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Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) won the 2011 DTM season finale at Hockenheim by 7.6 seconds from Martin Tomczyk (Audi) after starting from second place on the grid. It was Green's seventh DTM victory and his second at Hockenheim. This was the 17th podium for the British driver, his sixth in a DTM race at Hockenheim and podium number 480 for a DTM driver at this track.
It was the fifth consecutive victory Mercedes-Benz at their home race in Hockenheim. Since 1988, Mercedes-Benz has won a total of 31 out of 64 DTM races at the Hockenheimring. In the ‘new DTM’ since 2000, a Mercedes driver has won nearly three-quarters of all races at the circuit (19 victories in 26 races).
The season finale was the last race for the AMG Mercedes C-Class, the most successful vehicle in DTM history (85 wins in 159 races). Since 1988, more than half (51%) of the 165 Mercedes-Benz wins have been secured with the C-Class. To make a direct comparison with Audi, from 202 races, Mercedes-Benz has won 109 times and Audi 62.
Jamie Green set the fastest race lap in Hockenheim – 1:34.114 – for the fifth time at this track. In all, since 1988, Mercedes-Benz drivers have set the fastest lap in 35 of 64 DTM races at Hockenheim. Since the revival of the DTM in 2000, a Mercedes-Benz has set the fastest race lap in 76% of all races (20 of 26 races).
Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished his 80th DTM race in fifth position after starting from seventh on the grid. Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) came home ninth. Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished 11th and 12th. Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class), Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) and David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) crossed the line in 14th, 15th and 17th positions respectively. Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) was forced to retire from the race. A total of 120,000 spectators attended the DTM finale (Fri, Sat, Sun) in Hockenheim.
Race summary
The start: Jamie Green overtakes pole-sitter Miguel Molina (Audi) at the start of the race and goes into the lead. Gary Paffett moves up one position to sixth place.
Lap 4: Green extends his lead on Martin Tomczyk (Audi) to more than two seconds.
Lap 10: The pit stop window is now open. Paffett is the first C-Class driver to pit. David Coulthard and Christian Vietoris also come in.
Lap 11: Bruno Spengler and Renger van der Zande complete their first mandatory pit stop. Vietoris retires.
Lap 12: Ralf Schumacher and Susie Wolff pit for the first time.
Lap 13: Green comes in for his first stop with a five-second lead.
Lap 18: Second mandatory pit stop for Paffett.
Lap 19: Schumacher and Wolff come in for the second time.
Lap 20: Green has a six-second lead after the first round of pit stops. Van der Zande comes in for the second time.
Lap 21: Coulthard pits for the second time.
Lap 22: Final mandatory pit stop for Engel.
Lap 24: Spengler pits lying in sixth position.
Lap 26: Green comes in for his final pit stop in the lead.
Lap 29: The pit stop window has now closed. Green leads by 8.6 seconds.
Final lap (Lap 38): Jamie Green wins the 2011 DTM season finale at Hockenheim after 38 laps and a total race distance of 173.812 km. Gary Paffett climbs two positions from seventh place on the grid to finish P5.
Comments after the race:
Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) – Winner:
“I feel very proud to have won this race which is also the final outing for the AMG Mercedes C-Class, the most successful car in DTM history. My car was perfect and I’m so pleased to have won here at Hockenheim for the second time. Now I can start the winter break on a high as a race winner this year. Many thanks to my team for all their work today and throughout the season. I’m looking forward to the new DTM era which starts in 2012. I’m sure it will be just as exciting as the old one, if not more so...!”
Gary Paffett (AMG Mercedes C THOMAS SABO-Class) – Fifth:
“That was a good race – I started from seventh place, and moved up two positions to fifth. My C-Class ran really well and I would like to have got past Mike Rockenfeller, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be. Nevertheless, it was a good finish to a difficult season. I'm already looking forward to 2012.”
Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) – Ninth:
“Unfortunately, my bid to end the season as runner-up in the championship didn’t quite come off, but all the same, I take satisfaction from having won two races and having started from pole position in four. That’s much more important than finishing second in the standings. So all in all, this has been a good year for us. The team worked really hard and, right up to the final lap, we gave it everything. I was faster than Oliver Jarvis and Timo Scheider today, but they proved too difficult to overtake.”
Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) – Eleventh:
“Congratulations to Jamie on his victory in our home round of the championship – he drove a great race. Unfortunately, I couldn’t manage a points finish today because I started from too far back on the grid. I’m satisfied with the way my season has gone, and from now on, I’ll be focusing all my attention on developing and testing the new DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé that we’ll be driving in 2012. You can be sure that we’ll be back on the attack then.”
Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) – Twelfth:
“Twelfth place is a decent result for me. I was running really well today and was able to keep up with Ralf. The atmosphere in the stands was terrific – especially in the Motodrom and at the Mercedes grandstand. Overall, I’m pleased with my first DTM season, particularly since my form improved significantly towards the end of season.”
Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 14th:
“I had obviously been hoping for better than P14 in the last race of the season, but I was boxed in by a lot of other cars on the first couple of laps, which cost me several positions. That was just bad luck. I’m very pleased for Jamie. It’s nice to have given the C-Class a fitting send-off in its last race.”
Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 15th:
“I had, of course, hoped to do better than 15th place in my first race as Susie Wolff, but it was tough to move up the field more than a couple of places from P17 on the grid. Like all the team, I’m pleased for Jamie and his victory – the 85th for the C-Class – I love this car!”
David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 17th:
“This was an unlucky race for me – my first pit stop wasn’t brilliant, unfortunately. After that my race was more or less over, since I had no chance to move up the field. I would of course have wished for a better result for the end of the season.”
Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) – retired:
“Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end to the season that I had hoped for. My pit stop didn’t go as intended: the right front wheel wasn’t on properly, which can happen. Up until that point, I had been very satisfied with the way the race was going. I was the best driver of an old-model Mercedes-Benz and had good pace. Too bad that I didn’t finish the final race of the season.”
Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
“That was the final race to be contested under the current DTM regulations, and for Jamie Green to have won it in such a convincing manner today is a tremendous achievement. Well done to everyone who played their part in making it happen. This is a victory that will go down in the record books and Jamie showed his true calibre today. With our C-Class, we have now won 85 out of 159 races – more than half, in fact – which makes this car the most successful and victorious in DTM history. Since the DTM was revived in 2000, Mercedes-Benz has won 19 races out of 26 at Hockenheim – a fabulous win rate for our home race. Next year, the DTM will welcome a third competitor, BMW, and that affirms the good work done over the last six years by Audi, Mercedes-Benz, the ITR, the DMSB and all our sponsors and TV partners, who always believed in the success of this remarkable championship. At the end of an era, thank you to everybody who has made the third generation of the DTM possible from the start of 2012.”
Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) will start as the best-placed Mercedes-Benz driver in tomorrow’s 2011 DTM season finale at Hockenheim (Start: 2pm local time, live coverage on ARD from 1.45pm). He secured the second spot on the grid with a time of 1:32.920. Miguel Molina (Audi / 1:32.717) starts from pole position.
Green is on the front row of the grid for the fourth time this season and at least one C-Class has been on the front row for eight out of ten DTM races this year.
Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) posted a flying lap of 1:32.922 to qualify sixth for the last race of the season. Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:33.103) is on the fourth row in seventh position.
Qualifying 1: Jamie Green set the fastest time – 1:32.977 – in the first qualifying segment. Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:33.539), David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:33.761) and Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:33.930) finished in P15, 16 and 17 respectively.
Qualifying 2: Gary Paffett secured second best time – 1:32.729 – in the second qualifying session. Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:33.172), Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:33.352) and Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:33.617) finished in P12, 13 and 14 respectively.
Comments on qualifying:
Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) - Second (1:32.920):
“I had a clean lap in the final part of qualifying, but Miguel Molina was a little bit faster than me. I had hoped to get on pole, but second on the grid is a good starting position for the race. I won the last race of the season at the Hockenheim Ring once before, in 2007, so all being well, I can do it again tomorrow and we can round off the season with a home win for Mercedes-Benz.”
Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) - Sixth (1:32.922):
“Qualifying actually went better for me than free practice this morning. It was difficult to get tyres up to temperature – we rarely drive in such low temperatures as we have seen this weekend. We intend to do even better tomorrow. I’m looking forward to the race and will of course do my best.”
Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Cass) - Seventh (1:33.103):
“Seventh on the grid is not fantastic, but from this position it’s still possible to achieve a good race result on Sunday. At the season opener at the Hockenheimring earlier this season, I managed to move up the field from last place to finish in the points – so I'm optimistic about the race.”
Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) - Twelfth (1:33.172):
“It’s been a good weekend for me so far here in Hockenheim. I feel very comfortable in my C-class and my pace was consistently good in all sessions. We want to achieve a positive end to my first DTM season with our good race setup tomorrow.”
Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 13th (1:33.352):
“I'm obviously not all that happy with 13th place on the grid – I had hoped for much more. I will once again do everything I can to secure the best possible result in the last DTM race of the season tomorrow.”
Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 14th (1:33.617):
“P14 is not quite the result I had hoped for after performing well in Valencia, but what really counts is the race on Sunday. The car suffered with oversteer and vibration in qualifying, which had not been apparent before this weekend. It’s not impossible to overtake and move up the field here at Hockenheim, and that's what I intend doing at the last race of the season.”
Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 15th (1:33.539):
“I wasn’t fast enough today unfortunately – a few things weren’t 100 per cent right. In a field as competitive as the DTM, you can soon find yourself dropping out of qualifying early. Too bad, I’d hoped for more, but I’ll do my best again tomorrow.”
David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 16th (1:33.761):
“I had hoped for more than 16th place in the final qualifying session of the season. Actually, I thought I had done enough to go through to the next stage in qualifying, since the balance of my C-Class was really good. In the cool conditions, however, getting the tyres up to temperature wasn’t easy.”
Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 17th (1:33.930):
“It’s a pity. I feel that I could have done better today, but still couldn’t manage to qualify higher than 17th. Obviously, I had been hoping to be start from higher up the grid in my first race as Mrs Wolff. But there’s everything still to play for, so I’ll have to be on the prowl, just like a real wolf tomorrow.”
Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
“Jamie Green will start from the front row in his C-Class for the final race of the season, and we have three cars on the first four rows of the grid thanks to Bruno Spengler and Gary Paffett. Our long runs in yesterday's race simulations were good and, after achieving 84 victories in 158 races with the C-class, securing number 85 in its swansong race tomorrow would, of course, be a fantastic result. This weekend marks the end of a special era in DTM history and the arrival of our new competitor BMW next season will add even more prestige to this unique series.”
Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Ralf Schumacher will continue to race for Mercedes-Benz in the 2012 DTM season. Schumacher has been competing in the world’s most popular touring car championship since 2008, and next year will be his fifth in the series. This season saw him score his first two podium finishes – in the opening race at Hockenheim and DTM’s return race at the Austrian circuit of Spielberg.
Between now and the start of the 2012 season, Schumacher will be heavily involved in the development and testing programme for the new DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé. HWA AG began work on the new Mercedes-Benz DTM car in June 2010 and the first test of the C-Coupé took place in early September 2011 at the Lausitzring with Gary Paffett. Schumacher drove the car for the first time at the same circuit between 12-13 October and, before the end of the year, he will complete another test in the new C-Coupé.
Between 1997 und 2007, Schumacher completed eleven seasons in Formula One – a total of 180 Grand Prix races. His six wins during this period make him the third-most successful German F1 driver after his brother, MERCEDES GP PETRONAS driver Michael Schumacher, and double champion Sebastian Vettel.
Ralf Schumacher: “DTM is a fantastic championship and, after four years as part of the Mercedes-Benz family, I feel in the best place possible. So I’m all the more delighted to be starting a new era next year together with Mercedes-Benz. With the new technical regulations and the arrival of BMW on the scene as the third premium manufacturer alongside Audi and Mercedes-Benz, DTM has an exciting future, and I feel privileged to be playing my part in development of the new DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé. My first impressions from testing are positive, and I’m very excited about racing this car next year. At the start of this season, I was determined to take the next step forward in my DTM career, and I feel I have accomplished that by finishing on the podium twice – at Hockenheim and Spielberg. During testing this winter, we intend to lay the groundwork to ensure that I can improve my results even further with the new C-Coupé in 2012.”
Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “Ralf Schumacher isn’t only the best-known driver in the DTM, he’s also one of the most-liked and most successful in international motorsport. I rate very highly the fact that Ralf walked the difficult road from Formula One to the DTM, boosted the series’ popularity and continuously improved until he scored his first podium. Ralf is now one of the drivers aiming for his first win and he has shown that everything is possible with talent, determination and hard work. That approach is a perfect fit with Mercedes-Benz and that’s why we are delighted to extend Ralf’s DTM contract beyond 2011. We and the fans have a lot of enjoyment ahead of us as we watch him racing.”
Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
When the Hockenheimring stages the finale of the 2011 DTM season next weekend, this will also mark the end of an era in the world’s most popular touring car series: the AMG Mercedes C-Class will be retired after 158 races in DTM and ITC. With a grand total of 84 victories (win ratio: 53%), it ranks as the most successful vehicle in the 27-year history of the DTM. The C-Class accounts for almost half of the 164 Mercedes-Benz wins in the 341 races since 1988 (win ratio: 48%). A further 30 victories were achieved with the AMG Mercedes CLK (2000 to 2003) and 50 more with the AMG Mercedes 190E (1988 to 1993).
Three generations of the C-Class raced in the years 1994 to 1996 (DTM/ITC) and 2004 to 2011 (‘New DTM’). Mercedes-Benz gave the C-Class its DTM debut in the 1994 season; it scored its first victory on the second race weekend and, by the end of the season, had brought home both the drivers’ title for Klaus Ludwig and the constructors’ title. “The C-Class came along at just the right time,” recalls Ludwig. “We immediately made a big step forward. It was the key to championship success and was an instant hit with the fans. Then as now, touring cars like the C-Class were a favourite of the German crowds.”
In the second year, too, the title went to a C-Class driver as the current DTM record champion Bernd Schneider celebrated the first of his six championships in the DTM/ITC with Mercedes-Benz. Schneider is now the only driver to have won a title in both the DTM/ITC era (up to 1996) and the ‘New’ series since 2000.
“The AMG Mercedes C-Class was one of the best racing cars of my career,” says Schneider. “It was a thoroughbred racer that was spectacular to drive and made a great noise, which drivers and fans enjoy in equal measure.” With six championship victories in the DTM/ITC in the years 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006, Schneider is the most successful driver in DTM history. He also holds the record for most wins (43), most pole positions (25) and most fastest laps (59).
Between 1994 and 1996, the C-Class triumphed 34 times in 74 DTM and ITC outings. When the C-Class returned to action in 2004, it took over from the AMG Mercedes CLK which had performed sterling service for Mercedes-Benz in the 2000 to 2003 seasons. Since then, the C-Class has won 50 out of 84 races (win ratio: 60%) – more than any other car since the revival of the DTM in 2000.
“The C-Class is a great car,” says Gary Paffett. “I first drove it when I launched
my DTM career in it 2004 and I then went on to win the championship in 2005.” The Englishman, who is driving the THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Class this season, is the most successful driver currently competing in DTM, with 17 wins to his name. “I also had great success with the later model from 2007 onwards and missed out on the title by only the narrowest of margins.”
Scotsman Paul Di Resta won the 2010 DTM drivers’ championship driving an AMG Mercedes C-Class. This year, he races for Force India-Mercedes in Formula One. “The first DTM car I drove was a C-Class at the 2004 McLaren BRDC Autosport Young Driver Award,” says di Resta, “and I remember the experience to this day: a car that felt like a single-seater, but with great power, fun to drive… and a roof over my head! I spent four seasons racing the car in DTM and was able to join the ranks of the drivers who became champion with the car – an achievement I am incredibly proud of. Working with the C-Class taught me a lot about setup and how to work with the technical team to get the most out of the car – the racing is so close that you need to squeeze out every last bit of performance. It was a perfect preparation for the demands of Formula One.”
Mercedes-Benz can look back with pride on a long and successful tradition in the DTM. Since the company first entered a works team in 1988, no rival manufacturer has won as many races as Mercedes-Benz. The three-pointed star has won the drivers’ title ten times, the constructors’ championship nine times and the team title on 13 occasions – no other manufacturer has enjoyed greater success in the DTM. In 2000, Mercedes-Benz was also instrumental in establishing the ‘new DTM’. The introduction of new technical regulations in the 2012 season marks the next chapter in the world’s most successful touring car series. The closing race of the 2011 season will also be the last race contested by the AMG Mercedes C‑Class, the most successful DTM car of all time. In the 2012 season, Mercedes-Benz will respond to the changed circumstances with the launch the new DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé.
Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “Our C-Class has written a success story unmatched by any other car in DTM history. To win 84 races from 158 races is a fantastic achievement, for which I would like to thank all of our teams and drivers. Foremost among them, of course, is our partner HWA AG and its executive and technical director Gerhard Ungar, as well as his team - with these successes, you have written a chapter in motorsport history. The C-Class will stand as the most successful car of the 'old' DTM up to 1996, as well as in the 'new' era from 2000 to 2011. Thank you for all your hard work and extraordinary achievements; they are unique, and that's why we are so pleased to commemorate this success story in Hockenheim, when the C-Class will race for the last time.”
Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
