Wickens and Green win at Zandvoort
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| Wickens leads |
Wickens wins race in Zandvoort on Saturday – Wittmann "half-time champion"
In a dominant way, Robert Wickens has won the ninth race of the DTM season at Zandvoort in The Netherlands. Having started from pole position into the 40 minutes" race on Saturday, the Mercedes-AMG driver crossed the finish line after 25 laps with a 7.217 seconds" margin from Marco Wittmann (BMW). Third place went to Christian Vietoris on Mercedes-AMG. For Canadian Wickens, this is the fourth win of his DTM career. He scored his most recent success to date at the Norisring in 2015. "Even though it looked easy, winning a race is never easy," Wickens said at the finish. "I am simply just happy. Tonight, we will celebrate." Marco Wittmann was also happy, because after nine of this season"s 18 DTM races, the BMW driver claims the unofficial title of "half-time champion".
"Zandvoort seems to suit me, even though Robert (Wickens) was slightly faster today. I am happy with second place and the 18 points. Perhaps, we can turn the tide tomorrow." Unlike Wickens, Wittmann had to defend his position from Christian Vietoris, who took the flag in third place and kept Wittmann under pressure throughout the race. The latter was able to breath briefly, when Gary Paffett took the place of his fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Vietoris to increase the pressure on Wittmann, but to no avail. Only on the final lap, Vietoris claimed back third place.
With the eighth different winner from nine races, the DTM is starting into the second half of its season on Sunday. With his second-place finish, Marco Wittmann has extended his lead in the DTM drivers" standings. He is in first place with 93 points. Ten points down, Robert Wickens is second after nine races. After a drive-through penalty, Audi driver Edoardo Mortara only finished 17th in the race on Saturday. In the drivers" standings, he is tied on points with Jamie Green (73 points) in third place. In the race, the Brit was the best-placed Audi driver in fifth position.
The second race at Zandvoort in The Netherlands gets underway on Sunday at 13.40 hrs (ARD live from 13.30 hrs). The starting grid positions will be determined in qualifying at 11.20 hrs (EinsFestival live from 11.15 hrs).
Green wins race on Sunday – bad luck for Wickens
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| Jamie Green |
The DTM had a fulminant start of its second season half. With his Audi RS 5 DTM, Jamie Green emerged as the buoyant winner from the race at Zandvoort in The Netherlands that remained thrilling and dramatic until the end. In a dominant way, the Brit, who started from pole position, drove to his first win of the season and the 13th of his DTM career.
"I am overjoyed that I finally have won here at Zandvoort," Green said at the finish. "I had to wait many years for this victory. Today, everything worked out. After the fast pit stop, the second set of tyres was very good and I was able to pull clear from Robert and Gary." After 39 laps, he crossed the finish line with a margin of 9.731 seconds from Mercedes-AMG driver Gary Paffett. For Paffett, this was the first podium finish of the season. Audi driver Edoardo Mortara crossed the finish line in third place. In total, 38,000 spectators witnessed the DTM weekend in the Dutch seaside resort in bright sunshine.
Until the 34th lap of the race, Robert Wickens, Gary Paffett, and Christian Vietoris were following behind Green. Especially for Wickens, second place would have been important in the battle for the DTM title as it would have enabled him to significantly reduce the gap to Wittmann. After a puncture on the left front tyre, the Canadian had to come in for an unscheduled pit stop and crossed the finish line in 16th place. Likewise, Christian Vietoris lost the third place he had inherited after Wickens"s problem due to a puncture.
Especially Marco Wittmann benefited from the bad luck of the two Mercedes-AMG drivers. The BMW driver finished fourth and defended his lead in the drivers" standings, in which he now has 105 points. With his victory, Jamie Green moved up to second in the championship (98 points). Edoardo Mortara is third with 88 points. Meanwhile, Robert Wickens dropped from second to fourth and has 83 points to his tally after ten races.
After a five weeks" summer break, the DTM will be racing at Moscow Raceway in Russia, August 19-21. Close to the Russian capital, the eleventh and twelfth race of the season will be held.