Bad luck for WWR in Nuremberg traffic
Maro Engel scores points in his Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the Saturday race at the Norisring. Team-mate Lucas Auer retires early.
With eighth place for Maro Engel, Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD was poorly rewarded in the Saturday race of the fourth DTM weekend of 2024 at Nuremberg’s Norisring. The 38-year-old Monaco resident had a podium in his sights in his Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the colours of “130 Years of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport” and RAVENOL when he was slowed by bad luck more than once. Team-mate Lucas Auer (29, Kufstein) fared even worse: he had to park the sister car, entered by Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER, at the end of lap seven after contact shortly after the start.
Qualifying, split into two groups because of the track’s short 2.16-kilometre length, once again showed how close the field is. No fewer than 18 GT3 cars were covered by just over three tenths of a second. With grid positions 6 (Engel) and 9 (Auer), the two WINWARD cars had a promising starting position.
But after just a few hundred metres Auer’s race was already over. “In one of those typical Norisring touches in the first corner, the right rear tyre was damaged. After the pit stop we first tried to keep going, but more must have been broken, so we had to stop,” said the Tyrolean.
Stablemate Engel, after a very good start, had established himself in fourth place and was putting pressure on the car ahead when, after a very fast mandatory tyre change, he was delayed getting going again. Engel: “Until the stop it went very well, the pace was great. Pulling away after the good tyre change, the engine unfortunately stalled twice. We have to analyse that.”
Having dropped back to ninth, the veteran and his race engineer Mauricio Moreira were the first top-10 car to react to the starting rain at the end of lap 51 and fitted treaded tyres to the number 130 car. All but three rivals did the same over the next two laps. “If the rain had got heavier as forecast, it would have been a direct hit. Instead it eased off again. The tyre pressures went through the roof, and it was only about getting to the finish somehow,” said the Munich-born driver.
He did, in eighth place. Even so, Engel, who will contest his 100th DTM race on Sunday, was disappointed: “Of course we gladly take the points, but there was much more in it. In a weather lottery like this you also need a bit of luck.”
WWR team principal Christian Hohenadel agreed: “Our tyre gamble could just as well have paid off, and then we might have been the lucky ones in the end. But we don’t want to deal in what-ifs. We were fast, but had little luck. The performance of both cars is right, both tyre changes were very quick again, so I’m confident we can play a good role again tomorrow.”
The Sunday race on the street circuit beside the Dutzendteich starts at the usual time of 1.30 pm. As always, ProSieben and ran.de will broadcast live.