Maro Engel takes his maiden win in the DTM in the second race at the Moscow Raceway

Maro Engel (SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) takes his maiden win in the DTM in the second race at the Moscow Raceway

• Maro Engel (SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) secures maiden victory in his 52nd DTM race
• Lucas Auer (BWT Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) and Robert Wickens (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me) finish in the points, placing ninth and tenth respectively
• Maro Engel: “It was an incredible race. Those were definitely the longest five, six laps of my life.”
• Ulrich Fritz: “Congratulations to Maro on his maiden victory in the DTM. It was a brilliant achievement.”

Spectacular debut for Maro Engel (SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) at the Moscow Raceway. In only his second race at the Russian circuit, the driver, who returned to the DTM at the start of the season, took his maiden victory in the DTM in front of 25,000 spectators (over the weekend). The winner of last year’s 24-hour race at the Nürburgring made his debut this weekend at the Moscow Raceway to the north-west of the Russian capital. On his way to his maiden win in the DTM, Engel benefited from his strategy of pitting early and from a safety car period.

Lucas Auer (BWT Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) placed ninth, and Robert Wickens (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me) took the chequered flag in P10. After this tenth race of the season, Auer is on 97 points and ranked third in the drivers’ standings.

Gary Paffett (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me) crossed the finish line just outside the points in P11. After the race, he was handed a 30-second penalty for causing a collision with Audi driver Loïc Duval. Edoardo Mortara (BWT Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) took Paffett’s eleventh place. Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) had to retire his car in the pits with a damaged tyre four laps before the end after a contact while scrapping for position with Loïc Duval (Audi).

The next race weekend: The second half of the 2017 DTM season will get under way on the circuit in the dunes at Zandvoort on the weekend of 18th – 20th August with races eleven and twelve.

Comments after the race

Maro Engel (31, Germany):

• P1
• Car number: 63
• Team: SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
• Car: SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“That was an incredible race. I had to stay patient behind Nico Müller and look after my tyres. But my car today was mega. At the end of the race, I saw Mattias getting close, but I didn’t know it was the last lap. Fortunately, the race came to an end at this moment. Those were definitely the longest five or six laps of my life.”

Lucas Auer (22, Austria):

• P9
• Car number: 22
• Team: BWT Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
• Car: BWT Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“We need to find more performance in general. The overtaking manoeuvres in the race were harsh. I think my two points were really hard earned, but it was a tough weekend.”

Robert Wickens (28, Canada):

• P10
• Car number: 6
• Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Mercedes me
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me

“That was a crazy race. I had a good start and got into P6 again on Lap 1. That was a first step. From there, I was settling into a good race and putting pressure on Glock for P5. Unfortunately, the safety car came out. It didn’t mess us up so much, but it wasn’t optimum. After the safety car, I had to really push. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the fastest pit stop, and I lost some time. In the end, though, it was a pretty fun race and at least I came away with a championship point. Obviously, it’s a pity because I was hoping for a Top Five finish after the start.”

Edoardo Mortara (30, Italy):

• P11
• Car number: 48
• Team: BWT Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
• Car: BWT Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“A tough weekend for me overall. We tried out a couple of new things in this race, but unfortunately, they didn’t work out. It was a bit better in the race, but it’s not easy when you’re so far back. My pace was not great, but consistent. We’ll now have to see if we can do better in the remaining four weekends.”

Gary Paffett (36, England):

• P16
• Car number: 2
• Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Mercedes me
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me

“That was a pretty tough race. I got off to a pretty good start, but then I got blocked by the traffic in turn one and lost a couple of places. After that, we stayed out a long time, which was a strategy that seemed to work. I gained a few places by doing that. When I came out after the pit stop, I dropped back a bit. Some guys that pitted really early benefited from the safety car, which obviously didn’t help us. We were not all that lucky today. I then lost some more places following the 30-second penalty after the incident with Duval, but that doesn’t change anything really as regards my haul of points.”

Paul Di Resta (31, Scotland):

• DNF (classified 17th)
• Car number: 3
• Team: SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“Well done to Maro on his maiden win and first podium. It was a very good day for me with regard to my speed which was excellent in qualifying. The safety car obviously mixed things up, but without it P2 or P3 would have been possible. We went aggressive, trying to take as many points as possible, but I got caught out and punctured. A bit of a bad weekend overall, but my speed today was a positive.”

Ulrich Fritz, Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM:

“Congratulations to Maro on his maiden victory in the DTM. Of course, we were lucky with the safety car, but, despite Müller attempting to back up the field to enable Ekström to win, he stayed cool and wrapped it up at the finish line. It was a brilliant achievement.”

Race results: Top Ten

Drivers‘ Championship

Manufacturers‘ Championship

Teams‘ Championship

Source : Mercedes.com

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