He is the only Spaniard to win a Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) race in the series’ 31-year history at the Nürburgring a fortnight ago, but his race yesterday (Saturday, 17th October) ended abruptly.
After contact with ART Grand Prix’s Gary Paffett in lap 3, Molina was able to continue, but was handed a thirty-second time penalty later on by the Stewards. as having caused the collision, meaning that he dropped from 14th to 17th.
“I think that most of the problem with that was that he could not see me with his mirror, because the door was open,” he said to TouringCars.net after the penultimate race of the year.
“We had contact, but it was secondary. It was because I couldn’t feel the tyres switching on on the formation lap.”
Molina further explained that he experienced excessive wheelspin at the start, dropping him down the order, having started third.
“The tyres were not warm enough, so this didn’t help at the start. So we have to investigate exactly what happened with that, as we have another race that’s a bit longer.”
With the new format putting drivers and teams under increased pressure, Molina admitted that the season has been “crazy” from the very beginning.
“You also have to be aggressive and spot on from the start, so you don’t look bad. But it has been crazy, with too much contact and spinning cars.
“It’s not so good for the cost and also for the championship. Jamie was at a standstill at Nürburging in race one, and I just couldn’t see him at all.”
Molina is about to complete another season in the DTM, which finally sees him as a race winner, having joined the Audi ranks.
He looks set to have his best season yet, if he finishes ahead of both Mercedes’ Christian Vietoris and BMW’s Timo Glock in the points in the final race of the year.