David Coulthard takes his final bow

DAVID Coulthard had his last race behind the wheel in motorsport yesterday, retiring after 23 of 42 laps of the DTM grand finale at Hockenheim. BMW’s Bruno Spengler won the 2012 championship by four points and the race by 2.2 seconds ahead of Gary Paffett, who was runner-up in both the title tussle and the race.

Former Formula 1 star Coulthard, who is quitting to dedicate more time to media duties, said: “Competing in my last race here at Hockenheim in front of so many DTM fans has been a great honour. I had intended securing a better result on the occasion of bowing out. However, you can’t pick and choose in the DTM. This is racing at the highest level. I have had an absolutely brilliant time in the past three years and will always look back with fondness to this period in my life.”

Fellow Scot Susie Wolff, now a Williams F1 test driver also bowed out after finishing 13th. She said: “I’m leaving with mixed emotions. I want to laugh and cry at the same time. I would have liked a better result than P13 but I’m looking forward to starting a new chapter in my life.”