Maxime Martin had a positive weekend at the Norisring in the DTM Series.
The Belgian is now third in the drivers’ championship as a result of his performances.
On Saturday, Martin claimed pole position by 0.005 seconds over Rene Rast.
Prior to the race a downpour meant that it would be a wet race start, unfortunately for Martin he was not able to get a decent start due to the wet conditions and dropped to fourth place.
Martin fought his way through the field to secure second place and a BMW 1-2 with team-mate Bruno Spengler claiming the win.
“One-two for BMW: that is fantastic. It is a shame I got off to such a poor start. I don’t know whether it was due to the wet track or something else. However, I was soon able to fight my way back into second place. I was pretty quick in the wet, and was able to overtake nicely. I was also able to set a fast pace in the dry conditions. It was really tough again at the end, but I did enough – and we picked up 18 points for finishing second.”
A seventh place start on the grid for Sunday’s race may not have been what Martin would have wanted following qualifying but a chaotic race saw him take victory.
Following a safety car period due to a collision between Robert Wickens and Rene Rast, Martin used the restart to his advantage to jump into the lead and cruise home to victory.
“It was an incredible race. I made a very good start from seventh on the grid and was already fourth by the end of the opening lap. I was third after lap two, after some of the other cars had already been in for their stop. I pushed really hard after that and was able to take the lead after the safety car phase. That was not easy after the red flag and the subsequent restart, but it worked out. I was third in Budapest, runner-up yesterday, and winner today – it is fantastic.”
Leaving the Norisring and heading to the Moscow Raceway, Martin is 11 points behind championship leader Mattias Ekström who is yet to win a race this season.
The pair are separated by Lucas Auer, who is two points behind Ekström and means all three manufacturers are represented at the sharp end of the championship.
