Miguel Molina claims his second win of the season – DTM title race goes down to final race of the season

The fight for the DTM Drivers’ Championship remains exciting. Championship leader Marco Wittmann (BMW) finished runner-up in Saturday’s penultimate race of the season at the Hockenheimring to extend his lead at the top of the standings. However, his closest rival Edoardo Mortara (Audi) fought his way through from eighth on the grid to finish third and now trails the 2014 champion by 17 points going into Sunday’s final race. Spectators at the iconic circuit in the Hardtwald forest were treated to a feast of high-quality motor racing, with many fierce battles and skilful overtaking manoeuvres. The race tyre of premium tyre maker Hankook again provided its usual strong overall package of performance and consistency in the final phase of the DTM title race, and played its part in guaranteeing that fans are in for a thrilling finale at the Hockenheimring on Sunday.

Hockenheim/Germany, 15 October 2016 – Miguel Molina won Saturday’s penultimate DTM race of the season at the Hockenheimring to claim his second victory of the season in one of most popular international touring car series. The Audi driver, who started the race from second on the grid, overtook pole-sitter António Félix da Costa (BMW) shortly after the start and went on to claim a comfortable victory after 27 laps of racing.

The Spaniard was followed over the finish line by championship leader Marco Wittmann (BMW), who climbed from fourth to second to extend his lead over Edoardo Mortara to 17 points. The Audi driver made the most progress during the race, fighting back strongly from eighth to finish third and join Molina and Wittmann on the podium.

Fellow Audi driver Jamie Green ended the race in eighth place. Despite being third in the championship, this result sees him drop out of the title race. The best-placed Mercedes-Benz driver in this season’s penultimate race at the Hockenheimring was Paul Di Resta, who came home tenth to score one point.

Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook Motorsport Director Europe: “That was one of the most exciting races we have seen in the 2016 season. Both of the favourites to win the championship showed that they fully deserve to be at the top of the overall standings. Edoardo Mortara pulled off some really skilful overtaking manoeuvres, while championship leader Marco Wittmann always kept a cool head and extended his lead. The strong performance of the Hankook race tyre was also partly responsible for ensuring that spectators can look forward to an exciting duel for the title at the Hockenheimring on Sunday.”

Miguel Molina (Audi): “I was all alone out front for the entire race. That made it relatively easy to manage the Hankook race tyre. We knew that the front-left tyre is put under some fairly heavy strain at the Hockenheimring, but we had absolutely no problems. I had a very good feeling with the Hankook race tyre the entire time.”

Marco Wittmann (BMW): “That was a good race. We climbed from fourth to second and managed to pull a further three points clear of Edoardo Mortara, who had a good race. We had very good pace at first, but were a bit slower than the Audis at the end. That is where we must do our homework before Sunday.”

Edoardo Mortara (Audi): “The Hankook race tyre worked very well. It was quick and consistent. There was very little tyre wear and I was extremely competitive all race compared.”

Sobre Hankook Tire

Hankook Tire es uno de los principales fabricantes de neumáticos con mayor volumen de producción de todo el mundo de innovadores neumáticos radiales y de altas prestaciones en el segmento Premium para turismos, SUVs, todoterrenos, vehículos comerciales, autocaravanas, camiones, autobuses y vehículos de competición (pruebas en circuitos y carreras callejeras/rallies).

Con el fin de ofrecer a sus clientes la máxima calidad combinada con la excelencia tecnológica, Hankook invierte continuamente en investigación y desarrollo manteniendo sus cinco centros de I+D y ocho grandes fábricas en todo el mundo. La compañía desarrolla y produce soluciones de neumáticos especialmente adaptadas a las exigencias y requerimientos de los mercados regionales.

Además, en el Centro Técnico Europeo de Hankook situado en Hannover (Alemania) se desarrollan neumáticos de Equipo Original de acuerdo con los requerimientos de los fabricantes de vehículos líderes en este continente. La producción para la región europea se desarrolla principalmente en la fábrica ultra moderna de la compañía en Rácalmás (Hungría), inaugurada en 2007 y en proceso de expansión continua.

La Oficina Central Europea del fabricante de neumáticos está situada en Neu-Isenburg, cerca de Frankfurt del Meno en Alemania. El fabricante opera en la mayoría de países europeos y vende sus productos a través de distribuidores regionales en otros mercados locales. La compañía cuenta con 20.000 trabajadores en todo el mundo y sus productos se distribuyen en más de 160 países. La empresa ha sido seleccionada como socio técnico y proveedor exclusivo de neumáticos de la Generación 3 para el Campeonato Mundial de Fórmula E ABB de la FIA, a partir de 2023. Los fabricantes de vehículos líderes confían en los neumáticos de Equipo Original de Hankook. Aproximadamente, el 34 por ciento de las ventas globales de la compañía se generan en Europa y la región CIS.

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