Author: Avron Fernandes

It is a beautiful morning in The Netherlands. Little birds chirping around, the sun glistening in the sky, flowers blooming in every corner. It’s one of those days where you feel grateful for being born. As you soak in these blessings god bestowed upon you, you hear a roaring sound. The next thing you know, you are sitting at Circuit Zandvoort with German Touring Cars whizzing past you because it’s the DTM weekend in the Netherlands.

The daunting 4 km track has put the greatest names in motorsports in a twist. Even Formula One drivers call this track a challenging weekend. But regardless of it’s challenging nature, the drivers are more than ready to face it.

Kelvin van der Linde is fully motivated and wants to turn his last win in Race 1 at Lausitzring into a double streak of wins. Thomas Preining had a poor start to the season at Oschersleben, finishing a low P10 & P13 in Race 1 & Race 2 respectively . He redeemed himself at the Lausitzring with a win in Race 2 but he has high hopes to perform better this weekend. Last year’s Race 1 winner Maro Engel aims to be back on the podium and continue his podium campaign as he has finished in the top 3 twice this season. Mercedes AMG Team HRT driver and Indian Arjun Maini has been on a phenomenal run this year, scoring a P8 and P4 at Oschersleben and a P7 & P12 at Lausitzring. The has waved the tricolor high, scoring points in every race this championship campaign.

The weekend lasted from the 7th of June till the 9th of June. With a lot of action and storylines continuing from Lausitzring, let’s get into how to weekend went by.

FREE PRACTICE

The fastest man in FP1 in the morning was Nicki Thiim from SSR Performance.

“It is a few years since my last race weekend in Zandvoort.”

Nicki thiim on his stints at the dutch race track.

FP2 saw three different drivers, Lucas Auer; Clemens Schmid & Kelvin van der Linde top the time sheets. All three drivers separated by just 0.7 seconds. Auer set one flyer of a lap which was then topped by the others. The main reason for such quick lap times is Track Evolution. More rubber on the track means more grip leading to better and quicker lap times.

“We made good progress from the first to the second free practice session. However, people keep their cards to their chest right to the end in the DTM. As such, I am intrigued to see how we get on in qualifying. Grid position is very important in Zandvoort, as it is difficult to overtake here,”

Auer gives his insights on zandvoort

QUALIFYING

Qualifying 1 saw an electrifying performance from Jack Aitken as he set his Ferrari on pole for Race 1. The Brit set a blistering lap of 1:31.762, which let his team at Emil Frey Racing celebrate. Clemens Schmid placed second with his McLaren, setting a 1:32.136. Arjun Maini took a brilliant P3 with 1:32.209.

Maini was very pleased to be placed P3 for Race 1. The Indian has finished in the top five in all but one of the qualifying sessions so far this season. Aitken secured his third pole position of his DTM career with his Ferrari 296.

“I have the best starting position and am looking forward to the race. The goal is obviously to win, in order to move back towards the top of the championship,”

Jack aitken on his pole position for Race 1

Qualifying 2 had Maximillian Paul take his maiden Pole for Paul Motorsports, placing his #71 Lamborghini on the front row of the grid with a 1:32.780 . Fellow Lamborghini driver Mirko Bortolotti placed his car alongside Paul to lock out the front row. Both Emil Frey driver Thierry Vermuelen and Jack Aitken locked out the second row for their team. Arjun Maini performed spectacularly once again and placed fifth, setting a 1:33.053.

 “As a new team, to start from pole in our third weekend in the DTM is really impressive and the reward for our hard work. However, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels now, as the field is very strong and includes many works drivers. The key to the race is to stay cool and put our foot down,”

Max Paul on his maiden Pole Position at Zandvoort.

RACE

Race 1 had Jack Aitken storm off of Pole Position and into the lead with Schmid close behind in his McLaren. The order followed as Maini, Feller & Auer. Rene Rast made swift moves up the pack in his BMW to move up to 4th from 7th. Quick pitstops helped Aitken maintain his lead and Rast shaved seconds off of Schmid who was running in 2nd. Rast kept up the blinding speed to pass Maini and Schmid to take 2nd place. Schmid meanwhile kept losing pace and was eventually overthrown by Maini and had to settle for fourth place. The chequered flag fell and Aitken took home the victory with Rast in second and Maini finished up the podium. Ben Dorr bagged the Fastest lap for Dorr Motorsports in his McLaren 750S GT3 EVO.

 “Three race weekends in and I already have two wins to my name, that is awesome. The key was that I managed to open a bit of a gap immediately after the start. After that, I could control the race from the front. I could often see René Rast in my mirror in the closing stages, but I did not let that distract me,”

Aitken after his win in Race 1.

Rene Rast seemed very thrilled to be on the podium as he did not believe he’d be up there after his performance on Friday.

 “After our performance on Friday, it really did not look as though we would be on the podium…. The race was really great fun.”

Rast on his performance in Race 1.

Arjun Maini felt that he could have pushed harder for a better result and he knew his Mercedes could have helped him score higher than he did.

 “I am finally back on the DTM podium. That feels super……I was hoping there may possibly be more in it for me. However, Jack Aitken and René Rast were faster than me at the end.”

Maini on his p3 finish

Race 2

Race 2 saw Polesitter Maximillian Paul shoot off at the start but falling short at Turn 2 as Mirko Bortolotti overtook him to take the lead of the race. A couple laps later, Auer and Schmid partook in a skirmish leading to a crash, bringing out the Safety Car. Home hero Thierry Vermuelen and Kelvin van der Linde occupied P4 and P5 respectively.

As the race progressed, Bortolotti kept the lead. BMW’s Marco Wittmann led an electrifying charge through the field and got lucky with his pitstops. He found himself leading the pack. Bortolotti hit Wittmann but the BMW driver kept pushing and won in spectacular fashion. He took the chequered flag after 38 laps. From 14th to 1st. He was followed close behind by Bortolotti and Kelvin van der Linde. Arjun Maini and his Mercedes finished a strong P6 and bagged valuable points after his podium campaign in Race 1. The Fastest Lap was clocked in by Nicki Thiim with a 1:34.609s.

“I never thought I would come from so far back to win…..I am just overjoyed that I was able to bring home the win,”

Wittmann after his win in Race 2.

“When you take the lead in turn one and are out in front for so many laps, you obviously want to win. In the end, I have to settle for second place. The rear axle felt strange in the closing laps, and the drivers behind me put me under an awful lot of pressure.”

Mirko Bortelotti after hi p2 finish.

“I am particularly pleased with third place for our crew, who have been very busy recently, with two DTM events and the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.”

Kelvin van der linde thanking his team after his p3 finish

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Zandvoort proved to be a ground for tough battles, redemptions, and surprises for the drivers. DTM next heads to the Norisring from the 5th of July to the 7th of July.