Nico Müller says he is overjoyed to have scored his maiden Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters win in the second race at the Norisring, with the Swiss racer praising Audi’s Head of DTM Dieter Gass for keeping the faith.
Müller took his maiden win in the series at the 36th time of asking, using a superior pitstop to take the lead from BMW’s Tom Blomqvist at around the halfway stage of the race.
The result moves the 24-year-old up to seventh in the drivers’ championship standings, just 23 points shy of leader Marco Wittmann.
“Winning my first DTM race for Audi here at the Norisring of all places is simply an incredible feeling,” said Müller. “Following the disappointing result yesterday, we made the right changes to the car. My RS 5 DTM was fantastic today and my pit stop was super-fast.
“Thank you to Audi Sport, thank you to Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline and thank you to everyone who believed in me – first and foremost Dieter Gass! I’m overjoyed!”
The win for Müller capped off a strong weekend for the Ingolstadt manufacturer at what is effectively their ‘home’ race, with Edoardo Mortara’s Saturday win being the first for Audi at the Norisring in 14 years.
“Nico drove like an old hand today and showed why we took him on board at Audi,” said Gass, who is Head of DTM at Audi Sport. “Nico has had a strong season so far and has now crowned it with his first victory in the DTM.
“That we’ve been able to win both races at the Norisring following a 14-year barren spell is fantastic. Obviously, it’s a shame that we lost a few points today. But we’re not going to let this spoil our partying mood in any way.”