finish, we had the chance to sit and talk with Spengler at the Mercedes-Benz hospitality. "Early in the race, I really believed I had a chance to win the title," he said. "When I saw Martin Tomczyk go straight in the corner while realizing I was just two places down to Ekstrom, I truly believed I had a shot at the title."
"However, the Audi drivers made my life difficult, driving off line to block me and making me lose time. After the last race in Barcelona where there was a lot of pushing and shoving, racing bosses Norbert Haug and Wolfgang Ullrich met to discuss the issue of aggressive driving. Last week, Dr. Ullrich affirmed that the final race would be run as fairly as possible and that the Audi drivers would not interfere with the race to the title."
"As everyone saw, that was not the case at all. Team Audi left their 2005 and 2006 cars out on the track as long as possible to create heavy traffic for me and to make me lose time. They even left Rockenfeller out on the track until his car ran out of fuel! Passing Alexandre Premat was particularly complicated. I lost six second in just one lap trying to pass him. Many of them even tapped me at the rear after I passed them just to damage my car."
"Near the end, I realised that passing Ekstrom was not good enough to clinch the title. I continued to push as hard as I could, but I crossed the line just four tenths of a second behind him. I am satisfied with my race. I drove extremely hard and did not made any mistakes. I would have needed more laps or just a little bit of luck. I am not too disappointed with finishing second in the standings. However, I am really upset with the behaviour of the Audi drivers. They all promised not to interfere with the issue of the championship but they did not respect their word."
photo:René Fagnan
For a second year in succession, Canadian Bruno Spengler of Prevost, Quebec has claimed second place in the final standings of the DTM, Germany's top sedan series. Spengler, one of four Mercedes works drivers, won one race this year and finished the season only three points down to the new champion, Sweden's Mattias Ekstrom of Audi Sport Team. Auto123.com was on location in Germany to witness the action of the decisive round of the series.
Spengler arrived in Hockenheim second in the standings, just two points down to Ekstrom, but two points more than third-place man, Martin Tomczyk of team Audi.
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The Canadian qualified in sixth place with both Ekstrom and Tomczyk ahead of him on the grid. During the opening lap of the race, Tomczyk collided with another Audi car and then drove straight off the road at the Mercedes-Benz Tribüne. On lap 6, Spengler made his first of two mandatory pit stops. He then drove like a man possessed, lapping the famed Hockenheimring some five to seven tenths of a second quicker than his main rival, Ekstrom.
However, most Audi drivers made Spengler's life pretty difficult. The Canadian lost ground to Ekstrom every time he had to pass or lap an Audi competitor. Spengler made his second pit stop with just 9 laps to run, returning to the fray just three seconds down to the Swede. The closing laps of the race were a nail-biting thriller. At the finish, Spengler was fourth, just 4/10ths of a second behind Ekstrom who claimed his second DTM title.
One hour after the finish, we had the chance to sit and talk with Spengler at the Mercedes-Benz hospitality. "Early in the race, I really believed I had a chance to win the title," he said. "When I saw Martin Tomczyk go straight in the corner while realizing I was just two places down to Ekstrom, I truly believed I had a shot at the title."
"However, the Audi drivers made my life difficult, driving off line to block me and making me lose time. After the last race in Barcelona where there was a lot of pushing and shoving, racing bosses Norbert Haug and Wolfgang Ullrich met to discuss the issue of aggressive driving. Last week, Dr. Ullrich affirmed that the final race would be run as fairly as possible and that the Audi drivers would not interfere with the race to the title."
"As everyone saw, that was not the case at all. Team Audi left their 2005 and 2006 cars out on the track as long as possible to create heavy traffic for me and to make me lose time. They even left Rockenfeller out on the track until his car ran out of fuel! Passing Alexandre Premat was particularly complicated. I lost six second in just one lap trying to pass him. Many of them even tapped me at the rear after I passed them just to damage my car."
"Near the end, I realised that passing Ekstrom was not good enough to clinch the title. I continued to push as hard as I could, but I crossed the line just four tenths of a second behind him. I am satisfied with my race. I drove extremely hard and did not made any mistakes. I would have needed more laps or just a little bit of luck. I am not too disappointed with finishing second in the standings. However, I am really upset with the behaviour of the Audi drivers. They all promised not to interfere with the issue of the championship but they did not respect their word."
photo:René Fagnan