Win with Tinge of Bitterness
Tomáš Kostka and Michal Matějovský took the first two places in the Friday's qualification. The evening sprint became complicated due to the mandatory drive-through penalties for the DTM machines. Moreover, Kostka's Audi A4 DTM was in collision, which seemed violent, with Pagani Zonda machine piloted by Antonín Herbeck at the last bend in the last lap. The race was untimely finished, and the ranking were those positions just two laps before that fatal incident, which is: Kostka, Herbeck, Matějovský. Thus the gold brought no joy, as the machines suffered severe damage. Luckily, both racing drivers escaped without injury.
The qualifying times, Tomáš's slightly below one and half a minute, and Michal's a bit over this figure, are sufficient to satisfy. "It is always something to better, were are still fighting with aerodynamics of the nose, it seems that something might be done with splitter," said Tomáš thinking in pits. "But I am fairly satisfied, I got re-familiarised with controlling DTM quickly," stated Michal Matějovský.
Despite the weather was breaking during the day, even a heavy downpour occurred, the sprint was on the dry. The ranking from the qualification had long gone on, when Herbeck came third in the timed practice. The situation got a bit complicated in the half-an-hour race, since drivers had to fight their way ahead through rivals loosing one lap or more. The ranking on the top began mixing at the moment when both BRT pilots were obliged to go twice through pit lanes. The new rules aim to make the race a bit more thrilling, and to limit advantageous output of the specials DTM. Specially, dramatic moments this time became true. Having driven twice through the pit lane, Michal dropped to the third notch, and Tomáš to the second, just behind Herbeck. Therefore in the last lap they were fighting until the very finish. Coming to the straight, Tomáš tried to undertake Herbeck's Pagani on inside in a right-hand bend. The green and black monster drove on the kerb, both cars were going straight next to each other for a second, than a side-impact crash happened. After the contact with a tyre barrier and a few breakneck spins, the Audi A4 DTM was left standing broken in the middle of the track, Herbeck's Zonda got whirled too, its rear engulfed in flames, and finished standing on grass. What was the most important were next minutes when both racing drivers got out of the wreckages without injury.
Spectators appreciated their grand gesture as they both immediately began being interested in their health, and shook their hands. Analysed then by a sport commission the situation was finally evaluated as a racing incident caused by nobody. "It was neither side's intention, definitely. Such things sometimes happen in motorsport. Despite the car looks awful, surprisingly, the shunt was not so horrific; the tyre barrier cushioned it. Primarily, we are both OK," depicted that fatal moment Tomáš Kostka.
"To be honest, we haven't expected such a final on the first racing day. To be exact, we wanted Tomáš and Michal to be among podium finishes, however, this win still has a bit tinge of bitterness," summed up the dramatic Friday the BRT manager, Petr Najman.
