A podium for WWR’s DTM anniversary
Maro Engel finishes a superb second in the Sunday race of the 2024 DTM opening weekend at Oschersleben. Bad luck for team-mate Lucas Auer.
A successful anniversary for Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. In the German-Texan team’s 50th DTM race, Maro Engel (38, Monaco) drove his Mercedes-AMG GT3 to second place after a superb comeback. His team-mate Lucas Auer (29, Kufstein) was caught up in a collision on the opening lap that was not his fault, but with a fighting masterclass still brought his car, entered by Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER, home in eleventh.
After qualifying it was clear that the two WWR drivers had a tough job ahead. In a session in which the best 19 cars were covered by just over eight tenths of a second, the two cars from Altendiez were only 10th (Engel, 0.466 sec behind) and 13th (Auer, 0.555 sec behind) on the grid.
The race, however, went almost perfectly, at least for Engel. After the first lap the number 130 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the “130 Years of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport / RAVENOL” design came past start and finish in seventh and then found itself in a train of seven cars. The positive turning point came on lap 18, when the Munich-born driver came in for the mandatory tyre change just as the race was neutralised by a Full Course Yellow because of an incident on track.
Because the cars may only drive at pit lane speed in this phase, and the WWR pit crew delivered a lightning stop at the same time, Engel was second when the pit window closed. Within a few laps the veteran had closed up to the leading Lamborghini and set the fastest lap of the race in 1:23.245, but found no way past on the twisty track in the Magdeburg Börde and finally finished second, taking controlled risks.
“I’m really happy about the podium after a difficult qualifying,” beamed Engel. “After a strong Friday in practice, we first didn’t manage to adapt to the steadily rising temperatures. The result was two relatively mediocre qualifying sessions. But in the race today my guys gave me a great car, and we are back where we want to be with the set-up. Strategy and pit stop were also top, and of course the Full Course Yellow played into our hands at the right moment. But even without it the good strategy would certainly have brought us a few places forward. So it was a great race that gives us confidence for the upcoming events.”
Team-mate Lucas Auer, on the other hand, was very unlucky: in the scramble of the opening lap he could not avoid contact with a Ferrari that spun right in front of him. Despite serious damage to the MANN-FILTER Mamba, the Tyrolean did not give up and crossed the line in eleventh after an outstanding fighting performance. “We struggled all weekend,” admitted Auer. “This morning in qualifying we simply weren’t fast enough. And after the collision in turn 3 it was only about getting the broken car to the finish somehow. But at least we got important points again. Who knows what they will be good for …”
WWR team principal Christian Hohenadel was happy above all for his team: “The guys proved once again that the word ‘give up’ is not in their vocabulary. And today they were rewarded for their tireless effort and fighting spirit. Of course there was a bit of luck involved, but fortune favours the brave. I’m sorry for Luggi, of course, but these things can happen in racing. That he still brought the battered car into the points earns my greatest respect. The most important thing was that we were absolutely on pace again today and delivered two more super stops. We can build on that, and it makes me optimistic for the next races.”
The second round of the 2024 DTM season takes place on 25/26 May at the Lausitzring. Before that, though, the team from Altendiez contests the first two events of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup at Brands Hatch, England (4/5 May) and Misano, Italy (17/18 May). Entered as MANN-FILTER Team WINWARD, DTM team-mates Lucas Auer and Maro Engel share a Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the Pro Cup. The sister car with Reece Barr (24, Ireland) and Magnus Gustavsen (23, Norway) races in the Silver Cup, which is reserved for drivers with the FIA Silver rating.