DTM: 2018 Lausitzring – Race 2

Fourth race of the season at the Lausitzring: Three Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM drivers in Top Four

• Gary Paffett (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS) took his second win of the year, his fourth at the Lausitzring and the 22nd of his DTM career
• Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS) finished third on the podium for the first time since returning to the DTM this season
• Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS) improved eleven positions and booked P4
• Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS head the team classification after the initial two race weekends; Mercedes-AMG are first in the constructors’ classification. Gary in P2 is just one point behind the leader in the drivers’ standings.
• Gary Paffett: “After two race weekends, I now have two wins under my belt – that’s an incredible start to the season.”
• Ulrich Fritz: “This has been a great weekend for our entire team. Top job, guys!”

Second race, second win: Following the success of Edoardo Mortara (SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport) on Saturday, Gary Paffett (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS) secured a second victory this weekend for the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM Team at the Lausitzring. This was the British driver’s second success this season and the 22nd overall of his DTM career following the season opener at Hockenheim.

The 2005 DTM champion is now the most successful driver at the Lausitzring with four victories to his name. DTM record-breaking champion Bernd Schneider and Jamie Green have both won three times at the Lausitzring. This was Mercedes-AMG Motorsport’s 15th victory at this circuit and our 184th in the DTM.

Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS) finished third and joined team-mate Gary on the podium. For the 2015 DTM champion, this was his seventh podium finish in his DTM career and first since returning to the series this year. Pascal was last on the DTM podium at the Nürburgring in 2015 but has some fond memories of the Lausitzring as well, as he took his maiden win in the DTM there in 2014.

Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS) went on a strong charge over the 34 laps to finish fourth. Paul started out from grid position 15 and gained 11 positions thanks to clever use of strategy.

Edoardo Mortara (Mercedes Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport SILBERPFEIL) and Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS) finished eleventh and twelfth respectively just outside the Top Ten. Lucas Auer (SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport) crossed the line in 14th position.

Five Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM drivers are in the Top Six of the drivers’ classification after the first four races of the season. Gary is on 71 points, just one point behind championship leader Timo Glock (BMW). In the team championship, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS are in first place with 110 points. With 212 points, Mercedes-AMG lead the constructors’ standings from BMW (164) and Audi (52).

The next race weekend: The DTM will get this year’s first fixture outside of Germany underway in two weeks’ time when drivers line up at the Hungaroring not far from the Hungarian capital, Budapest (1st – 3rd June). Paul Di Resta won the first race last year on Saturday in Hungary.

Comments after the race

Gary Paffett (37, England):

• P1
• Car number: 2
• Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“That was a tough race. It was very hot out there, and the cars were sliding about quite a lot, which made it a far from easy race. Yesterday, I said that we would do our best, and today it was enough to win. We knew that our car was good. After two race weekends, I now have two wins under my belt – that’s an incredible start to the season. After the pit stop, I was happy with the gap I’