Disappointing race day on the North Sea coast
Bad luck for WINWARD Racing in race 2 of the DTM weekend at Zandvoort (NL): Auer retires early, Engel finishes 13th after several contacts.
Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD had a disappointing Sunday at the third race weekend of the season in Zandvoort in the Netherlands. Lucas Auer (29, Kufstein) retired on the opening lap after a collision that was not his fault in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered by Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER. Team-mate Maro Engel (38, Monaco) ran in the top 10 for a long time in the sister car in the “130 Years of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport” and RAVENOL design, before losing four positions after several contacts five kilometres from the finish.
In general, the situation before the second race on the 4.3-kilometre dune circuit near Amsterdam looked quite promising. Auer in particular expected another good result from seventh on the grid. But high hopes took a heavy blow after just a few hundred metres. “A rival, I suspect it was the eventual winner, hit me so hard from behind that the suspension broke. And that was it,” sighed the Tyrolean.
Team-mate Engel, who started from twelfth, was also caught up in the incident. But because the race had to be stopped due to spilled fluid, the WWR mechanics were able to patch up the damage to the number 130 car. Afterwards the Monaco resident kept up well with the pack and, after a lightning stop by his crew that was once again the fastest of the entire field, moved up to ninth.
Until shortly before the end of the penultimate lap the top-10 finish looked safe, but then things went wrong: “When I pulled alongside the Lamborghini ahead of me, he pushed me off the track on the outside. And then two more rivals bumped into me, so I lost four positions,” said an annoyed Engel. “In general it was a difficult weekend for us, the pace wasn’t good on any of the days. We have to work through that carefully and come back stronger.”
WINWARD Racing team principal Christian Hohenadel also drew a sober conclusion from the weekend at the Dutch seaside resort: “First of all I have to praise my team again. Everyone gives their utmost, it’s not for nothing that the boys lead the DTM pit stop challenge. Even so, we have to say clearly that we, like our fellow brand teams, are currently not able to win a race on our own merit. That has been the case for several races now and is very frustrating.”
For the fourth race weekend of the season, the DTM paddock meets on the first weekend of July at Nuremberg’s Norisring. Every year the 2.3-kilometre street circuit in the “Monaco of Franconia” promises plenty of spectacle. One week earlier, a very special highlight awaits the WWR team: the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps is considered the biggest and best-filled GT3 race in the world. A total of 67 cars compete in the Ardennes marathon, which counts towards both the Fanatec GT World Challenge powered by AWS and the Intercontinental GT Challenge. WINWARD Racing fields two Mercedes-AMG GT3 on the 7.004-kilometre Grand Prix circuit.
The car entered in the Pro class by Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER is shared by DTM team-mates Maro Engel and Lucas Auer with Canadian Daniel Morad. The sister car, nominated for the Silver Cup, is driven by Dutchmen Daan Arrow and Colin Caresani and Thai driver Tanart Sathienthirakul. Their reinforcement for the 24 Hours of Spa is young Frenchman Esteban Masson.