Brands Hatch DTM: Tomczyk stripped of pole, Rockenfeller promoted

The German had earlier taken his first pole since 2011 and the first for the RMG team, but will now start at the back of the grid having had all his times deleted.

A statement from the race officials said that the car was in non-compliance with the minimum weight.

BMW revealed that Tomczyk's car had been 2.5kg underweight, 0.5kg away from the below the allowed tolerance level.

BMW Motorsport director Jens Marquardt said: It's a shame to lose out on a pole position as a result of a mistake like this. However, we accept the decision of the race stewards.

"You are always at the limit in motor racing. We will now analyse what the case was to ensure this kind of thing never happens again.

Tomczyk added: "It's a major disappointment. The season opener at Hockenheim showed that it is possible to fight back from 22nd on the grid and finish in the points.

"However, I know it is almost impossible to do the same on a track like Brands Hatch."

The decision means that Phoenix Audi driver Mike Rockenfeller will start from pole instead, with Augusto Farfus joining him on the front row in his RBM BMW.

Revised grid:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car
 1.  Mike Rockenfeller   Phoenix Audi
 2.  Augusto Farfus      RBM BMW
 3.  Joey Hand           RBM BMW
 4.  Bruno Spengler      Schnitzer BMW
 5.  Timo Scheider       Abt Audi
 6.  Marco Wittmann      MTEK BMW
 7.  Andy Priaulx        RMG BMW
 8.  Edoardo Mortara     Rosberg Audi
 9.  Miguel Molina       Phoenix Audi
10.  Timo Glock          MTEK BMW
11.  Gary Paffett        HWA Mercedes
12.  Mattias Ekstrom     Abt Audi
13.  Robert Wickens      HWA Mercedes
14.  Dirk Werner         Schnitzer BMW
15.  Adrien Tambay       Abt Audi
16.  Christian Vietoris  HWA Mercedes
17.  Jamie Green         Abt Audi
18.  Filipe Albuquerque  Rosberg Audi
19.  Roberto Merhi       HWA Mercedes
20.  Pascal Wehrlein     Mucke Mercedes
21.  Daniel Juncadella   Mucke Mercedes
22.  Martin Tomczyk      RMG BMW