First win of the season : Feller keeps his cool in the heat
Fastest time in the dying seconds of qualifying this morning, followed by a clear win in the race this afternoon – Ricardo Feller (CH) enjoyed a perfect Sunday in his Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 at round two of this season’s DTM in Zandvoort. After 39 laps, the Swiss crossed the finish line first to claim the second success of his DTM career. “A super race! I have finally backed up my first win from last year. The start was good and the pace of the car was incredible. The team did a superb job overnight and we leave Zandvoort feeling good,” said the Abt Sportsline driver. Thomas Preining (A) finished runner-up in the Porsche 911 GT3 R run by Team Manthey EMA. That was sufficient to give him the lead in the Drivers’ Championship, ahead of Feller. The third spot on the podium went to Mercedes-AMG driver Luca Stolz (Brachbach).
Sunday’s DTM race in Zandvoort started at 13:30 in glorious sunshine and with track temperatures around 47 degrees Celsius. Despite this, pole-sitter Feller kept a cool head and immediately pulled clear of the field. Behind him, Maro Engel (Monaco) gained one position in his Mercedes-AMG GT3, relegating the Porsche of Preining into third place. His fellow Porsche driver Laurin Heinrich (Würzburg) and Audi racer Patric Niederhauser (CH) completed the top five. By the time he came in for his mandatory pit stop, 23-year-old Feller had opened a lead of over four seconds, which he was then able to manage comfortably. Preining and Stolz benefitted from perfect tyre changes and climbed into second and third place respectively. Fourth place was occupied by BMW driver Marco Wittmann (Fürth), while Saturday’s winner Engel dropped back to fifth place in his Mercedes-AMG GT3. These positions remained unchanged through to the finish.
Kelvin van der Linde (ZA) produced a fighting display, climbing from tenth to sixth in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2. Seventh place went to Ayhancan Güven (TR) in his Porsche 911 GT3 R, ahead of Niederhauser, who was denied a better result by a penalty. Porsche driver Dennis Olsen (N) ended Sunday’s race in Zandvoort in ninth place. Reigning DTM champion Sheldon van der Linde (ZA) showed plenty of bite, despite the heat, gaining seven places to finish tenth in the BMW M4 GT3. A total of 24,000 spectators enjoyed a sunny, hot and exciting DTM race weekend at the circuit nestled in the dunes on the Dutch North Sea coast – a weekend that saw three different drivers lead the championship at various points. The first two events of the season have yielded four different winners from four races, underlining just how evenly matched the racing series is.
The next race weekend is in two weeks’ time, when the DTM drivers visit the famous Norisring from 7th to 9th July. The iconic racetrack in Nuremberg is Germany’s only street circuit and a home venue for Wittmann. The BMW works driver lives in Fürth, not far from the Norisring.
Ricardo Feller: “If you are not under pressure from the cars behind you, you can soon lose focus and make a mistake. For this reason, I tried to keep my concentration and focus more intensely on the tyres in the heat. I love this circuit in Zandvoort, the country, the people and the region, so I am especially delighted to have won in front of all these spectators.”
Thomas Preining: “Today went much better than expected. Everyone in our team did a mega job. We were among the fastest in the pits and the strategy was top. As such, a big thank you goes to the team. It is nice that all the hard work has borne fruit. It is always nice to be the championship leader. However, what really matters is where we are come the end of the season in October.”
Luca Stolz: “It is nice to bounce back after a very disappointing weekend in Oschersleben. The guys in the garage definitely made the difference. The pit stop was superb, as was the strategy. Marco Wittmann put us under pressure again at the end, but I knew that I was better than him in sectors two and three, thanks to our good grip. As such, I was pretty relaxed. It was clear to me that I would be okay if I avoided making any mistakes, and that proved to be the case.”
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