Canadian Bruno Spengler came oh, so close to winning his first German Touring Car championship at Shanghai Sunday but, at end of day, he lost not only the final race of the season but the title as well.
Gary Paffett of Britain won the DTM season finale while Paul di Resta of Scotland, who finished second, emerged as champion.
Spengler, of Saint-Hippolyte, Que., came home 13th. He had been the points leader going into the final race of the season.
Spengler, 27, had a disastrous practice and qualifying, crashing his Mercedes twice. Starting from the back of the grid Sunday, he tried to get a jump on the field by making both of his mandatory pit stops early in the race but it didn’t pay off.
Spengler, who had Formula One ambitions at one time, has now failed for the third time to lock up the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters title. He finished second in the championship in 2006 and 2007; his poor performance Sunday saw him slip from first at the green flag to third at the finish.
His future with that team is anything but secure.
Life is tough at the top...Congrats to Bruno for mixing it up
with the big boys and finishing in the top three.
Posted by: David White | 11/28/2010 at 12:41 PM
Unlucky for Spengler, but well done to di Resta, who should be in the second seat at Force India next year. You know it, I know it, his cousin Dario knows it. Hes beaten Hamilton and Vettel in the lower formulae - they are now world champions, and nobody can say that he couldnt be in the future. I would hate him to go to way of his cousin and miss out on that.
Posted by: D T | 11/28/2010 at 03:14 PM