After taking the DTM lead with a second-place end on Saturday, Lucas Auer’s Sunday at Zandvoort went south. Through the security automobile restart, the Landgraf Mercedes driver had simply overtaken Nicki Thiim for seventh place when the Comtoyou Aston Martin driver despatched him right into a spin, dropping him to the again of the sphere.
“A extremely nice transfer,” the Austrian fumed in an interview with ran.de after being hit within the rear by Thiim. “Essential for each of us – undoubtedly. Now we’ve completed second to final and final. There’s nothing extra to say; after that, it was a day to neglect.”
The sarcasm highlights the present temper of the normally cheerful Mercedes-AMG driver. Auer ultimately fought again to thirteenth, salvaging three factors, whereas Thiim completed 18th. The Dane needed to serve three journeys by the penalty zone – a time loss equal to fifteen seconds.
“Had a large tank-slapper”: Thiim explains the mishap
Race Director Sven Stoppe did not even trouble referring the case to the stewards – the state of affairs was that clear-cut for him. “I’m dissatisfied in myself; I made an enormous mistake on the restart,” the Dane admitted, noting that he went into the gravel even earlier than the ultimate nook.
Simply earlier than the contact: Auer received the duel, Thiim began sliding
Photograph: ADAC Motorsport
This allowed Ben Dörr to slide previous, and Auer capitalized as nicely. As soon as the Austrian was clear, Thiim says he “had a large tank-slapper within the first nook. So I hit Lucas, which I’m clearly super-sorry for.” After that he had “injury – after which the race was executed.”
With front-end injury and three penalty laps, “which i clearly deserve”, the result was inevitable. For these unfamiliar with the time period: a “tank-slapper” refers to a second the place a driver almost loses management of the automobile and has to right aggressively, which on this case precipitated Thiim to slip into Auer’s automobile.
Auer after clear-the-air talks: “He doubtless had pickup on his tires”
Auer and the “Viking” cleared the air after the race, with Thiim taking full duty. “On the restart, he already went broad. He in all probability had loads of pickup on the tires,” Auer famous after the dialog, suggesting that rubber particles on the tires had compromised Thiim’s grip. “It occurs. It’s the worst-case situation for him and for me, however that’s racing.”
Regardless of the unlucky Sunday within the Netherlands, Auer – who secured two seconds and a 3rd within the first three races of the season – sits second within the total standings behind fellow Mercedes driver Maro Engel (Winward).
Subsequent up is the Lausitzring, the place Auer claimed the primary of his eleven DTM victories again in 2016. “Coming again there may be all the time particular for me,” he stated, trying ahead to the subsequent weekend with optimistic vibes. The championship runner-up is extensively thought of a Lausitzring specialist.
“It’s an excellent monitor for me – and I’m trying ahead to it,” he says. In the meantime, Thiim sits ninth within the standings following his ninth-place end on Saturday.
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