Mercedes Robert Wickens on the podium for the second race in Lausitzring

Mercedes-AMG Motorsport defend their overall lead in all three classifications during the second race weekend of the season

• Robert Wickens (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me) in P3 secured his 13th podium in the DTM and his fourth at the Lausitzring
• Gary Paffett (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me) books P4
• Lucas Auer (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM BWT) defends his lead in the drivers’ standings with a P10 finish
• Robert Wickens: “Two podiums in one weekend are a great result. The championship is only just getting started for me.”
• Ulrich Fritz: “That was another strong showing for us again this weekend with a win and a P2 yesterday, plus another podium today and P4 for Gary.”

Podium to end the Lausitzring Motorsport Festival: Robert Wickens (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me) finished third in his 70th DTM race in front of 67,500 spectators (through the gates over the weekend). This was the Canadian’s fourth podium in a row at the Lausitzring. This fourth race of the season also marked the 200th race of the ‘new DTM’ since the year 2000. Including Lucas Auer’s victory on Saturday, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport have notched up 13 wins at the Lausitzring during this period.

Gary Paffett (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me) in P4 crossed the finish line right behind his Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM team-mate. Lucas Auer (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM BWT) finished in the points for the fourth time this season in the fourth race of the year. He had a tough time in qualifying but improved by five positions to finish the race in P10.

The Austrian thus defended his lead in the drivers’ standings. Now on 69 points, he is 16 points clear of Jamie Green in second place, who won the second race at the Lausitzring. Mercedes-AMG Motorsport BWT on 88 points head the team standings. With 187 points, Mercedes-AMG also lead the manufacturer’s rankings.

Edoardo Mortara (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM BWT) finished his 80th DTM race in P11. Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM SILBERPFEIL Energy) and Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) crossed the finish line in P12 and P13 respectively.

Qualifying: In the second qualifying session on Sunday, Robert Wickens secured his first pole of the season and the third for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport this year after having qualified in second place on the front row right behind pole-sitter Lucas Auer on Saturday. “Rob’s lap was absolutely amazing. Just incredible, actually,” said Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Ulrich Fritz. “Gary also took it to the max.” The British driver secured the fourth-fastest time in the second qualifying session.

The next race weekend: The next two rounds of the 2017 DTM season will take place on the weekend of 16th – 18th June at the Hungaroring not far from Budapest.

Comments after the race

Robert Wickens (28, Canada):

• P3
• Car number: 6
• Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Mercedes me
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me

“I’d obviously hoped for more after taking pole, but I still finished on the podium, so it’s difficult to be too disappointed. The first stint was fantastic and I thought that I had the race under control, but Audi were really fast during the second stint. I was unable to find a reply. It wasn’t possible for us to pit on the first lap. Our tyres would not have held up long enough. We decided to make a relatively early pit stop in view of Eki’s pace at the start. That’s how I knew it would be close. I’ve never driven 30 laps before in one stint on the same tyres, but that’s exactly what I had to do today. Two podiums in one weekend are a great result. The championship is only just getting started for me. I would now like to keep it up. Congratulations to VfB Stuttgart on their promotion. I hope I did their colours proud.”

Gary Paffett (36, England):

• P4
• Car number: 2
• Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Mercedes me
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me

“I started from P4 on the grid and placed fourth, so I’m satisfied, but not ecstatic about it. I would have liked to have finished on the podium. For a lot of the race, it looked as if I could do it. I had a couple of battles during the first five rounds and pulled off some good manoeuvres against Martin and Blomqvist, after which I was third behind Jamie and Robert. Ekström, who had stopped very early and whose tyres were up to temperature, managed to get past after the pit stop. Although I think I was maybe a bit faster than Eki, I couldn’t find a way past him. We just weren’t quite fast enough on the straights.”

Lucas Auer (22, Austria):

• P10
• Car number: 22
• Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport BWT
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM BWT

“That was a great weekend for us overall. Thanks to all the guys in my team for their hard work. I got a great start and improved from 15th on the grid to finish ninth. My speed today was perhaps not outstanding, but I still picked up a point for P10. Now we’re off to the next race weekend.”

Edoardo Mortara (30, Italy):

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

“That was a tough weekend for me. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the car’s balance right for me. I struggled with pace both in the qualifying sessions and in the races. It’s difficult to improve when you start from the back. I tried to work my way up through the field from P18, but it wasn’t possible to place higher than eleventh. I now have to try to increase my pace in qualifying for the next races.”

Maro Engel (31, Germany):

• P12
• Car number: 63
• Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport SILBERPFEIL Energy
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM SILBERPFEIL Energy

“Our strategy was super, and the car was great to drive. Pace wasn’t too bad, but it’s never easy when you start so far back. I’m not quite sure why I had to give back a position. As far as I’m concerned, I overtook Augusto fairly, and he even made contact with the back of my car, making me run wide. I was five seconds up on him but had to let him through. Nevertheless, I want to thank my team. We again showed that the car is very fast. We can build on that in Budapest.”

Paul Di Resta (31, Scotland):

• P13
• Car number: 3
• Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport SILBERPFEIL Energy
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“That was a tough race. It’s always tough when you have to start from the back. I had contacts with Spengler and Glock after the pit stop. I don’t know if things would have been much better but for that happening. Overall, it was a disappointing day. Now there’s a long break before the next race. I’ll have time to collect myself and prepare to attack again. I’m looking forward to that.”

Ulrich Fritz, Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM:

“That was another strong showing for us again this weekend with a win and a P2 yesterday, plus another podium today and P4 for Gary, so we can be satisfied. However, it’s a pity that we couldn’t convert pole position into a win. A win for Rob would have been terrific, especially today of all days when VfB Stuttgart are celebrating promotion.

Race results: Top Ten

Drivers‘ Championship

Manufacturers‘ Championship

Teams‘ Championship

Source : Mercedes.com

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