Strong points haul for WINWARD Racing
Lucas Auer takes his second podium of the weekend in the rain-soaked Sunday race at the Nürburgring. A strong showing from David Schumacher.
With third place in the Sunday race, Lucas Auer completed a great race weekend at the Nürburgring for Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD. The 28-year-old Austrian left the Eifel with 36 points, making him the most successful driver of the fourth DTM meeting of the season. In the standings the nephew of ten-time Grand Prix winner Gerhard Berger jumped to sixth and kept his title chances alive. Team-mate David Schumacher impressed with third on the grid but was unlucky in several ways in the race and finished ninth at the end of the rain battle.
The two WWR drivers had already shown their podium ambitions in qualifying. With a perfect last lap on a rapidly drying track, Schumacher secured third on the grid. Auer, in fourth, completed an all-WINWARD second row.
Tyre choice proved decisive for the race. Like most of the field, the two WWR cars started on treaded tyres, expecting the rain to get heavier. And at first everything went like a dream. As the rain grew heavier and heavier, the two WWR aces took off like rockets and took a one-two lead after a few laps.
After the mandatory pit stops, however, things no longer went to plan for the Altendiez duo. A tyre pressure that was not ideal made life difficult for both drivers as the rain got ever heavier. “We had gambled on the rain easing a little in the final phase. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, so it became increasingly difficult to keep the tyres up to temperature,” said Schumacher, who was also unlucky to have made his mandatory stop just before a Full Course Yellow. Having dropped back to tenth, the 21-year-old Salzburg resident gained one more position but had to settle for ninth at the finish.
“It’s a bit of a shame because there was more in it, but all in all it was a good day for us,” Schumacher summed up. “The pace was very good all weekend, also compared to the other Mercedes-AMG GT3. Qualifying this morning was of course a real highlight. Unfortunately not everything went our way in the race, but we were fast again. We can build on that.”
Team-mate Auer struggled with similar problems and had to let two rivals past. Even so, the Tyrolean was not unhappy with his haul: “Nobody scored more points than us this weekend, so the Nürburgring was good for us. I’m really proud of the whole team. The first stint was mega, I could take the lead and manage the tyres. After the stop it didn’t go so well, I couldn’t get the tyres into the perfect window. We have to analyse that. But two podiums in one weekend is a very strong result.”
Team principal Christian Hohenadel agreed: “Both drivers did a super job in these difficult conditions. Unfortunately the Full Course Yellow came at an unlucky moment for David, which cost him a few positions. And with the tyre pressures we were a bit off on both cars in the second stint. But that’s how it is with poker – sometimes your hand wins, sometimes it doesn’t. Even so, it was a strong weekend for us, big compliments to the whole team!”
The DTM paddock moves on in just two weeks. Races 9 and 10 of the season take place on 19 and 20 August at the DEKRA Lausitzring near Dresden.