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Jamie happy with points in Hockenheim

Jamie Green was pleased to kick off his 2007 DTM campaign with a solid sixth place finish.

After struggling to get to grips with the handling of his new-shape Mercedes-Benz C-Class around the Hockenheim grand prix circuit, Jamie failed to make the top eight qualifying shoot-out. But from an unpromising 13th on the grid, he drove a charging race, which combined with good pit strategy from his HWA team, allowed him to move up in the order in a race that was shortened in distance following an enormous four-car crash at the start.

Although he finished seventh on the road, Jamie was moved up a place in the final classification after team-mate Bruno Spengler was penalised for crashing into the Audi of Timo Scheider on the final lap. This meant Jamie was the highest-placed finisher of the 2007-spec Mercedes.

"I never thought I'd be so content with sixth," Jamie admitted. "Last year I was on pole in Hockenheim, and we came away with nothing, so we're already up on that! To finish sixth from 13th is pretty reasonable. I couldn't do a good lap in qualifying and that left me down in 13th. We tried a different set-up in the warm-up and went slower, but I made a decent start and the car felt better in the race. Now it's just a case of me understanding what's required to get the best from the car. I've been struggling with lots of oversteer, something that my team-mates haven't."

In spite of the difficulties he faced over the weekend, Jamie is confident that he can build upon the solid start he’s made and move further up the order at the next round of the V8 touring car series at Oschersleben on May 6.

"It's tougher than ever this year because the older cars are very fast and have some good drivers in them. That means if you have a bad run you end up back in the pack, rather than in eighth or somewhere as would have been the case last year. The margins are much smaller now and that’s something I’ve learned this weekend – you have to be on top of your game at all times. I think we’ll be in much better shape at Oschersleben. We tested there a few weeks ago, so I know the new layout."