It was the fifth consecutive victory Mercedes-Benz at their home race in Hockenheim. Since 1988, Mercedes-Benz has won a total of 31 out of 64 DTM races at the Hockenheimring. In the ‘new DTM’ since 2000, a Mercedes driver has won nearly three-quarters of all races at the circuit (19 victories in 26 races).
The season finale was the last race for the AMG Mercedes C-Class, the most successful vehicle in DTM history (85 wins in 159 races). Since 1988, more than half (51%) of the 165 Mercedes-Benz wins have been secured with the C-Class. To make a direct comparison with Audi, from 202 races, Mercedes-Benz has won 109 times and Audi 62.
Jamie Green set the fastest race lap in Hockenheim – 1:34.114 – for the fifth time at this track. In all, since 1988, Mercedes-Benz drivers have set the fastest lap in 35 of 64 DTM races at Hockenheim. Since the revival of the DTM in 2000, a Mercedes-Benz has set the fastest race lap in 76% of all races (20 of 26 races).
Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished his 80th DTM race in fifth position after starting from seventh on the grid. Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) came home ninth. Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished 11th and 12th. Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class), Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) and David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) crossed the line in 14th, 15th and 17th positions respectively. Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) was forced to retire from the race. A total of 120,000 spectators attended the DTM finale (Fri, Sat, Sun) in Hockenheim.
Race summary
The start: Jamie Green overtakes pole-sitter Miguel Molina (Audi) at the start of the race and goes into the lead. Gary Paffett moves up one position to sixth place.
Lap 4: Green extends his lead on Martin Tomczyk (Audi) to more than two seconds.
Lap 10: The pit stop window is now open. Paffett is the first C-Class driver to pit. David Coulthard and Christian Vietoris also come in.
Lap 11: Bruno Spengler and Renger van der Zande complete their first mandatory pit stop. Vietoris retires.
Lap 12: Ralf Schumacher and Susie Wolff pit for the first time.
Lap 13: Green comes in for his first stop with a five-second lead.
Lap 18: Second mandatory pit stop for Paffett.
Lap 19: Schumacher and Wolff come in for the second time.
Lap 20: Green has a six-second lead after the first round of pit stops. Van der Zande comes in for the second time.
Lap 21: Coulthard pits for the second time.
Lap 22: Final mandatory pit stop for Engel.
Lap 24: Spengler pits lying in sixth position.
Lap 26: Green comes in for his final pit stop in the lead.
Lap 29: The pit stop window has now closed. Green leads by 8.6 seconds.
Final lap (Lap 38): Jamie Green wins the 2011 DTM season finale at Hockenheim after 38 laps and a total race distance of 173.812 km. Gary Paffett climbs two positions from seventh place on the grid to finish P5.
Comments after the race:
Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) – Winner:
“I feel very proud to have won this race which is also the final outing for the AMG Mercedes C-Class, the most successful car in DTM history. My car was perfect and I’m so pleased to have won here at Hockenheim for the second time. Now I can start the winter break on a high as a race winner this year. Many thanks to my team for all their work today and throughout the season. I’m looking forward to the new DTM era which starts in 2012. I’m sure it will be just as exciting as the old one, if not more so...!”
Gary Paffett (AMG Mercedes C THOMAS SABO-Class) – Fifth:
“That was a good race – I started from seventh place, and moved up two positions to fifth. My C-Class ran really well and I would like to have got past Mike Rockenfeller, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be. Nevertheless, it was a good finish to a difficult season. I'm already looking forward to 2012.”
Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) – Ninth:
“Unfortunately, my bid to end the season as runner-up in the championship didn’t quite come off, but all the same, I take satisfaction from having won two races and having started from pole position in four. That’s much more important than finishing second in the standings. So all in all, this has been a good year for us. The team worked really hard and, right up to the final lap, we gave it everything. I was faster than Oliver Jarvis and Timo Scheider today, but they proved too difficult to overtake.”
Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) – Eleventh:
“Congratulations to Jamie on his victory in our home round of the championship – he drove a great race. Unfortunately, I couldn’t manage a points finish today because I started from too far back on the grid. I’m satisfied with the way my season has gone, and from now on, I’ll be focusing all my attention on developing and testing the new DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé that we’ll be driving in 2012. You can be sure that we’ll be back on the attack then.”
Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) – Twelfth:
“Twelfth place is a decent result for me. I was running really well today and was able to keep up with Ralf. The atmosphere in the stands was terrific – especially in the Motodrom and at the Mercedes grandstand. Overall, I’m pleased with my first DTM season, particularly since my form improved significantly towards the end of season.”
Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 14th:
“I had obviously been hoping for better than P14 in the last race of the season, but I was boxed in by a lot of other cars on the first couple of laps, which cost me several positions. That was just bad luck. I’m very pleased for Jamie. It’s nice to have given the C-Class a fitting send-off in its last race.”
Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 15th:
“I had, of course, hoped to do better than 15th place in my first race as Susie Wolff, but it was tough to move up the field more than a couple of places from P17 on the grid. Like all the team, I’m pleased for Jamie and his victory – the 85th for the C-Class – I love this car!”
David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 17th:
“This was an unlucky race for me – my first pit stop wasn’t brilliant, unfortunately. After that my race was more or less over, since I had no chance to move up the field. I would of course have wished for a better result for the end of the season.”
Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) – retired:
“Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end to the season that I had hoped for. My pit stop didn’t go as intended: the right front wheel wasn’t on properly, which can happen. Up until that point, I had been very satisfied with the way the race was going. I was the best driver of an old-model Mercedes-Benz and had good pace. Too bad that I didn’t finish the final race of the season.”
Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
“That was the final race to be contested under the current DTM regulations, and for Jamie Green to have won it in such a convincing manner today is a tremendous achievement. Well done to everyone who played their part in making it happen. This is a victory that will go down in the record books and Jamie showed his true calibre today. With our C-Class, we have now won 85 out of 159 races – more than half, in fact – which makes this car the most successful and victorious in DTM history. Since the DTM was revived in 2000, Mercedes-Benz has won 19 races out of 26 at Hockenheim – a fabulous win rate for our home race. Next year, the DTM will welcome a third competitor, BMW, and that affirms the good work done over the last six years by Audi, Mercedes-Benz, the ITR, the DMSB and all our sponsors and TV partners, who always believed in the success of this remarkable championship. At the end of an era, thank you to everybody who has made the third generation of the DTM possible from the start of 2012.”
Source: Daimler AG
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