MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg will unveil the new DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé for the 2012 season during the Frankfurt International Motor Show, at 12.00 CET on Tuesday 13 September 2011. Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management at Daimler AG, and Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, will also be present on the Mercedes-Benz stand in the IAA’s Festival Hall, Frankfurt.
Now available for download: Mercedes-Benz DTM driver Gary Paffett offers a tantalizing glimpse of the new DTM car in a sneak preview video, and explains the key differences between the 2012 DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé and the current DTM AMG Mercedes C-Class.
Download the video in English (with or without German subtitles) at: www.news2use.tv .
Press information and photos will be available on 13.09.2011 at 12.00 CET by visiting media.daimler.com. The first video clips of the new DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé will be available for download at the same time from: www.news2use.tv .
Michael Schumacher:“The IAA, the world’s most important show for the automotive industry, is the perfect setting for the première of our new 2012 DTM car.”
Nico Rosberg:“I can’t wait to see how the new DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé has turned out, which is why I’m so pleased to be there as we show it off to the world for the first time. It’s going to be a moment to remember.”
Gary Paffett:“I was at the film and photo shoot for the new AMG Mercedes C-Coupé recently and was seriously impressed by my ‘company car’ for next season. I can’t wait to begin testing very soon.”
Norbert Haug:“This new-generation vehicle, based on our Mercedes-Benz C- Coupé, will mark the introduction of an even more spectacular racing car from the start of 2012. I am certain that the spectators will get their money’s worth from the three-way fight between Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the DTM next year.”
Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished in P4 as best-placed Mercedes-Benz driver at the seventh race of the season in Brands Hatch.
Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) scored points with P5 and P7. Eighth-placed Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) secured the final point at his 70th DTM race. Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class) also finished in the Top 10. David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class), Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class), Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished in positions twelve to fifteen.
A total of 21,000 spectators visited Brands Hatch across the DTM race weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday).
Race summary
The start: The race begins in wet conditions. Because of the rain, the drivers complete two parade laps and the race distance is reduced by one lap to 97 laps. Gary Paffett finishes lap one in fifth place, while Ralf Schumacher maintains P6. Christian Vietoris moves up one place and is tenth. David Coulthard moved up three places to 13th. Lap 4: Bruno Spengler overtakes Miguel Molina (Audi) and moves into eighth position. Vietoris also passes Molina to take ninth place. Lap 10: Coulthard now in P11. Lap 12: Spengler overtakes Jamie Green and is seventh. Lap 16: Vietoris moves up into P9. Lap 24: The pit stop window is now open, and both Green and Coulthard come in to make their first stops. Lap 26: Maro Engel makes his first mandatory pit stop. Lap 32: Vietoris pits for the first time. Lap 36: Susie Stoddart comes in for her first pit stop and draws up in front of her crew. Lap 43: Schumacher makes his first pit stop lying in sixth place. Lap 45: The rain is now falling heavier again. Paffett, currently in P4, comes in to make his first mandatory pit stop, and reemerges ahead of Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) and Schumacher. Lap 46: Schumacher overtakes Rockenfeller. Green pits for the second time. Lap 56: Third-placed Spengler comes into the pit lane to make his first mandatory pit stop. Lap 70: Paffett, Schumacher and Coulthard come in for a second set of fresh tyres. Lap 71: Spengler comes in for his second and final mandatory pit stop. Lap 85: Green gets the better of Oliver Jarvis (Audi), moving up into eighth position. Final lap: After 88 laps and a total distance of 169.752 km, Gary Paffett comes home as the best-placed Mercedes-Benz driver in P4 at the seventh race of the season in Brands Hatch. Owing to heavy rain, the race ran to the 70-minute time limit rather than the full planned distance. Ralf Schumacher gained one position from sixth on the grid to finish in fifth place. David Coulthard gains four places in the course of the race to finish twelfth.
Comments after the race:
Gary Paffett (AMG Mercedes C THOMAS SABO-Class) – Fourth: “Fourth place is obviously not ideal, but given the circumstances, it’s a decent result. I was fastest this morning in warm-up, so it could have gone better for us in the dry, but it was a tough race in the wet. I dropped down a couple of places at the start and after that, couldn’t initially keep up with the pace of the leaders. In the second half of the race we were more competitive, and I kept closing on Edoardo Mortara in third place, but unfortunately in the end it wasn’t enough.”
Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) – Fifth: “Although the rain made conditions tricky, this was a good race for me – I’m more than satisfied with fifth place. My C-Class was really quick today, and the crew did some excellent work – so a special thanks to them.”
Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) – Seventh: “Unfortunately the heavy rain really didn’t suit me – starting eighth on the grid, the spray meant I had very poor visibility out on track. That’s why I drove carefully in the beginning to avoid taking any risks, and not make any mistakes. Many thanks to my team for their quick work in the pits, which enabled me to move up a place – that won me two valuable points in the overall standings. I’ll be back on the attack over the next three races, aiming to score as many points as possible.”
Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) – Eighth: “I’m of course not too happy with eighth place in the race, in view of starting from fourth position on the grid. It was an eventful race for me – on the first stint I went into the gravel, then I spun: both incidents cost me a lot of time. Still, I fought my way back into the points and I overtook Oliver Jarvis just before the finish for eighth place.”
Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class) – Tenth: “Unfortunately, I didn’t get away well. Timo Scheider forced me over to the outside of the track in turn one, causing me to drop down the field a few places. My C-Class had plenty of speed after that and I moved up a couple of positions. Unfortunately, my car sustained some damage in a collision with Miguel Molina. It wasn’t easy to drive from that point onwards. My team did a great job and we had a good strategy – but today unfortunately, more just wasn’t possible.”
David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) – Twelfth: “I moved up four places during the race, but all in all I had a poor day. Racing in the wet is certainly more entertaining for the spectators, but I always prefer dry conditions. It’s a shame, because my C-Class was quick today.”
Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 13th: “Sadly, the race didn’t go according to plan for me – even though I’d hoped for rain. I got off to a decent start from eleventh on the grid and moved up a few places. Unfortunately, I lost some time in a pit stop and then later on I received a drive-through penalty – after that, 13th was the best I could achieve.”
Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 14th: “The heavy rain meant this wasn’t an easy race for any of the drivers. The conditions were so bad that at times I had problems keeping the car on the track. At least I had an exciting duel with Renger van der Zande, but overall I’m afraid this wasn’t a good weekend for me.”
Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 15th: “Unfortunately, I just wasn’t quick enough today. Actually, I fancied my chances more in the wet than yesterday in the dry, but unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way. We must now sit down together and analyse the data to find the cause.”
Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “Our performance in the wet today wasn’t as strong as usual, but the points standings are now almost level at the top of the table with just three races to go this season. The battle for the title starts here and Bruno Spengler is in with an excellent chance. Congratulations to Audi on their one-two-three finish.”
Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Class) will start his home race, the seventh round of the 2011 DTM series at Brands Hatch on Sunday (start: 14:00 BST, from 13:40 live on ARD television), from second position as the best-placed Mercedes-Benz driver. Paffett posted a time of 42.288 seconds in the one-lap shootout at the end of qualifying.
Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) secured fourth position on the grid with a time of 42.345 seconds. The British driver has progressed through to the final part of qualifying in all of the last four DTM rounds.
Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) secured the sixth fastest time in qualifying, but because in second practice on Saturday morning the Canadian driver used a set of tyres that were not authorised for use, he was penalized two positions on the grid and will start the race from eighth. In his place, Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class / 42.080) will start the seventh race of the season from sixth position.
Qualifying 1: The first part of qualifying was stopped with nine minutes still on the clock after an accident involving Audi driver Filipe Albuquerque. All the other drivers automatically went through to Q2.
Qualifying 2: Ralf Schumacher posted the fastest time of 41.917 seconds in Q2. Gary Paffett was second. Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class / 42.090) and ChristianVietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class / 42.093) finished in P10 and P11 respectively. Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class / 42.223), David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class / 42.320) and Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class / 42.554) came home in P13, 16 and 17. Just 0.186 seconds covered positions one to twelve.
Comments on qualifying:
Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Cass) - second (42.288): “I’m very happy and pleased with second place in qualifying. It wasn’t easy to make it through to the Top 4 shootout as it’s always very tight at Brands Hatch. My C-Class ran well and I'm looking forward to the race. Rain is forecast for Sunday – that suits me, because I love driving in the wet. I think I’m ready.”
Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) - fourth (42.345): “It was a very positive qualifying session for me. I posted the fastest lap in the third segment of qualifying and made no mistakes in Q4 – which means, unfortunately, I was just lacking a little speed at the end. Perhaps I ran too many laps in Q3, which meant I couldn’t set a better time on the tyres because they were that bit older. I feel quite confident about the race since my C-Class is very well-balanced. If all goes well, tomorrow could be my first win of the season.”
Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) - sixth (42.080): “My last set of tyres didn’t perform as well as expected, but apart from that, the setup on my C-Class was very good. I was quickest overall in second practice this morning, so more should have been possible in qualifying. Overtaking on this track is actually very difficult, but rain is forecast for Sunday, so anything can happen.”
Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) - eighth (42.068): “Starting eighth on the grid isn’t the end of the world – tomorrow’s race is 98 laps long, and a lot can happen over that distance. Tomorrow is another day and I’ll try to get as close to the front as possible. I’m not concerned about championship positions today – the points aren’t awarded until the race tomorrow.”
Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class) - tenth (42.090): “Overall, I’m satisfied with my performance during qualifying, although unfortunately it wasn’t quite good enough for a place in the Top 8. Many thanks to my team for all their good work this weekend. Now I’m just looking forward to the race.”
Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) - eleventh (42.093): “For me, qualifying went pretty much according to plan, but unfortunately I just missed out on a place in the Top 8 – with the lap being so short, the times were very close. Of course, after winning my first GP2 Series race in Belgium in the wet, I’m hoping for rain tomorrow.”
Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 13th (42.223): “My C-Class was certainly quick enough today, but unfortunately I made a small error on the last turn during my flying lap - that probably cost me a place in the Top 8. It was my mistake, but it happens sometimes. I hope I can move up the field in the race.”
David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 16th (42.320): “Today I could have done better than 16th, but I had problems with the balance and I struggled with oversteer – the setup wasn’t perfect and the car didn’t feel absolutely right. When it’s as close as it is here at Brands Hatch, sometimes little things like the wind or a minor difference in car settings can be the decisive factor.”
Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 17th (42.554): “I'm obviously not too happy with P17. I did my best and really pushed hard – but unfortunately it just wasn’t enough. For the race itself, I want it to rain, because I think I’ll do better in the wet.”
Norbert Haug, Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “After four poles in the first six races, this time we’re starting with Gary second on the grid. It is a bit of a handicap for Bruno to be back in eighth place, but nothing that he and his team can’t handle tomorrow. It should prove interesting, and tomorrow we will see who can produce the best speed over 98 laps. We’ve secured two victories at Brands Hatch in the last two years and our goal is to win again on Sunday.”
