Photo: Daimler Press Global

Robert Wickens gets another podium for Mercedes AMG

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Robert Wickens was the best driver for Mercedes AMG today at the Lausitzring, host of the third round of the 2016 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season. The Canadian was third in the race, scoring some valuable points.

The Team HWA driver qualified in fourth position for the grid. At the start, Wickens got ahead of BMW’s Marco Wittmann for third place and, in the closing stages, he attacked Audi’s Jamie Green, who would be second at the chequered flag.

Wickens was beaming after the race, confident after a strong result: “That was a nice race. I made a good start and moved up into third place. I then chased the two Audis, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out. However, third place is a good result and good too towards the championship. We earned this podium today. There are a lot of bumps, which requires a completely different driving style. We are strong here, but Audi were a little bit better today. We’ll get another chance tomorrow when I would like to secure as many points as possible again.”

The Canadian is now fourth in the Drivers’ standings, tied to 43 points with fellow Mercedes AMG driver Paul Di Resta, and only four points behind the championship leader.

Team Mücke also did well at their home track. Lucas Auer chased Marco Wittmann for most part of the race, and then let team-mate Christian Vietoris through as the German had more pace.

Vietoris was mildly satisfied with the result, which was hampered by a power steering failure: “That was a tough race. I lost my power steering towards the middle of the race and am now really fatigued. It’s extremely difficult to make correcting movements when you have to battle with the power steering. I’m pleased that I could finish the race and still secure some decent points. Our car was fast today and good enough to attack the front-runners. So, more would have been possible, but under the circumstances, I’m satisfied with fifth place.”

Ulrich Fritz, Head of DTM for the Stuttgart manufacturer was happy to have scored some valuable points: “That was a good race. We managed to get three cars in the Top 7 and secure a podium finish as well. We can be satisfied with today’s result.”

The DTM is back on track for the third free practice session tomorrow at 9:00 CEST.