skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) finished in the penultimate race of the season contested in Valencia in seventh position. The race was won by Mattias Ekström (Audi). Spengler has 51 points in the drivers’ standings and goes into the grand finale in Hockenheim on 23rd October in second position. Martin Tomczyk (Audi) clinched the drivers’ championship in Valencia with one race still left on the calendar.
Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) and David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) came home in fifth and sixth place. After qualifying in Valencia, race stewards handed down a penalty to both Coulthard and van der Zande for running rear wings that allegedly did not conform to regulations. Their teams have lodged an appeal – the two drivers were allowed to start from their original grid positions, but for the moment, their results will not stand.
Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished eighth, Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) was tenth, Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class), Christian Vietoris (Young Stars AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished in P11, 12 and 13. Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class) was 15th.
Across the race weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), a total of 16,000 spectators visited the Valencia circuit to watch the DTM race.
Race summary
The start: David Coulthard and Renger van der Zande defend their starting positions three and four. Jamie Green moves up from P11 to P8 on the opening lap. Bruno Spengler goes up two places, from 12th to 10th.
Lap 11: The pit stop window is now open. Coulthard is the first C-Class driver to come in. Susie Stoddart also makes her first mandatory pit stop.
Lap 12: Van der Zande, Jamie Green and Christian Vietoris come into the pits.
Lap 16: Spengler pits for the first time.
Lap 17: First pit stop for Gary Paffett.
Lap 18: Ralf Schumacher completes his first mandatory pit stop.
Lap 19: Maro Engel is the last C-Class driver to make his first pit stop.
Lap 24: Second pit stop for Bruno Spengler. He reemerges ahead of Edoardo Mortara (Audi).
Lap 25: Paffett and Vietoris change tyres for the second time.
Lap 26: Second mandatory pit stop for Stoddart, Green and Coulthard.
Lap 27: Van der Zande pits for the second time and returns to the track before Coulthard.
Lap 30: Paffett overtakes Mortara (Audi), moving into eleventh place.
Final lap (Lap 45): After 45 laps and some 180.22 km, Renger van der Zande and David Coulthard finish in P5 and P6 - but their positions won’t count in the standings for the moment. Bruno Spengler and Gary Paffett come home in seventh and eighth place.
Comments after the race:
Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) – seventh:
“This was unfortunately not the championship outcome that we had wanted, but we didn’t lose the title today – that happened much earlier. Congratulations to Martin Tomczyk and Phoenix-Audi – they deserved to win. It was a tough race. We fought hard and the guys did a very good job – pit stops went perfectly, enabling me to move up a position, but more was not possible. My team gave their all, but it wasn’t enough to win the title, it’s a pity. Many thanks to the guys for their brilliant support. We now intend finishing the season with a win at our home race in Hockenheim. I’m a fighter and will push hard again next year.”
Gary Paffett (AMG Mercedes C THOMAS SABO-Class) – eighth:
“The C-Class drove really well today. Although Bruno is no longer able to win the title, we still have one more race ahead of us, and we intend to go back on the attack. From a personal point of view, I’ve had a difficult season, but as a team, we’ve done a good job. Though at the end of the day, Audi have finished on top. I’d like to congratulate Martin Tomczyk on a well-deserved title win. It’s all the more to his credit that he put in such a great performance in an old car.”
Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) – tenth:
“The start was good, and the speed of the C-Class promised a lot for the race. Unfortunately, I got stuck in traffic early on and wasn’t able to show my true potential. Now I’m focusing on Hockenheim and hoping that I’m able to pick up points again.”
Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 11th:
“Starting from last on the grid didn’t exactly make for an easy race. Even so, I managed to keep up with my team-mates. I got the maximum out of the C-Class today and hope that I can put in another good performance at Hockenheim. I feel so sorry for Bruno that things didn’t work out for him in his title challenge.”
Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 12th:
“This was a very tough race. Our starting position on the grid wasn’t easy, but we did our best. I wasn’t able to improve my position during the race, unfortunately – I'm of course very disappointed not to have finished in the points.”
Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 13th:
“That was not an easy race for us drivers today. I would have like to have finished further up the field, but it just wasn’t possible. My focus is now on the final race of the season at Hockenheim where I intend to lay on a great show for our fans in the Motodrom and the Mercedes grandstand.”
Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 15th:
“From a motor racing perspective, this year’s Valencia weekend wasn’t the best for me: P15 in both qualifying and the race are not satisfactory results as far as I am concerned. So I’m looking forward all the more to the closing race at Hockenheim where I recorded by best ever DTM result in 2009. I’d very much like to put in a repeat performance in the last race of the season.”
Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) – not classified:
“I’m satisfied with where I finished in the race itself. I’m pleased that I was able to put in such a strong performance in Valencia. The heat made it a difficult race, but I gave it everything I’d got. It’s a shame for Bruno and Mercedes-Benz that the championship is now over. Although nobody will be battling it out for the title at Hockenheim, we’ll be on the attack and aiming to cheer up our fans with a decent result in our home race.”
David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) – not classified:
“That was a tough race but enjoyable – it was a lot of fun fighting with the other guys at the front of the field. Shame that Bruno now has no chance of taking the championship; he’s had a terrific season and would have made a worthy winner. The same applies to Martin Tomczyk – well done, but next year we want to bring the championship back to Stuttgart. Season finale in Hockenheim, where I once again intend putting on a good show for our fans in the Motodrom and in the Mercedes stand.”
Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
“Congratulations to Martin Tomczyk and Phoenix Audi on winning the championship. Things didn’t work out for us as we would have hoped in the last three races, so we were unable to repeat our title win of last year. Now we are looking forward to the grand finale at Hockenheim where we intend to win the last race to be contested under the existing rules.
Bruno drove well throughout the season, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t to be. Without the retirement in the previous race at Oschersleben caused by a defective shock absorber, I feel sure the title race would not have been decided ahead of the final weekend. Many thanks to all our team members for their hard work and dedication this season. We remain fully motivated for the last race of the season at Hockenheim.”
Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) will begin the ninth race of the 2011 DTM season in Valencia on Sunday (start: 13:00 BST, from 12:45 BST live on ARD television) as the best-placed Mercedes-Benz driver in third position on the grid. The DTM rookie posted a 1:31.173 minutes in the shoot-out at the end of qualifying. Mattias Ekström (Audi / 1:30.608 minutes) will be on pole.
David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:31.338 minutes) will be in fourth place on the grid at his 20th DTM race on Sunday, meaning he’s improved his best DTM qualifying result so far – Shanghai 2010 – by two places.
Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:30.297 minutes) will be in ninth place on the grid for the start of the penultimate race of the season. Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:30.602 minutes) and Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class / 1:30.621 minutes) will be in P11 and P12. Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) posted a 1:30.304, the tenth best time of the third segment of qualifying, but because of a place penalty handed down at the last race in Oschersleben, he will be in P13.
Qualifying Part 1: Gary Paffett was the best-placed C-Class driver in the first qualifying segment with a time of 1:30.052 minutes – third fastest. Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:30.583 minutes), Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:30.587 minutes) and Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class /1:30.739 minutes) finished 15th, 16th and 18th respectively. The gap between best time and 18th place was only eight and a half tenths of a second.
Qualifying Part 2: The second qualifying session was suspended after a spin by Edoardo Mortara (Audi). All the remaining drivers go through to the third part of qualifying.
Comments on qualifying:
Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) - third (1:31.173):
“Getting into the fourth qualifying session is a marvellous result for me. I drove a great lap and the lap time speaks for itself – we found more grip as qualifying progressed, and raised our game compared to free practice. It was absolutely great to be driving among the leaders. Hopefully, I’ll soon be mixing it at the very front of the field much more often.”
David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) – fourth (1:31.338):
“The shoot-out at the end of qualifying was new for me, but what a great experience! It wasn’t altogether easy for me to adjust to it – it’s been some time since I had only one shot at qualifying. Naturally, I’m delighted with fourth place on the grid. From this position, a good race is a strong possibility.”
Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Cass) - ninth (1:30.297):
“It’s been extremely difficult here today, in this weather with these temperatures. My car was sliding around a lot during qualifying, and it wasn’t easy to post a perfect lap because of the tyres. Overall, it’s a disappointing result, because my speed was good. Unfortunately, I made a small error in Q3, and that cost me time.”
Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 11th (1:30.602):
“This was obviously not a great qualifying session for me. Unfortunately, I just wasn’t quick enough to achieve a better result. The balance of my C-Class was fine, but on every lap I made a small mistake – and that cost me time. Eleventh place is disappointing, but that’s motor racing for you.”
Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) - 12th (1:30.621):
“Qualifying didn’t go as I would have liked. I gave it my best shot, but unfortunately it just wasn’t possible to post a faster lap time. Now we’ll analyse this as a team to find out why. Tomorrow’s another day. In the race we’ll be trying to move up the field from the rear. I started twelfth in Spielberg earlier this season and managed to move up as far as fourth place – so tomorrow there’s everything left to play for.”
Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 13th (1:30.304):
“This wasn’t the result I’d expected. I’d wanted to mix it with the leading drivers here, but sadly that wasn’t possible today. The long-runs were promising at least, so let’s hope we’ll look better in the race tomorrow.”
Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 15th (1:30.583):
“15th on the grid is not great, especially since I came to Valencia with such high hopes. I‘ve been struggling with my car right through the weekend. The grip has been poor and the car has been really difficult to drive, so I didn’t manage to post a decent lap. I’ll give it all I’ve got in the race, but it certainly won’t be easy from this grid position.”
Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 16th (1:30.587):
“I’d certainly aimed to do better, but I started the last race in Oschersleben from 17th place and still finished in the points. I’m hoping for a similar result in tomorrow’s race. Getting a good start, with perfect pit stops and the right strategy, that’s what’s important.”
Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 18th (1:30.739):
“18th, that’s not exactly brilliant as a result! I had hoped for more, but was plagued by oversteer otherwise I would have kept up with my team-mates. I will push as hard as I can in the race to try and move as far up the field as possible.”
Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
“Renger and David ran well here today, putting their 2011 C-Class cars places on the second row of the grid. Martin Tomczyk in P11 wasn’t exactly strong, but unfortunately, we are unable to get Bruno away in front of Tomnzyk – we were just 68 thousandths of a second adrift. Tomorrow, we’ll try to move up the field, so that Bruno secures more points than Tomczyk."
"Fifth and tenth place are separated by one tenth of a second, which shows once again how close racing is in the current DTM line up. The race tomorrow could be full of surprises and Bruno's chances of clinching the championship after his bad luck with a shock absorber in the last race that cost him the lead in the standings are still very much alive.”
Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Preview: Ninth round of the 2011 DTM Season at Valencia
• The Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia is hosting its second DTM race
• Between 2006 and 2009, four DTM races were held at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, two of which were won by Mercedes-Benz (Jamie Green and Paul di Resta)
Comments on the ninth race of the 2011 DTM season from:
Bruno Spengler (28, Canada, Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class):
- started from the front row in Valencia last year
- finished second in the first DTM race in Valencia
“I like the Valencia circuit a lot. It’s extremely challenging and is especially demanding for the brakes. Like in Oschersleben, it’s very important to use the kerbs correctly. I’ve put my retirement from the last race behind me now – motor racing is unpredictable, and unfortunately you have to expect bad luck from time to time. I’m focused on the future when we may find that fortune smiles on us once again. I’ll be attacking in the last two races and going all-out to win the championship – there is still everything to play for. My team and I are not giving up.”
Jamie Green (29, England, AMG Mercedes C-Class):
- won the 2007 DTM race in Barcelona
- posted the second fastest lap of the 2010 race in Valencia
“The track in Valencia is still relatively new on the calendar, which makes it all the more important to help the engineers get the setup right during the free practice sessions on Friday and Saturday. The corners here have varying cambers, which makes the setup process a bit trickier. It’s a nice track. In 2010, I was driving a year-old car but still posted the second-fastest race lap. I’d like to build on that this year.”
Ralf Schumacher (36, Germany, Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class):
- has completed numerous test laps around Valencia’s permanent race track in Formula One
- was in fourth position at Oschersleben when he was forced to retire and has finished in the points four times this season, including two podiums
“I have been to Valencia many times in my motor racing career, mostly testing Formula One cars. This track has a variety of corners which have to be taken at different speeds. It makes big demands on both the driver and the car, especially in terms of braking. This year, we are visiting the Circuit Ricardo Tormo for the second time in the DTM. I don’t have particularly fond memories of my DTM debut there after failing to finish. So it’s even more important to get a good result this year.”
Gary Paffett (30, England, THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Class):
- started from the second row in Valencia last year
- made up 14 positions at Oschersleben, driving skilfully in difficult conditions to finish fourth after starting from P18 on the grid
“I know the track in Valencia pretty well – we contested a DTM race there last year for the first time, but I’ve also put in plenty of test miles in a Formula One car. I had a good qualifying last year, but unfortunately things didn’t go too well in the race itself. After two consecutive fourth-place finishes, I’d like to pick up on my decent qualifying performance from last year and maybe get a first podium of this season.”
David Coulthard (40, Scotland, Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class):
- knows the Ricardo Tormo Circuit from numerous Formula One test sessions
- achieved his fourth Top Ten finish of the season at Oschersleben
“Valencia is a beautiful city, and the track is technically very demanding. In order to set a fast lap time, it’s important for the car to be well-balanced and for the driver to get into a good rhythm. I know the circuit from having completed so many test laps in Formula One here, and I’m looking forward to my second DTM race in front of the Spanish fans.”
Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
“In the last two races, things have not gone as we hoped and Bruno Spengler has lost 16 points relative to his main rival, Martin Tomczyk. On the first occasion, it was because the rain at Brands Hatch lasted longer than forecast, which meant that our setup was unsuitable; the situation was also not helped by Bruno starting from a lower grid position because of a penalty. Despite that setback, he was on course to re-take the championship lead for the first two-thirds of the subsequent wet race in Oschersleben, until one of his front shock absorbers failed, which cost him second place and eight points. In all honesty, our defeats at Brands Hatch and Oschersleben were self-inflicted and we missed out on points that we should have scored. Consequently, we’ll be battling all the harder in the last two races to recover Bruno’s nine-point deficit, which has come about because of our failures. It won’t be easy, but it is feasible. I’ve already seen a Formula One world championship where a 17-point lead going into the last two races wasn’t enough. We will push harder than ever and maintain our belief that we can win. If everybody else considers us to be the outsiders, that will only strengthen our determination.”
Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
