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Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) has made it four podiums out of four with a third-place finish at Spielberg. The race was won by Edoardo Mortara (Audi) ahead of Martin Tomczyk (BMW). This was the 485th podium for Mercedes-Benz in the DTM and the fifth of the 2012 season.A P3 finish for Paffett has boosted his DTM championship points total to 83 and increased his lead over second-placed Mattias Ekström (Audi) to 36. THOMAS SABO / Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG heads the team standings on 103 points, while Mercedes-Benz continues to lead the constructors’ championship on 158 points.
Jamie Green (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) finished the race in fifth place. Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), Roberto Merhi (Junge Sterne Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), Robert Wickens (stern Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) and Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) took P11, 12, 13 and 14 respectively. Christian Vietoris (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Coupé) and David Coulthard (DHL Paket Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) did not finish.
A total of 48,500 fans attended the DTM race weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun) at Spielberg.
Race summary
The start: Gary Paffett defends his second place on the opening lap. Jamie Green moves up two positions to fifth. Ralf Schumacher goes up one place to ninth position. Roberto Merhi moves up from P17 to P12. Christian Vietoris retires after colliding with another car. The safety car is out.
Lap 5: Re-start: Paffett maintains his second place, Green in P5.
Lap 9: Merhi overtakes Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) and is tenth.
Lap 10: Paffett and Green in positions two and five respectively. During the first ten laps, Coulthard moves up the field from P22 to P13.
Lap 11: Merhi overtakes Miguel Molina (Audi) in a scrap for ninth place.
Lap 12: The pit stop window is now open. Coulthard and Schumacher come in for their first mandatory pit stops.
Lap 13: First pit stop for Susie Wolff.
Lap 16: Robert Wickens pits for the first time.
Lap 17: Coulthard overtakes Bruno Spengler (BMW) and moves into twelfth place. Merhi pits for first set of fresh tyres.
Lap 19: Paffett pits for first time from second place.
Lap 20: First mandatory pit stop for Green.
Lap 21: Coulthard retires.
Lap 26: Wickens pits for his second set of fresh tyres.
Lap 27: Wolff also pits for a second set of tyres.
Lap 28: Paffett makes his second pit stop. Schumacher also comes in for a tyre change.
Lap 29: Second and final mandatory pit stop for Merhi.
Lap 30: Green heads for the pit lane for a second time for another set of fresh tyres.
Final lap (lap 47): After 47 laps and a total distance of 203.322 kilometres, Gary Paffett again finishes on the podium in the fourth DTM race at Spielberg. Jamie Green is in fifth place.
Comments after the race:
Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), Third:
„Before the race, we had planned on securing as many points as possible from Spielberg in the championship standings and we were quite successful in that we achieved a podium finish. The race was really exciting – of course, my final position could have been better, but that's racing. I have extended my lead in the championship and that's what counts. The scraps today were sometimes quite tough going and by the end of the race, my radiator was totally clogged up with grass. Nevertheless, I am very pleased with my four podium finishes in the first four races of 2012 – a first-class start to the season.“
Jamie Green (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), Fifth:
„I moved up two places at the start and was heading for the front of the field. Unfortunately, I lost quite a lot of time after a contact with another car. My pace was not too bad today but not enough for victory. Fifth place means, however, that I’ve at least secured important points in the championship where I am now in third place.“
Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), Eleventh:
„That was an action-packed race with plenty of scraps and exciting action – the fans certainly got their money’s worth today! Well, as for me, I could have done a bit better perhaps but unfortunately it was not meant to be. Things don’t always go your way in motor racing, but I am confident that I will be fighting it out with the front-runners again at the Norisring.“
Roberto Merhi (Junge Sterne Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), Twelfth:
„Twelfth place is a decent result for my first DTM race at this track. The potential for a better position was there but, unfortunately, I lost some time during the pit stop and in a collision with another car. I’ll be back on the offensive at the next race, though.“
Robert Wickens (stern Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), 13th:
„An exciting race that all the fans in the grandstands and watching at home on TV will surely have found hugely entertaining. My car was very fast today, and I felt that I was in with the chance of a Top 10 finish. But although there are opportunities to overtake here, it was difficult to make much progress from my P19 start position.“
Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), 14th:
„It was not enough for a place in the points, unfortunately, but at least I was able to move up from P20 to P14. A better result might have been possible but I had some bad luck on my pit stop as I emerged behind Miguel Molina. I made a small mistake when I went to attack him and spun off track.“
David Coulthard (DHL Paket Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), retired:
„I never thought that this weekend in Spielberg would turn out like this but that's motor racing. I had trouble with the brake balance and couldn’t continue. I’ll just have to draw a line under this weekend and look forward to the next race in Nuremberg.“
Christian Vietoris (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Coupé), retired:
„It’s a pity. My race was over shortly after the start, which is a bit unfortunate, because, whilst qualifying did not go brilliantly, I had planned on achieving a lot in the race but nothing came of it. I took the outside line on Turn 2 and was just moving back to the inside when another car rear-ended me. Now I must focus on the next race at the Norisring in Nuremberg.“
Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
„Gary Paffett has had a real chance of winning all four DTM races this season – Gary has actually won twice, finished second once and third once. His attack today for first place after his second pit stop – both of which were the fastest in the whole field – ended on the grass after front-runner Mortara stoutly defended his lead and Gary ran out of road. The grass even got in the radiator. Then, with engine and brake temperatures rising, Gary had to nurse his C-Coupé as far as possible. Any thoughts of attacks on the man in front had to be forgotten since defending pursuers from behind was now required. „With this third place, Gary has boosted his championship lead from 25 to 36 points and Mercedes AMG remains in front in all three championships. „Jamie Green moved up to third in the championship, three points behind Mattias Ekström in second place, so our guest appearance in Spielberg has been very positive all round. The crowd got to see some really exciting racing right at the limit – sometimes over it too. After completing a record distance of over 200 kilometres, the first five crossed the finish line within 5.4 seconds of each other, which once again emphasises just how evenly matched the field is. „Congratulations to Edoardo Mortara and to Audi, as well as to Team Rosberg on their maiden victory. We are now looking forward to the next race on the Norisring street circuit at Nuremberg where Mercedes AMG has secured nine successive victories. In the intervening four weeks, our boys and girls can take a well-deserved break after all the hard work they have put in to get us into such a strong position in the DTM this season.”* Official photos and details courtesy of Mercedes-AMG GmbH * Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.
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Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) will start tomorrow’s race at Spielberg from second on the grid (Start 13:30 CEST – live coverage on ARD from 13.15). The Englishman posted a time of 1:26.292 minutes in the fourth and final segment of qualifying. Pole position went to Edoardo Mortara (Audi) with a time of 1:26.171.Following the Mercedes-Benz one-two in qualifying at Brands Hatch a fortnight ago, Paffett starts from the front row for the second race in succession in 2012. In the history of the DTM, Mercedes-Benz drivers have claimed 219 front row positions. Paffett’s P2 start on Sunday makes it four front-row starts for Mercedes-Benz in four races in the 2012 season.
Jamie Green (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:26.022) and Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:26.340) will be in positions seven and ten respectively on the grid at the fourth race of the season in Spielberg. Just half a second covered the ten top drivers in Q3.
Qualifying 1: Jamie Green secured the fastest time of 1:25.850 minutes in the first qualifying segment. Roberto Merhi (Junge Sterne Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:26.605), Robert Wickens (stern Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:26.725), Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:26.914) and David Coulthard (DHL Paket Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:27.117) will be in places 17, 19, 20 and 22 respectively on the grid.
Qualifying 2: Gary Paffett set the fastest lap in Q2 with a time of 1:25.784 minutes. Christian Vietoris (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Coupé / 1:26.320) starts from 14th on tomorrow’s grid in the fourth race of the season. Just half a second separated P1 from P14, while the top five all came within a tenth of each other.
Comments on qualifying:
Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), Second (1:26.292):
„Qualifying second is a super result as far as I’m concerned. Obviously, every driver out there wants to be first all the time, but in a starting field as tight as this, it’s a major achievement just to get into the top four. I didn’t make a single mistake on my lap in Q4, but at the same time, I was determined not to take any risks. Although I didn’t manage to take pole like I did at Brands Hatch, the race is still completely open.“
Jamie Green (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), Seventh (1:26.022):
„Seventh on the grid isn’t exactly what I was aiming for in qualifying. My lap times in Q1 and Q2 were very good, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to carry the level of speed through to the third part of the session. My Mercedes AMG C-Coupé has been really fast here for most of this weekend, so I’m feeling optimistic about the race. I hope that I can extract full performance out of the car tomorrow and get a decent result.“
Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), Tenth (1:26.340):
„Tenth place on the grid is not brilliant, it could've been a whole lot better, but at least I’m in the top ten so not too bad for Sunday’s race. This weekend has not gone quite the way I had wanted but we will have had chance to carefully study the data by tomorrow, and we intend extracting the maximum out of the car in the race.“
Christian Vietoris (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Coupé), 14th (1:26.320):
„After a very good qualifying session at the last race in Brands Hatch and a place on the front row for the first time, I had, of course, expected much more than 14th position in Spielberg. Now we’ll have to analyse what went wrong and do better tomorrow. The whole weekend so far has been anything but perfect, however, as we well know, the points are awarded in the race itself.“
Roberto Merhi (Junge Sterne Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), 17th (1:26.605):
„I wasn’t all that far down the field and narrowly missed going through to Q2 by a whisker – 0.039 seconds. My car felt very good, but unfortunately I was stuck in traffic on my last flying lap. That slowed me up quite a bit and cost me a lot of time. Too bad, but I’ll be on the attack on Sunday, make no mistake!“
Robert Wickens (stern Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), 19th (1:26.725):
„Unfortunately, I did not progress through to the second qualifying session. During my final flying lap, I made a small mistake on the last sector, otherwise Q2 might have been a possibility. I don’t feel too good today but I don’t think it affected my lap time. I intend going all-out in the race, though.“
Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), 20th (1:26.914):
„Unfortunately, I can’t pinpoint exactly what went wrong in qualifying. The team got the perfect setup for the session, and the balance was excellent. I felt good about the way the car was handling and didn’t make any major errors. I suppose it just wasn’t to be. In the race, I’ll be giving it all I’ve got, as usual.“
David Coulthard (DHL Paket Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), 22nd (1:27.117):
„Of course, I thought qualifying in Spielberg would be very different. Unfortunately, it just did not go my way and I couldn’t secure a better time. I like the circuit a lot and last year I did pretty well here – I even posted the second fastest race lap. So I know what’s what and intend to do the business tomorrow and move up the field as far as possible.“
Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
„Gary was perfect again. Starting from the front row is always an advantage, particularly when all your immediate challengers in the points table are behind you on the grid. „It’s a very good position to be in at the start of the race, nothing more, but that's because I think there are nearly a dozen potential winners, and dealing with the Hankook tyres over the exceptionally long distance here in Spielberg is just as important as a properly selected and properly implemented strategy. „The degree of balance between the three manufacturers here in Spielberg, as in the three previous races, goes without saying: three Audis, three Mercedes and four BMW make up the top ten on the grid. „The extra-long DTM distance tomorrow, 47 laps and 203.22 kilometres instead of the 38 last year, making it the longest DTM race of all time, mean that we’re in for a hot event tomorrow in Spielberg.“* Official photos and details courtesy of Mercedes-AMG GmbH * Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.
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• Of the four DTM races staged in Spielberg, Mercedes-Benz drivers have won three and set the fastest lap every time
• Going into the fourth race of the season, Mercedes-Benz tops the table in all three DTM championships – drivers, teams and constructors
• Next weekend’s race will be the fifth time that the DTM has been staged on the 4.326km circuit; the number of laps at the former Formula 1 venue has been increased from 38 to 47 for 2012, which corresponds to a race distance of 203.322 kilometres, i.e. the longest on the calendar
Drivers’ comments on the fourth race of the season at Spielberg:
Gary Paffett (31, England, THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):
- leads the DTM drivers’ standings on 68 points with two victories and one second place from three races
- first raced at the Spielberg circuit in his debut season (2003)
“Three races, two wins and one second place – the season could hardly have started better for me. Everything about our new DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé is first-class, and it has shown itself to be fast on all types of track. In Spielberg, though, we’re expecting some new challenges. The circuit has a very different character to Brands Hatch where we raced a fortnight ago. There are some long straights, and it’s certain that the field will be tightly matched once again. I drove at Spielberg when I was still competing in Formula 3 and actually won a race there in 2002. I’ve also raced in Austria twice in the DTM, but I haven’t made it onto the podium yet. I’d like to correct that this year.”
Jamie Green (29, England, Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):- has qualified among the Top 10 for every race in the 2012 season
- has finished among the points in all three races so far
“The track at Spielberg is still a relatively new experience for me. I’ve only driven one race there so far; that was last year when I finished sixth. I like the track and it’s fun to drive. There are some long straights, and it’s really impressive driving in the Austrian Alps – you don’t find these big elevation changes and such a fantastic atmosphere at many other venues. So far this year, the field has been evenly matched on all types of track, and I’m expecting it to be very tight in Spielberg too. But we’ve proved that our Mercedes AMG C-Coupé can be competitive on all circuits, and we’re intending to demonstrate that again in Spielberg.”
Christian Vietoris (23, Germany, Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Coupé):- started from the front row for the first time in his DTM career at Brands Hatch
- qualified among the Top Ten at Spielberg in his debut season (2011)
“Spielberg is a fabulous track; there are a number of long straights and it goes up and down all the way round. This circuit represents a major challenge that demands a lot from the driver and the car. It’s crucially important to get the right balance between maximum downforce for the twisty section and a high top speed for the relatively long straights. I’ve only driven on this track once before, but things went pretty well for me in the rain last year, so I’ll be coming to Austria in a positive frame of mind.”
Ralf Schumacher (36, Germany, Mercedes AMG C-Coup̩):- achieved his best result to date Рa P2 finish Рat Spielberg
- contested a total of seven Formula 1 Grands Prix in Austria (best F1 finish, fourth place in 2002)
“I’m coming to Spielberg with very good memories of finishing second in last year’s race. Having relocated some time ago to Salzburg, Spielberg now counts as my home race. The track is situated in this glorious Alpine setting, and it offers some excellent overtaking opportunities; the fans can certainly look forward to another exciting race. After a difficult weekend at Brands Hatch, I intend to be back in the mix with the front-runners at Spielberg.”
David Coulthard (41, Scotland, DHL Paket Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):- won the 2001 Austrian Grand Prix with McLaren Mercedes and was runner-up in four successive seasons (1997 to 2000)
- set the fastest race lap in three Formula 1 races with McLaren Mercedes at Spielberg (1998, 2000, 2001) and posted the second-fastest lap in the 2011 DTM race
“Spielberg is a fantastic circuit in a beautiful part of Austria. From a driver’s perspective, the track is hugely enjoyable, but it’s quite difficult to extract every last ounce of performance from the car. It’s great that the DTM has been staged at Spielberg again since 2011, because the Austrian fans packed the stands last year and really motivated us. I’m very familiar with this track from my Formula 1 days, of course, and particularly from winning the 2001 Grand Prix when I was driving for McLaren-Mercedes.”
Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “The Spielberg weekend signals the beginning of the second third of the 2012 DTM season. The new technical regulations have seen the development of some spectacular coupés that, in terms of performance and competitiveness, are the equal of cars racing in any series on the planet. In the qualifying sessions, the best lap times of the top dozen drivers are generally within half a second of each other, and the field is just as tight in the races themselves. “Given that the three manufacturers are so evenly matched, high-octane excitement is guaranteed at the demanding Red Bull Ring at Spielberg in Austria. Especially because so far in the 2012 season, it has been every bit as difficult to reliably predict pre-race favourites in the DTM as it has been in Formula 1. “Thanks to two wins from Gary Paffett in the first three races, Mercedes AMG has made a great start in this hard-fought season. We are up against tough competition from Audi and BMW, but we are clearly focused on defending – and as far as possible increasing – our lead in all three championships as we prepare for the second of four race weekends to be staged outside Germany this year.”* Official photo and details courtesy of Mercedes-AMG GmbH * Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.
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