Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website Disappointing race Sunday for Mercedes-AMG in Zandvoort despite strong second place showing by Gary Paffett
luglio 18, 2016 - Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport

Disappointing race Sunday for Mercedes-AMG in Zandvoort despite strong second place showing by Gary Paffett

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Dramatic end to race in #zandvoort: Robert Wickens loses overall lead following puncture

  • Gary Paffett (EURONICS #mercedesamg C 63 DTM) achieves his first podium of the season in second place
  • Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) and Lucas Auer (BWT #mercedesamg C 63 DTM) finish in the points
  • Gary Paffett: “That was an excellent weekend for me, definitely the best so far this year. My car was absolutely fantastic.”

Gary Paffett (EURONICS #mercedesamg C 63 DTM) kicked off the second half of the 2016 #dtm season with second place at #zandvoort. This was Paffett’s first podium of the year after previously winning three times at #zandvoort.

The winner of Saturday’s race, Robert Wickens (SILBERPFEIL Energy #mercedesamg C 63 DTM), was in second place until just before the finish. P2 would have given him the overall lead in the drivers' standings, but the closing stages of his race were filled with drama when he had a puncture, losing many places as a result. He crossed the finish line in P16 after making an extra pit stop. A similar fate befell #mercedesamg #dtm team-mate Christian Vietoris (BWT #mercedesamg C 63 DTM), who was forced to retire.

Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) and Lucas Auer (BWT #mercedesamg C 63 DTM) finished eighth and ninth respectively. Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) came home in twelfth place. #dtm rookie Esteban Ocon (FREE MEN'S WORLD #mercedesamg C 63 DTM) crossed the finish line in P18. Maximilian Götz (Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM) retired 20 minutes before the end.

The next race weekend: The #dtm will take a short summer break after this weekend in #zandvoort which marks the season mid-point. The next two races will take place at the Moscow Raceway, 19th-21st August.

Comments after the race

Gary Paffett (35, England):

  • P2
  • Car number: 2
  • Team: EURONICS / FREE MEN'S WORLD #mercedesamg (Mercedes-AMG #dtm Team ART)

“This has been a great weekend for me – without a doubt the best so far this season. My car was absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, Robert and Christian dropped back or retired towards the end. Up to that point, it had been looking like a very strong team performance from us. Our car was perfectly set up. If we can get that right again in Moscow, we are in with a chance of further podium finishes. The season so far has been one of ups and downs, but the championship is still wide open and there is everything to play for.”

Paul Di Resta (30, Scotland):

“Another disappointing weekend for me. Don’t ask me what, but something is not quite right. We’ll have to get to the bottom of it. The car simply does not feel like it should. This is a missed opportunity. But I know I can fight for wins and podiums, if we can get the car right. I firmly believe that my team and I can do it.”& lt; /p>

Lucas Auer (21, Austria):

“I made a minor error on my qualifying lap. That was my fault. But then in the race itself, I had strong pace and once again managed to finish in the points. My overtaking manoeuvre on Martin Tomczyk was certainly one of the best of my career to date. It’s what makes #racing so much fun. Congratulations also to Gary on securing his first podium of the season.”

Daniel Juncadella (25, Spain):

“The race was a lot of fun – I advanced all the way from the back of the field to finish in P12. Unfortunately, you don’t score any points for that. But anyway, my car was very good, so a big ‘ thank you’ to my mechanics. After my mistake in qualifying, the car was in quite a damaged state, but they did an excellent job. In fact, I even set the fastest race lap. Respect, guys!”

Robert Wickens (27, Canada):

“I’m a bit lost for words. I had an excellent start and improved to third place. I was then able to go past Gary and take second place. He left me plenty of space – which was very fair of him. I looked very strong in the first stint and was even able to attack Jamie. However, I decided not to take too many risks. The puncture shortly before the end was a hard knock to take. We did a brilliant job this weekend and would really have earned these points.”

Esteban Ocon (19, France):

  • P18
  • Car number: 34
  • Team: EURONICS / FREE MEN'S WORLD #mercedesamg (Mercedes-AMG #dtm Team ART)

“Qualifying went well again today. That’s very positive. My start was OK and I didn’t lose any positions. The first stint was also a decent one. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the necessary pace to keep up with the other drivers in the second stint. Also, Antonio pushed me off the track, which ruined my race.”

Christian Vietoris (27, Germany):

“Unfortunately, it was out of our hands in the end. It had been another good day up until that point. The team did a super job again, and our car was the fastest in the field all weekend. Too bad that once more, we were unable to score enough points. We were going great guns in the race, and I had the necessary pace, but it was all over after the puncture.”

Maximilian Götz (30, Germany):

“My start was super. I pushed forwards and was well placed. I came in early for the undercut after that. I was behind several cars after my pit stop when I suddenly realised that something was wrong. The team then told me on the radio that a wheel was missing. That was obviously very unfortunate, because a weekend spoilt by two retirements is a huge disappointment. The car’s performance was good, and more would have been possible, for sure.”

Ulrich Fritz, Head of #mercedesamg #dtm:

“Although I’m obviously delighted for Gary after his P2 finish, the end of the race was a huge disappointment for us. First we had to bring Robert into the pits with a puncture when he was lying second. After that, the best he could manage was P16. Then we lost Chris with the same problem when he was in P3. That’s a bitter blow. We should definitely have got more out of today’s race. Robert would have led the drivers’ championship, and we also lost vital points in the team standings. It’s a massive setback for the whole team, but we’ll do our best to strike back in Moscow.”

Race results: Top Ten

Pos

Driver

Manufacturer

Time

1

Jamie Green

Audi

1:01:54.997

2

Gary Paffett

Mercedes-AMG

+9.731

3

Edoardo Mortara

Audi

+14.153

4

Marco Wittmann

BMW

+18.833

5

Nico Müller

Audi

+19.629

6

Timo Glock

BMW

+21.455

7

Mattias Ekström

Audi

+24.135

8

Paul Di Resta

Mercedes-AMG

+28.983

9

Lucas Auer

Mercedes-AMG

+29.430

10

Tom Blomqvist

BMW

+29.875

Drivers‘ Championship

Pos

Driver

Manufacturer

Points

1

Marco Wittmann

BMW

105

(...)

 

 

 

4

Robert Wickens

Mercedes-AMG

83

5

Paul Di Resta

Mercedes-AMG

74

(...)

 

 

 

10

Gary Paffett

Mercedes-AMG

52

(...)

 

 

 

12

Lucas Auer

Mercedes-AMG

43

13

Christian Vietoris

Mercedes-AMG

42

(...)

 

 

 

21

Daniel Juncadella

Mercedes-AMG

4

22

Maximilian Götz

Mercedes-AMG

4

23

Esteban Ocon

Mercedes-AMG

2

Manufacturers‘ Championship

Pos

Manufacturer

Points

1

BMW

358

2

Audi

348

3

Mercedes-AMG

304

Teams‘ Championship

Pos

Team

Points

1

BMW Team RMG

153

(...)

 

 

6

SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG

87

7

BWT Mercedes-AMG

85

8

Mercedes-AMG

78

(...)

 

 

10

EURONICS /FREE MEN'S WORLD Mercedes-AMG

54

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