British drivers aiming for success at first Brands Hatch race since 2013

The next round of the DTM season will take place at Brands Hatch, with the series returning to British soil for the first time since 2013. Mercedes’ Gary Paffett and Paul di Resta, and Audi’s Jamie Green are hoping for success in their home round.

The series used the ‘Indy’ layout for their previous outings at the British track, but this year it will use the 3.908-kilomtre ‘Grand Prix’ configuration.

Championship leader Paffett will have to adjust to a new track for him, but already has a reference. “It’s a similar track to Zandvoort, with lots of hills and that, but it’s also a very challenging circuit and it’s going to be hard for everyone going there. I don’t know too well the Grand Prix circuit so it’s going to be a challenge for everybody, but I know we’ve got a competitive car, so I go there with a positive frame of mind,“ said the Briton to TouringCarTimes.

Di Resta is in a similar position and is also confident that the current form shown by Mercedes AMG will allow him to be competitive at a new track for him: “I’m looking forward to Brands, I won there in 2009 and 2010, but I left DTM (for Formula 1) after that, so I don’t know the Grand Prix circuit, so that’s a challenge for me.

“There are a lot of good memories and we go there with a strong car, the whole package, but it will be great to be back racing in home soil. I don’t think we can expect Zandvoort’s results at Brands because this is the thing about DTM, Audi have shown how much they are starting to come back, but our package has been strong all year, so we will see how things turn out there,” concluded di Resta.

Green is hoping for Audi to return to the top of the results as Mike Rockenfeller won for the German manufacturer in the last DTM race at Brands in 2013.

“The DTM is coming home!” said Audi’s Jamie Green. “It’s great to be racing at Brands Hatch and it will be the first time I’ll race in England for five years. René (Rast) won the last time around, so I will be looking for my first win of the season and I hope I can get it at Brands.”

Paffet heads the standings on 148 points with di Resta second on 121 points. BMW drivers Timo Glock and Marco Wittmann are next in the standings, with 101 and 98 points respectively. Reigning champion René Rast, who took Audi’s first victory of the season at the last race at Zandvoort, is the best-placed driver for the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer in the championship in ninth place, 99 points behind Paffett.

“In my rookie year in 2013, Brands Hatch was the second DTM race I ever drove in,” added Wittmann. “I am pleased that the DTM is returning to England and am looking forward to the longer circuit, which I have not yet driven.”

Another novelty the sixth round of the season will have is a tight schedule, with all sessions and races compacted in two days, omitting Friday track action due to noise control regulations in the area.

“This makes finding an optimal setup more difficult, but the conditions are the same for everyone,” says Audi Motorsport boss Dieter Gass. “The track profile is similar to the ones of Zandvoort and Budapest. That’s why we’re hoping to perform like we did on those two tracks.”

Mercedes driver Edoardo Mortara will sport a new livery, the third this year, set to remain on his C63 DTM for the remainder of the season.

Mercedes AMG heads to Brands Hatch with 547 points in its account, 189 ahead of BMW Motorsport and 382 over Audi Sport.

Despite the advantage and having won six out of the ten races held so far this season, Mercedes’ boss Ulrich Fritz is keeping his feet on the ground ahead of the weekend: “Brands Hatch is the first real unknown for us this year. Of course, it’s always great to have a new circuit on the calendar, but the risk of making a mistake with setup is also much higher.

“Still, it’s also very obvious that the gap between brands will narrow considerably in the second half of the year. We saw Audi get back up to speed recently at Zandvoort, and we’ve had some hard-fought battles with BMW all season. At any rate, we must not ease up, otherwise, our lead will very quickly disappear.”

Timetable

Saturday 11/8
10:00 – Free Practice 1
10:35 – Free Practice 2
12:20 – Qualifying for Race 1
14:30 – Race 1

Sunday 12/8
11:00 – Free Practice 3
12:20 – Qualifying for Race 2
14:30 – Race 2

All times in CEST