Lucas Auer elated after a perfect start to the championship
Mercedes AMG driver Lucas Auer dominated the day at Hockenheim, host of the first round of the 2017 DTM season, having been fastest in all sessions and winning the race.
Auer set the best lap in the second free practice held in the morning, clocked the pole position lap being the only driver to break the 1:31 barrier and led the entire race, bar the laps affected by changes due to the pit stops, to end the day as the standings leader, with 28 points in his tally.
“It was a perfect day. The qualy was mega and in the race I pushed as much as I could, but it was very good,” said a smiling Lucas Auer.
The Team HWA driver pushed hard to open a 9.5-second gap in the initial stages of the race. However, his tyres started fading after 15 laps, with BMW’s Timo Glock reducing the gap with over three seconds in just two laps as both went in for their tyre change: “The second stint was tough, as Timo was coming very strong towards us. I knew he would struggle sooner or later, but that moment seemed to never come.”
Glock tried one last overtaking attempt at the Hairpin on the penultimate lap. The German driver didn’t succeed, but collided with Auer, with both being able to continue. Auer didn’t see any ill intentions in Glock’s move: “The contact was nothing, it was just touring car racing, we just laughed about it after the race. It wasn’t a problem.”
Although all six Mercedes AMG C63 DTMs are managed by Team HWA, the drivers have been organised in pairs, with Lucas Auer being partnered by Edoardo Mortara. Asked about his relationship with the Italian, the Austrian said to TouringCarTimes: “Edo is a cool guy. I haven’t been able to talk too much to him because the day is filled with meetings and appointments, but he is a good guy. And I also think he is the fastest man in DTM. I said before the season that I had been paired with the fastest guy and this makes me very happy. I’m a young driver and he is very experienced, so I can learn from him and then try to beat him.”
