Nicki Thiim loved an ideal weekend on the Norisring in Nuremberg: After the Dane claimed Aston Martin’s first-ever DTM victory on Saturday, he adopted it up on Sunday. Ranging from pole place, the Comtoyou driver managed the second race as effectively and secured one other triumph.
“I am extremely proud,” Thiim says fortunately on ProSieben, as he additionally leads the general standings. “That was all the time the dream, to have the title again on the high. I feel the final time was in 1992 or one thing. That was the dream as a toddler.” Father Kurt Thiim was runner-up within the DTM again then, after even successful the title within the 1986 season.
“Unimaginable that I by no means thought I might sometime be the general DTM chief,” provides the Aston Martin driver. “So I am simply speechless proper now. I am nonetheless dwelling on this dream of the entire weekend. It is merely unbelievable.”
Though winner Thiim needed to defend himself a number of instances throughout the race towards HRT Ford teen Finn Wiebelhaus, the 20-year-old discovered no well beyond regardless of a number of assaults and makes an attempt. Lucas Auer (Landgraf-Mercedes) completes the rostrum in third.
Maro Engel aggravated with AMG sister group
Arjun Maini (HRT-Ford) finishes fourth, adopted by Jules Gounon (Winward-Mercedes) and Thierry Vermeulen within the Emil-Frey-Ferrari. Earlier total DTM chief Maro Engel (Winward-Mercedes) has a tough race, however nonetheless finishes seventh after beginning twelfth and has handy the championship result in Thiim.
“That was a troublesome race, I gave it all the things,” Engel sums up on ProSieben. “The opening section did not go fairly so effectively. On the rain tires I used to be then in a position to make up locations and slowly work my manner ahead. Then sadly there was the mishap on the pit cease.” There, the AMG driver needed to wait briefly and let model colleague Tom Kalender by way of.
“It had really been agreed that it would not occur,” the Winward driver complains, referring to the Landgraf squad. “We will definitely take one other take a look at it afterwards. I do not know the way a lot distinction it made, perhaps two locations.” Seventh place was finally “the utmost,” says Engel, who has dropped to 3rd total. “So from that viewpoint, we’ll take the factors.”
Bastian Buus (Land-Porsche), Thomas Preining (Manthey-Porsche) and Marco Wittmann (Schubert-BMW) apparently profit from the following BoP adjustment and full the highest 10 on Sunday. Mirko Bortolotti (Grasser-Lamborghini) finishes eleventh.
Rain bathe causes one other race stoppage
As on the day past, Nicki Thiim transformed his pole place into the race lead instantly initially, adopted by the 2 HRT Ford drivers Finn Wiebelhaus and Arjun Maini. Nevertheless, after a number of rear-end collisions within the midfield left particles scattered throughout the monitor, the security automobile was deployed.
Among the many largest victims of the chaos have been Maro Engel, who broken the entrance part of his Winward-Mercedes, and Matteo Cairoli. The Emil-Frey-Ferrari driver additionally needed to serve a penalty lap shortly afterwards as a result of he had jumped the beginning, dropping him to the again of the sector.
Shortly after the beginning of the race, which had already been delayed by quarter-hour attributable to an accident within the help program, gentle rain started to fall over the Norisring. The security automobile restart due to this fact become the primary slide, though all drivers initially remained unhurt.
Within the following laps, the rain grew to become more and more heavy. Nonetheless, no driver took the danger of switching to rain tires earlier than the pit cease window opened and thus unnecessarily dropping time. A collision between Cairoli and Marco Mapelli within the Abt-Lamborghini required one other security automobile interval.
As soon as once more, the primary nook grew to become the scene of an accident: Mapelli apparently misplaced management of his Abt-Lamborghini below braking and subsequently took out the Ferrari driver. Race management reacted instantly and determined to droop the race.
Through the roughly ten-minute break, all groups have been in a position to swap to rain tires with out dropping time. As well as, the Winward group used the chance to a minimum of provisionally restore the harm to Maro Engel’s Mercedes. The restart then happened after two flying laps behind the security automobile.
Wiebelhaus and Thiim combat for the lead
After the interruption, all the things initially remained unchanged on the entrance: Thiim defended his lead forward of Wiebelhaus, whereas Maini and Auer, simply as on the day past, battled for third place. This time, nonetheless, the Austrian prevailed.
Shortly after the restart, the primary pit cease window opened. Initially, nonetheless, no driver headed for the pits as a result of the rain tires have been nonetheless the higher selection regardless of the rain now easing. On the identical time, the racing line was more and more drying out.
On the entrance, Wiebelhaus sensed his likelihood for a time and put Thiim below strain, however his assault was unsuccessful. Additional again, Timo Glock as soon as once more needed to park his Dörr-McLaren after touching the “Wall of Champions” and damaging the rear suspension within the course of.
Wiebelhaus was subsequently among the many first drivers to change to slicks after they as soon as once more grew to become the higher selection. Nicki Thiim adopted three laps later and returned to the monitor instantly in entrance of the HRT-Ford driver.
The 20-year-old, who had celebrated his first DTM podium end on the Lausitzring, managed to convey his tyres as much as temperature extra shortly and closed the hole. In consequence, Wiebelhaus stayed carefully tucked in behind his rival and repeatedly pulled alongside Thiim’s Aston Martin on the straight in direction of the Grundigkehre, though Thiim defended cleverly.
Nicki Thiim celebrates his third DTM profession victory
By the point the second pit cease window opened, Wiebelhaus needed to drop again once more. Each the Ford driver and race chief Thiim waited considerably longer than the competitors for his or her second cease, with the pursuer once more making the primary transfer.
Wiebelhaus’ potential undercut additionally didn’t repay as a result of the HRT group’s pit stops weren’t excellent this weekend. The Belgian Comtoyou squad was quicker, that means the Dane remained within the lead even after the second pit cease.
Thiim due to this fact solely needed to defend his lead within the closing levels. Though Wiebelhaus fought his manner again to inside lower than two seconds of the chief within the closing laps, the Comtoyou driver safely introduced his third profession victory within the DTM throughout the end line.
Thiim now additionally leads the general standings: The Dane took the utmost haul of 56 factors on the Norisring and leads the standings with a complete of 117 factors. Lucas Auer (108 factors) is second, whereas Maro Engel (105 factors) has dropped to 3rd place.
After the heavy crash within the first race on Saturday, solely 19 drivers took the beginning on Sunday: Maximilian Paul (Grasser Lamborghini) and Kelvin van der Linde (Schubert BMW) have been unable to contest the Sunday race attributable to their accidents and the extreme harm to their vehicles, respectively.
The DTM is taking a three-week break: The following two races will happen at Motorsport Enviornment Oschersleben (July 24 to 26). Whereas a begin for Paul is just about dominated out as a result of leg accidents, van der Linde might return to the cockpit of his BMW M4 GT3 Evo at Schubert’s residence race.
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