WRT encouraged by strong pace and first points in the DTM

WRT enjoyed a near dream debut in the DTM, with Pietro Fittipaldi scoring its first point in its debut race in the series and team-mate Jonathan Aberdein also racing within the top ten until a wrong call to change to slicks ruined his chances.

Fittipaldi had a quiet race, and bounced back from difficulties in the early stages to gradually improve his rhythm and make up positions.

“At the beginning of the race our pace wasn’t great but, towards the end, it was good,” Fittipaldi told TouringCarTimes. “We were looking at maybe finishing in seventh or eighth but, in the end, we pitted too late, and the pace was really good then. I think our setup was more adjusted to damp-to-dry conditions, and we were a lot quicker than the cars ahead.”

Despite aiming for a higher result, the Brazilian still felt encouraged with tenth place.

“Still, it was our first point,” he added. “It rained a bit longer than we expected at the beginning, but the race came to us from the middle to the end, I almost did the fastest lap time of the race, so I was happy.”

Fittipaldi was the last driver confirmed for this year’s DTM, barely two weeks before the start of the season, but adapted well to the series.

Asked if he had found something special, the Brazilian said: “When I would go for a test I would have to perform really quickly to impress the team, as you only have that opportunity to convince them.

“I’ve had to adapt really quickly and to many different types of cars, so I think that gives me an advantage about being able to adapt to new cars quickly. At the end of the day, it’s a race car with four wheels, you just drive it as hard as you can.”

Aberdein started from the pit lane and gradually gained positions, running well within the points.

“It’s been a good weekend so far, not in terms of results, but the pace is promising,” he said. “We’ve been preparing a lot for this and analysing what has worked for other drivers, so we came well prepared.”

The South-African was the only driver to change into slick tyres, a move that proved too early and ruined his race.

“I was thinking that the track evolution was changing and lap times were dropping, so I thought it was the right moment to change to slick tyres, but I don’t have the experience to make the right calls,” added Aberdein.

Team principal Vincent Vosse was beaming after a result that he hadn’t expected for the team’s debut in the DTM.

“I’m very amazed of what our drivers are able to do with the amount of laps they have, they are very good.

“It’s our first weekend competing in the DTM, it’s also the first time we have two cars running together, and we also have to work and understand the DTM regulations, So far, I cannot really complain.”

WRT are new to the DTM. Asked as about his take on the championship, Vosse told TouringCarTimes: “With everything we saw today, we expected to have a difficult time. Some of the teams here have been here for 20 years. There is no possible training, just gaining experience.

“But our drivers did a perfect job, they had the speed for it. Pietro was doing very similar sectors to the leaders after eight laps and Jonathan had the speed to improve after starting from the pitlane, so let’s see what comes next for us, but the start was good.”