DTM – Gary Paffett fourth in second race at Spielberg

Three Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTMs in the points again in Austria

• Gary Paffett (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me) books P4, achieving the 105th points-scoring finish of his DTM career
• Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) and Robert Wickens (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me) also in the points with P9 and P10
• Gary Paffett: “It’s not ideal, but it was the best possible result given the pace we had this weekend.”
• Ulrich Fritz: “Well, at least the fans got to see an exciting race towards the end.” 

The penultimate race weekend of the DTM season in Spielberg ended with fourth place for Gary Paffett (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me) in front of 35,500 spectators (through the gates over the weekend). The 2005 DTM champion thus achieved the 105th points-scoring finish of his DTM career and his twelfth this season. Two more Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM drivers finished in the Top Ten – Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM, ninth place) and Robert Wickens (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me, 10th place). Wickens was fourth in the first race on Saturday. Maro Engel (SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) finished the 16th race of the DTM season in 15th place. Local favourite Lucas Auer (BWT Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) retired from his home race shortly before the end after Bruno Spengler (BMW) had caused him to spin off. Edoardo Mortara (BWT Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) also had to park up in the pits shortly afterwards. The next race weekend: Drivers and teams will head from Styria to Hockenheim for the DTM season finale, 13th – 15th October, when the last two races of the year will be contested at what is a home fixture for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport. Comments after the race Gary Paffett (36, England):

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

“I’m pleased. I had a good qualifying and qualified in P6. Then I got a good start, but felt something odd just before I pitted. I thought maybe there was a lot of pickup on the tyres. The car felt good on the fresh set of tyres after the stop, so I was happy. Still, it was a very long stint, and I had to look after the tyres a bit. I managed, though, to hold on to P7 and then overtook two cars driven by Marco and Eki on the restart. I crossed the line in P4 thanks to Green and his problem. That was really good. It’s not ideal but it was the best possible result, given the pace we had this weekend.” Paul Di Resta (31, Scotland):

• P9
• Car number: 3
• Team: SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
• Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“At least I came away with a few points. I was lucky to finish the race, because something was wrong with the set of tyres. I thought something was broken. I guess the safety car towards the end helped us a bit.” Robert Wickens (28, Canada):

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

“Pretty crazy race. I mean the start itself was okay. We tried going really long on the opening stint, which is why I was managing the tyres and maybe I overdid it, because I got a lot of graining. After that, I was struggling a little bit for speed. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough pace to make any undercuts, and I was catching people on cold tyres and got stuck. The race opened up again once the safety car came out, and I’m pleased in the end to have scored at least one point. I had to fight hard for it. I overtook four cars on the last four laps, but ultimately, we now need to find out why our pace wasn’t as strong as yesterday.” Maro Engel (32, Germany):

• P15
• Car number: 63
• Team: SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
• Car: SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“Unfortunately, that was not a particularly good weekend for us. I think our pace in this race was not so bad. But the drive-through penalty was my fault – I pulled over to the right too early. It can be quite tricky, because you can’t see the line when you’re driving so close behind the other cars. That’s why I pulled over too soon. Now we are looking ahead to Hockenheim, where we intend to do a lot better.” Edoardo Mortara (30, Italy):

• Retired (classified P17)
• Car number: 48
• Team: BWT Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
• Car: BWT Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

“My race today was heavily affected by the actions of another driver. Augusto Farfus pulled a dangerous move at the start and changed his line while braking. Later, on the restart, he pushed me off the track and ultimately out of the race.” Lucas Auer (23, Austria):

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

“That’s racing. When you’re stuck way down the field, of course, it can happen that someone makes contact with you. Still, racing here in Austria in front of such a large crowd was mega.” Ulrich Fritz, Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM: “Well, at least the fans got to see an exciting race towards the end, but it’s obviously very annoying the way that Luggi was pushed off track and out of the race through no fault of his own. As I saw it, the driving by one opponent in particular was downright aggressive. We lost three of our cars as a result. The one positive from today was Gary’s performance. What a strong display!” Race results: Top Ten Drivers‘ Championship Manufacturers‘ Championship Teams‘ Championship Press release DTM]]>