A mixed race Sunday for WWR
Disappointment for Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD on Sunday of the DTM weekend at the Lausitzring: Auer the only one in the points.
The second DTM weekend of the 2022 season at the Lausitzring ended with an overall disappointing result for Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD Racing. At the end of a difficult race Sunday, only Lucas Auer (27, Kufstein/A) added more points to his championship tally in eighth. His team-mates David Schumacher (20, Salzburg/A) and Maximilian Götz (36, Uffenheim) had to settle for 14th and 15th.
Morning qualifying had already not gone as hoped for the WWR trio. While Schumacher secured the best grid position of his young DTM career in tenth, Auer (9th) and especially Götz (19th) were anything but happy with their starting positions. The decisive final phase was particularly turbulent after qualifying had to be stopped shortly before the end because of an incident on track. In the last four minutes after the restart, none of the three WWR drivers managed a flawless lap – and that in an incredibly tight qualifying in which the top 20 drivers were separated by less than six tenths of a second!
The race did not go to plan either. Auer complained from the start about imperfect handling of his KNAUS Mercedes-AMG GT3: “The pace wasn’t good, and I had to defend from the start. Unfortunately that didn’t get better on the second set of tyres either. We need to analyse why we lost so much performance between yesterday and today. With eighth place we at least limited the damage, although in one or two situations we also benefited from rivals’ problems.” In the standings, “Luggi” slipped from first to third.
DTM rookie Schumacher lost several positions at the rolling start and came back from the first lap only in 14th. Thanks to good race pace and a successful pit stop, the driver of the Ravenol car nevertheless kept the points in sight – until a car being lapped got in his way on the final lap: “I had to swerve, got my right wheels on the grass, and Max moved alongside me. We didn’t touch, but at the corner exit I ran out of room, had to go across the grass and lost two positions. Overall the car wasn’t perfect, especially as I had damaged the front splitter in a contact. A shame – after the good qualifying, the race went anything but optimally.”
Defending champion Götz did not beat around the bush either: “After the terrible qualifying, nothing at all worked in the race on the first set of tyres either. The car was completely out of balance and I had severe understeer. Hoping for a safety car phase, we still did a long first stint. After the late stop on lap 21 I was immediately much faster and was able to gain a few positions.” Because of an incident with a Lamborghini driver, the Franconian in the BWT car with number 1 was given a five-second penalty afterwards, which dropped him from 13th to 15th. Team-mate Schumacher benefited and moved up to P14.
WWR team principal Christian Hohenadel took the mediocre race Sunday pragmatically: “On good days you win, on less good days you learn. We have quite a lot to work through. Still, I have to praise the team. The guys fought for every hundredth and delivered very good pit stops today. Before the next race we will analyse exactly what didn’t work perfectly here. And then we will attack again at Imola. We have already tested there and are travelling to this great circuit with a good feeling.”
Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2022 DTM season take place on 18/19 June at the legendary “Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari” outside Bologna. ProSieben broadcasts live as always.