Bad weather and mid-race collisions made it a sad weekend for Mathias Lauda at Brands Hatch. On the shortest track in the DTM calendar (only 1.929 kilometers) things were not going to plan for our Pixum driver.
"My race was practically already over in the first lap", said a disappointed Mathias Lauda on the initial phase.
After a disappointing qualifying, Mathias was aiming to finish in the top 10. This was not to be as he narrowly avoided Maro Engel who slid across the track after a crash on only the 2nd corner.
„My race ended after the first lap. Albers had turned Maro. I was just able to evade him, but had to go over the grass. This ended my race already in the first lap. I actually had a good start, but afterwards I was behind seven seconds. I was able to catch up and even pass by some of the other drivers, but the midfield had already stretched to a large extend.
After the two early pit stops, which were both very good, I was back where I had started. Immediately behind Ralf Schumacher, then Albers came from behind. He tried to pass my Pixum-Mercedes with the crowbar. While doing so he smashed into my car and bent my front axle. This forced me to fight the rest of the race with a contorted track, which really did me in. With all my means I focused to bring the race home safely and to maintain my 16th
place.“
„I am very much looking forward to the upcoming race in Barcelona. It is sort of a home race for me. I hope that things will finally go better for me there. Until then, I will drive home, rest a bit and then focus on the race to come. I will give everything – I promise!”, Mathias tells us with confidence. The 8th cycle of the DTM was won by Audi-driver Timo Scheider after 82 laps, with Paul di Resta (Mercedes-Benz) finishing second and Mattias Ekström (Audi) finishing third. The German drove successfully to his second win this season and with it extended his lead in the overall standings. With a small lead of 0,7 seconds the 29 year old prevailed over the distance of 158,178 kilometers against di Resta and Ekström.
The race’s special guests, Formula 1’s Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes-Benz Motorsport’s boss Norbert Haug, watched the race at the command booth. Before the start the British fan-favorite, who won the Formula 3 Euro Series in the DTM in 2005, visited many TM-drivers and wished them the best of luck. His former Formula 1 colleague Ralf Schumacher ended the race with his AMG Mercedes C-Klasse at 15th place, just before our Pixum driver Mathias. In the overall standings of the DTM Schneider is in the lead with 54 points before Green (45), di Resta (45) and Ekström (44).
The ninth DTM race of the year will take place on September 21st in Barcelona (SP).
