Mercedes Benz

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Brands Hatch, United Kingdom, Aug 31, 2008

§ Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished the eighth round of the 2008 DTM series at Brands Hatch in second place. After 82 laps, Di Resta came home 0.793sec behind winner Timo Scheider (Audi).
§ After eight of 11 races, Mercedes-Benz and Audi are tied on victories with four wins each. In the overall rankings, Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class), who has won two races so far this season and finished fourth today, and Paul Di Resta (one win) are second and third respectively with 45 points each; nine points behind leader Timo Scheider (Audi) on 54 points.
§ Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) ended up sixth, Gary Paffett (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) with the 2007 C-Class finished eighth. He beat Bernd Schneider (Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class) by 0.173sec to the line. Schneider received a drive-through penalty for exceeding the pit lane speed limit and came home ninth.
§ Ralf Schumacher (Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished 15th ahead of Mathias Lauda (Pixum AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Maro Engel (JungeSterne AMG Mercedes C-Class). Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) ended up 19th. She received a 30sec time penalty for pushing another car.
§ Formula 1 World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton visited Brands Hatch on Sunday. Since racing in the Formula 3 Euro Series, which he won in 2005, he still has many friends in the DTM paddock. Lewis watched the race from the pit wall, signed autographs for his British fans and completed a couple of demonstration laps in his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 car.
§ A total of 26,800 spectators attended the eighth round of the 2008 DTM at Brands Hatch during the weekend.


Race Summary

The start: Paul Di Resta started second on the grid and maintained this position on the opening lap, followed by Bruno Spengler. Jamie Green dropped from fifth to sixth but moved up to fifth again on lap two. After being touched by Christijan Albers, Maro Engel spun at the exit of Druids and Mathias Lauda had to avoid him.
Lap 6: A few drops of rain.
Lap 18: Bernd Schneider attacked Mike Rockenfeller for ninth place.
Lap 21: Bruno Spengler came in for his first pit stop, followed by Bernd Schneider, Ralf Schumacher and Mathias Lauda.
Lap 23: First pit stop for Gary Paffett.
Lap 25: Paul Di Resta pitted for the first time.
Lap 27: Jamie Green made his first pit stop; Maro Engel came in two laps later.
Lap 33: Small off for Maro Engel. Susie Stoddart pitted for the first time; Ralf Schumacher came in for his second stop.
Lap 35: Jamie Green ran wide and lost one position to Martin Tomczyk.
Lap 38: Second pit stop for Jamie Green, Bernd Schneider followed one lap later.
Lap 42: Bruno Spengler came in for the second time whilst Paul Di Resta pitted again one lap later.
Lap 47: Bernd Schneider completed a drive-through penalty after he had exceeded the pit lane speed limit of 60 km/h.
Lap 50: Second pit stop of Maro Engel.
Lap 59: All drivers completed their two mandatory pit stops. Paul Di Resta was second, 1.1sec behind Timo Scheider. Jamie Green was fourth, Bruno Spengler sixth and Gary Paffett eighth.
Lap 67: Bernd Schneider overtook Oliver Jarvis for ninth place.
Lap 72: Paul Di Resta was less than a second behind Timo Scheider.
Finish (lap 82): Paul Di Resta crossed the finish line in second place, 0.793sec behind Timo Scheider. Jamie Green came home fourth and Bruno Spengler sixth. Gary Paffett fought with Bernd Schneider until the chequered flag and ended up eighth.

Comments

Paul Di Resta (2008 AMG Mercedes C-Class), second: “Our team did a great job and the race went very well. Unfortunately, we had a weight handicap compared to the Audis, therefore I didn’t have a chance to overtake Timo Scheider, although I was able to drive faster. However, I am satisfied with second place and the championship is still open.”

Jamie Green (2008 Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class), fourth: “An interesting race. First I lost one place to Oliver Jarvis, then I was able to overtake him. Later I got stuck behind Martin Tomczyk, but made up time during the pit stops. It’s a pity that Mattias Ekstrom was able to pass me, but I got the maximum out of the car and I could not do better than fourth place. However, everything is still possible. ”

Bruno Spengler (2008 Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class), sixth: “A difficult race. In the second half I lacked top speed, about 10 km/h. We don’t know why and have to analyse the data. Therefore I was not able to hold off Martin Tomczyk. I now look forward to the next three races – those circuits suit me better than Brands Hatch.”

Gary Paffett (2007 stern AMG Mercedes C-Class), eighth: “I am happy about eighth place and the point I scored. My car suffered from oversteer and it was not easy to keep Bernd Schneider behind me, but the fight with him was great fun.”

Bernd Schneider (2008 Original-Teile AMG Mercedes C-Class), ninth: “After my second pit stop, I hit the speed limiter button by accident and therefore, I was too fast at the end of the pit lane. It’s a shame – my car was great and a clearly better result was possible.”

Ralf Schumacher (2007 Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Class), 15th: “This was a difficult weekend for me. First, I had to learn this track which was new to me. In today’s race I had problems with understeer. But this is motor racing and I now look forward to the upcoming race in Barcelona.“

Mathias Lauda (2007 Pixum AMG Mercedes C-Class), 16th: “My race was over on the opening lap when I had to avoid Maro Engel who spun in front of me. Later on, I had a coming-together with Christijan Albers which damaged my car and I was not able to push anymore.”

Maro Engel (2007 JungeSterne AMG Mercedes C-Class), 17th: “Right after the start, Christijan Albers pushed me into a spin at Druids. Then there was a problem during my first pit stop – and that was it with my race.”

Susie Stoddart (2007 TV-Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class), 19th: “I started well, but lost time in traffic afterwards. In the end, I suffered from understeer and finally I received a 30sec time penalty.”

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “An awesome race and great touring car sport for the spectators watching at Brands Hatch and on the TV. Paul Di Resta drove sensationally and managed to put Timo Scheider under pressure until the end despite a 10-kilo weight handicap. Paul was able to drive faster, but overtaking is impossible here. At the finish, he was only eight tenths of a second behind - it could hardly have been closer, and I think all the spectators enjoyed that. Congratulations to Timo who was flawless and Abt-Audi on their win today. Jamie Green who finished fourth today and Paul are now both nine points behind Scheider, the championship remains open prior to the final three races. I am glad that more than 700 colleagues with families and friends from our Formula 1 team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines came to the circuit today to attend the race live and support our drivers and teams. We particularly thank Lewis Hamilton who spent the whole day from 10 in the morning until the evening for the spectators and met his old friends in the DTM, whom he knows since his time in Formula 3. The new record attendance here at Brands Hatch is in no small part also thanks to his contribution.”








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