Successful race weekend for AMG Customer Sports Teams worldwide: Two championship titles in the FIA GT3 European Championship

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The race weekend on the 22nd/23rd September 2012 shows an impressing success rate for the AMG Customer Sports Teams which operate with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 worldwide. Three victories and ten podium positions in seven races and two championship titles – these are the pleasing results of the races on the Nürburgring and on Phillip Island (Australia). Maximilian Buhk (GER) and Dominik Baumann (AUT) from the AMG Customer Sports Team HEICO-Gravity Charouz managed to win the driver title in the FIA GT3 European Championship. During the last race on the Nürburgring the German-Austrian driver duo achieved two confident victories on Saturday and Sunday. Their team colleagues Max Nilsson (SWE) and Mika Vähämäki (FIN) finished in positions three and eight. Due to these results, HEICO-Gravity Charouz also managed to secure their title in the team ranking, as they had already done in the 2011 season.

Norbert Brückner, team manager HEICO-Gravity Charouz Team: „We are all extremely happy about this super successful weekend here on the Nürburgring. Not only could we secure the FIA GT3 European Championship Title as a team but we even had the performance to build up on the success of 2011. Maximilian and Dominik managed to win the driver title already on Saturday with a confident start-finish victory! I want to thank the whole team which has been working hard for these results.“

Maximilian Buhk: „Winning no fewer than two titles in the FIA GT3 European Championship for the HEICO-Gravity Charouz Team is more than I would have ever dared to dream of. My team colleague Dominik Baumann and I have had a great season!“

Dominik Baumann: „Winning the team title in 2011 with HEICO-Gravity Charouz and building up on this success together with my team colleague Maximilian Buhk here at the last race weekend and also winning the driver title in the FIA GT3 European Championship means very much to me! During the entire season, the SLS AMG GT3 has been perfectly prepared and very reliable.”

FIA GT1 World Championship: In the FIA GT1 World Championship, which was held parallelly, Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock (both GER) of ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport managed to finish third and second. Due to these results, they took over the lead in the driver ranking and thus have optimal prerequisites for the last race on the coming weekend in Donington (Great Britain). Their team colleagues Thomas Jäger (GER) and Nicky Pastorelli (ITA) achieved positions six and eight. Due to these results, ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport was able to keep on its leading position in the team ranking.

Markus Winkelhock: „It feels great to start the final race having the leading position in the driver ranking and the team ranking. It was a close fight in the race on Sunday – at first with BMW and McLaren and then with Lamborghini. However, our pace was very good and thus we could defend our positions and cross the finish line in the second position.”

Blancpain Endurance Series: The AMG Customer Sports Teams Black Falcon (GER) and Preci-Spark (GB) took start positions in the penultimate race, which was also held on the Nürburgring. Black Falcon started the three-hour race from positions five and 13. The driver pair Congfu Cheng (CHN), Mike Parisy (FRA) and Jeroen Bleekemolen (NED), who participated in the PRO-Cup, came home second after a commanding finish. Their team colleagues Oliver Morley (GB), Steve Jans (LUX) and Sean Edwards (GB), who participated in the PRO-AM Cup, finished sixth and won the PRO-AM Cup. The British AMG Customer Sports Team Preci-Spark with the twins David and Godfrey Jones started from the last starting position after an accident at the beginning of the qualifying and crossed the finish line in position 38.

Australian GT Championship: The guest entry of the AMG brand ambassador and former DTM driver Maro Engel in the Australian AMG Customer Sports Team Erebus Racing was a full success. Engel, who took part in the fifth race of the Australian GT Championship on Phillip Island as part of the AMG Driver Support, managed to bring home two podium positions. Maro Engel ended the first race on Saturday winning the second position and set up a new lap record after he entered the race from the pole position. Engel managed to achieve a confident victory in the second race on Sunday. His team colleague Peter Hackett (AUS) in the second SLS AMG GT3 of Erebus Racing, finished third on Saturday and second on Sunday. He managed to build up on his leading position in the Australian GT Championship.

Ola Källenius, Managing Director Mercedes-AMG GmbH: „I am very happy about the fact that the HEICO-Gravity Charouz Team managed to win no fewer than two titles in the FIA GT3 European Championship here on the Nürburgring. The start position in the FIA GT1 World Championship for the AMG Customer Sports Team ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport for the final in Donington on the coming weekend is more than promising. The guest entry of our AMG brand ambassador Maro Engel in the Australian GT Championship with one victory and a second position for Erebus Racing is also very pleasing. All of these successes on this race weekend are a welcome confirmation for our Customer Sports Programme with the SLS AMG GT3.“

~ Official photos and details courtesy of Mercedes-AMG GmbH ~

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

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European F1 Grand Prix 2012: Race Report - First podium finish for Michael Schumacher after the 2010 comeback

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At the end of an exciting European Grand Prix in Valencia, Michael Schumacher finished in third place today, taking the 155th podium finish of his career, with team-mate Nico Rosberg finishing in sixth place.

• Starting from 12th, Michael fought through the field to claim his first podium since the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix
• Nico finished sixth, after converting a one-stop to two-stop strategy, and charging from P13 to P6 in the last 10 laps
• Both drivers made two pit stops with Michael stopping on laps 19 and 41, and Nico on laps 20 and 46
• Nico has scored 75 points in six races since his win and first points in China, the second highest total after Fernando Alonso (76)

Michael Schumacher
“Wow, I did not even think of getting on the podium for any second in the race today, so what a wonderful result! Finally it happened! After such a long time waiting and for jumping on the podium so unexpectedly, I feel extra happy. I think that was the best answer to give to everybody who started doubting our work: get the car together and fight back; never give up, as anything can happen. A big thank you to the team and to everybody who kept on believing we would get on the podium again. That’s what team work is about. A special word for my mechanics and engineers who have done a fantastic job this weekend after some difficult races this year. I didn’t think a podium was possible – not even at the end of the race, because it was pretty busy in the last laps and I had lost count of where I was. Then when I crossed the line, I asked the guys where I was and they said “Third – on the podium!” It’s one of those moments that you enjoy deeply as a driver. We were close a couple of times but it was great for it to happen in a spectacular race like this, through strategy and lots of passing on a circuit where overtaking is difficult.”

Nico Rosberg
“That was a really exciting race. I had a bad first few laps and lost positions, then the Safety Car came out at a bad moment for me. After the restart, I thought I would end up finishing out of the points, because I had the oldest tyres and therefore no grip, which made it very hard to defend. We had planned to try a one-stop strategy but had to convert to two stops, and thanks to the strategy guys, we were on fresh tyres when everybody else was struggling. I was in P12 on lap 47 and P6 at the end, so it clearly worked and we are very happy with a good team result after such a chaotic race, with two cars in the top six. A great result for Michael with his podium and I am happy to score some more nice points.”

Ross Brawn
“Congratulations to Michael and the team on a fantastic and well-deserved podium finish. Michael demonstrated today that if we can give him the opportunities, he will get a great result. And well done to Nico as well. He was in quite a difficult position at one stage but came back and gave the team a really strong points score today. The early part of the race was quite difficult for us, and our early strategy did not come together as the tyres behaved differently to our pre-race predictions. So we had to react, and we did so extremely well, leaving our stops as late as possible to give our guys fresh rubber at the end. It was such an exciting end to the race, and I am very proud of both of our drivers, everyone here in Valencia, and back at our factories in Brackley and Brixworth today.”

Norbert Haug
“A marvellous race from Michael with the right speed and the right strategy. Coming from 12th on the grid to third on the podium is a good achievement, which Michael truly deserves and he achieved that with a great drive. Nico started sixth and lost five places during the first lap, which was a big handicap - so to climb back to sixth place was a good recovery. Since his win in China, Nico has scored one point less than Fernando Alonso, who brought home the most points in the last six races. As for the rumour spread by another team that Michael used his DRS flap where he should not have done, I can confirm that this was not the case, as our data proved and the stewards of the meeting confirmed. I am really pleased for Michael and the team. We always believed in each other and today was the first of hopefully more podiums to follow.”

~ Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS ~

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

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European F1 Grand Prix 2012: Race Report - Jenson Button 9th, Lewis Hamilton retired

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JENSON BUTTON
- MP4-27A-03
- Started: 9th
- Finished: 8th
- Fastest lap: 1m44.806s (+2.643s, 17th)
- Pitstops: Two: laps 10, 26 and 52 [Pri-Opt-Opt]
- Points: 49 (8th)

“This was a really difficult race to read. I got a poor start, was boxed in at Turn One, and had to lift to prevent Fernando [Alonso] and myself hitting the wall at Turn Two.

“I don’t think we did a bad job in terms of strategy - the car felt good and kept improving during the race - but, when the Safety Car was deployed, I think a few others lucked in to a better strategy. And, today, also, we just didn’t get lucky.

“Finally, massive congratulations to Fernando - he did a great job. Hopefully we can do the same thing at our home grand prix in two weeks’ time!”

LEWIS HAMILTON
- MP4-27A-03
- Started: 2nd
- Finished: Retired (lap 55, collision)
- Fastest lap 1m44.007s (+1.844s, 9th)
- Pitstops Two: laps 13 and 28 [Opt-Pri-Opt]
- Points: 88 (3rd)

“Big congratulations to Fernando - he did a great job today to come from all the way back in 11th.

“We lost some points today - fortunately, however, a couple of other drivers fighting at the front also missed out, so it’s not the end of the world. It just makes things a little bit tougher.

“Today was just a bad day in the office - but that’s motor racing, and I’m already looking forward to the next Grand Prix, my home race at Silverstone.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes


“I suppose you’d have to describe the 2012 European Grand Prix as an exciting race for spectators, but a frustrating race for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. Clearly, we’d like to have scored more points than we did today.

“But, as I’ve said before and I’m quite sure I’ll have cause to say again, the comparative performance of Formula 1 cars is extremely close this year - probably closer than ever before - and this year’s races are consequently very unpredictable.

“Having said all that, it goes without saying that everyone at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is looking forward immensely to our home race, the Santander British Grand Prix at Silverstone, on whose famous Tarmac we hope to put on a fantastic show, and record an excellent result, in front of the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable motorsport fans in the world.”

~ Official photos and report courtesy of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

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