What’s the secret of Nicki Thiim on the Norisring? The Comtoyou driver took each pole positions and each race wins at his favourite monitor in his Aston Martin – the identical venue the place he had celebrated his solely DTM victory till then within the SSR Lamborghini in 2024. And he did so regardless of a Steadiness of Efficiency (BoP) adjustment on Sunday and success ballast within the second race. This was final achieved by Thomas Preining throughout his 2023 title win at Hockenheim.
“You must hit me – residing in a dream!”, the Dane, who’s now additionally the mid-season champion, can hardly consider it himself. However what makes him so quick in Nuremberg? “Nicki remains to be an actual old-school racer who fits tracks just like the Norisring the place the wall is the restrict,” says Mario Schuhbauer, who heads the DTM challenge on the Comtoyou workforce, following Aston Martin’s historic maiden victory within the DTM.
“He can choose the restrict on the Norisring completely, he was inside a millimeter of the wall each lap,” says the German, who was already concerned as workforce principal throughout Thiim’s SSR victory on the Norisring in 2024. “I have not seen that with another driver.”
David Schumacher: “You solely noticed that with Nicki Thiim”
What’s spectacular is that the 37-year-old apparently by no means went over the restrict. “The rear-view mirrors confirmed slight scraping marks. Like a file, he rasped down a bit, however not as soon as was a mirror knocked off throughout the whole weekend,” Schuhbauer notes. “He clearly simply feels comfy right here.”
David Schumacher observed that Thiim drove an uncommon line in qualifying on the exit of the Dutzendteich hairpin. “He drives very tight right here, at all times stays very near the wall to scale back drag alongside the wall,” the ex-DTM driver advised ran.de. “I might have thought we might see that from a number of individuals, however you solely noticed it with Nicki Thiim.”
Along with the partitions, which might shortly imply the tip on the Norisring, as Landgraf Mercedes driver Tom Kalender needed to discover out on Saturday, the braking part on the Norisring can also be essential. “He additionally takes a whole lot of danger beneath braking and brakes late, however he at all times will get it spot on and hits the restrict precisely. He was by no means over it,” Schuhbauer notes.
Thiim’s Norisring secret? “I am going to let you know nothing”
However what does Thiim himself say about his Norisring energy? “You want massive balls right here,” the “Viking” says with a smile at ran.de – stating that the Norisring is a “driver’s monitor,” even whether it is usually underestimated with its solely 4 corners.
“For me it is extra like a driver’s monitor, so it is extra like fine-tuning not solely the proper foot, but in addition the left foot, as a result of there’s a lot braking right here. Nearly getting a cramp within the automobile since you’re placing a lot effort into the brakes so usually due to this small circuit. It is simply optimizing these small particulars as it is so brief,” says Thiim.
Might he reveal just a few methods? “I am going to let you know nothing,” he solutions. “It is 4 corners, a road monitor with bumps. I believe with expertise, among the locations it is higher to go. As it is a road monitor, you do some bizarre strains generally.”
Millimeter precision: Nicki Thiim finds the proper restrict on the Norisring
Foto: ADAC Motorsport
Getting all that proper is “the important thing,” says Thiim, who is aware of the circuit properly from quite a few appearances within the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland and already took pole and each race wins in 2015. Might he not reveal just a few methods? “I am not revealing something,” he replies. “It is 4 corners – and a road circuit with bumps. With a little bit of expertise, the place it is best to drive finest. Typically you drive unusual strains. I am not going to provide you extra.”
Why the braking part on the Norisring is so tough
How does Winward Mercedes driver Maro Engel, who completed second on Saturday and can also be on Thiim’s heels within the championship, react to Thiim’s assertion? “I’ve had the pleasure of following him two years in the past for the entire race, and now I’ve adopted him the entire race once more, so let me let you know: I’ve seen just a few issues. I believe he is fairly sturdy in Flip 1, 2, 3, and 4,” he jokes.
The truth that the drivers drive “bizarre strains” on the Norisring due to the bumps additionally has to do with the ABS, which is put in in all GT3 vehicles. To forestall a wheel from locking on the bumps through the braking part, the ABS intervenes and releases the brake, which wastes just a few meters. In a duel, this will even result in a collision as a result of the braking impact fails.
Driving ability additionally performs a job right here, as the highest drivers brake in such a method that the ABS doesn’t intervene – and so they thus have the braking part beneath management themselves.
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