Nuremberg/Germany, 24th June 2018 – Marco Wittmann started Sunday’s DTM race at the Norisring from seventh on the grid and established himself in the leading pack after the start. After the BMW driver pitted on lap ten to change his tyres, he made up ground once again with fresh Hankook slicks and overtook pole-sitter Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes-Benz) on lap 24.
At the end of the race, Edoardo Mortara (Mercedes-Benz), who won Saturday’s race in the “German Monaco”, was able to close the gap between him and the leading two-time DTM champion. However, Wittmann finished the race with a lead of 0.450 seconds after 68 laps, taking the eleventh win of his DTM career. Mercedes-Benz driver Mortara finished second, which saw him move up into second place in the overall standings. Third place on the podium at the Norisring went to fellow Mercedes-Benz man Juncadella. The best Audi driver was Nico Müller in seventh place. Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) retains his position at the top of the table; he finished in 13th place, which saw him miss out on the points.
Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook Motorsport Director Europe: “Congratulations to Marco Wittmann, who as a Franconian finally got his first DTM home win at the Norisring. The race was so exciting because the Hankook tyres, with their consistent high level of grip, enabled fast lap times right until the end of the race. After an early pit stop, Edoardo Mortara completed 67 laps on a set of Hankook slicks and was able to close the gap between him and front-runner Marco Wittmann at the end. Robin Frijns of Audi waited until lap 40 to switch to new Hankook race tyres and moved up from 16th on the grid into eighth place during the race. Various race tactics were possible at the Norisring with Hankook’s Ventus Race.”
BMW Team RMG completed the fastest pit stop of the race weekend at the Norisring, with a time of 38.591 seconds. They were rewarded for their efforts with 25 points in the overall standings for the Hankook Best Pit Stop Award.
Marco Wittmann (BMW): “I’m really happy with my first home win here at the Norisring. It was a great race. I was able to pile on a lot of pressure with the Hankook tyres from the start. After my pit stop, I brought my cold tyres to the optimum working temperature faster than my rivals, which enabled me to build up a lead at the front. Fortunately that was enough, since the Mercedes-Benz was a little faster than me at the end.”
Edoardo Mortara (Mercedes-Benz): “We used the experience of Saturday’s race, so we knew which tyre pressure we needed to go for in order to be at the front at the Norisring. My car was in a great place, which meant I was able to manage my tyres perfectly. I was very happy with the Hankook race tyres.”
Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes-Benz): “The Hankook tyres were very good throughout the entire race weekend in terms of pace. The most difficult part was warming them up, which takes about five laps. But that is normal at the Norisring. The asphalt at the street circuit is different to that on the other DTM tracks.”
