There was drama for Winward Mercedes driver in Saturday’s season-opening DTM race on the Pink Bull Ring.
The Frenchman was chasing race chief chief and was even closing in on the “Grello” Porsche when, 5 laps from the top, a spectacular plume of smoke all of the sudden appeared from the right-rear wheel, forcing him out of the race – and leaving him extraordinarily annoyed.
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“It is simply annoying me as a result of the previous couple of years I did not have a lot luck,” he mentioned. “I do not imagine in luck, however I labored tremendous arduous throughout the winter. I made quite a lot of selections in my life that had been tough to take.
“I modified quite a lot of stuff to attempt to come again.”
And certainly, victory was inside attain for the ‘Mamba’ driver. “All the trouble, all of the sacrifices you make over winter, they’re lastly unfolding collectively.
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“Then I exited the final nook, the steering was to the left, and I used to be like, ‘OK, I am fairly certain it is achieved’.”
Gounon pointed to a suspension subject because the trigger for his stoppage at Flip 1.
“The day was wonderful after which I had a suspension failure,” he revealed. “So, 5 laps to the top. I do not know, typically it is simply horrible.”
It was not the primary time a Mercedes-AMG GT3 suffered a suspension-related failure at Spielberg. Final yr, additionally stopped throughout free apply with smoke popping out of his automotive. The trigger again then was a defect within the wheel service.
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A full evaluation of Gounon’s drawback was not attainable till after 5pm on Saturday as a result of parc ferme rules. Afterward, the staff discovered that, as suspected, a suspension part had damaged.
Why Gounon all of the sudden fought for victory
Whereas the 31-year-old didn’t have an optimum qualifying within the morning and began solely from sixth place, his Mercedes colleagues and Auer certified on pole and third respectively.
Nonetheless, Gounon benefited from a powerful begin that introduced him as much as fourth, a mediocre pit stops for his Mercedes team-mates, in addition to the timing of personal pitstop, and all of the sudden discovered himself inside hanging distance of the lead.
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“The technique was nice, every part was mega,” he mentioned.
“I used to be feeling good, I used to be even closing a bit on Thomas. I used to be saving for the top to attempt to assault.”
However what modifications did Gounon make over the winter? Based on Motorsport.com’s sister title Motorsport-Complete.com, he obtained new mechanics at Winward.
Gounon, who confirmed his pace repeatedly in his first DTM season final yr however continues to be chasing his first win, lamented the lack of 20 factors.
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“It’s all the time about two or three factors in the long run,” he saud.
“So, yeah, 20 factors, it is like this. I am unable to change now.”
“While you see final yr, yearly, it is preventing for 2, three factors on the finish of the championship. So whenever you lose 20 like that, it hurts.”
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