Team Abt Sportsline recorded it’s 50th race win in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) at the Nürburgring at the weekend, following a great performance from Hans-Jürgen Abt’s outfit and Edoardo Mortara, who took his third race of the season.
The Kempten-based outfit took their first victory in the DTM as an independent team in 2001, with Laurent Aiello taking top honours at the same venue, with Abt himself classing the result secured by the Italian as “definitely special.”
“My thanks go to all our drivers and particularly to the whole team. We arrived here with the maxim ‘now more than ever’ – and everyone abided by that,” he explained after the race, as the team took a good points haul in their team title challenge, thanks to the efforts of Mattias Ekström and Nico Müller, who finished the race in fourth and sixth respectively.
“I’m incredibly proud of our squad which is fully motivated to clinch the title for Audi in spite of the advantage that BMW has. That’s why the party for our 50th DTM victory still has to wait a little.”
Mortara felt that the Saturday result of fourth place was not reflective of just how much race pace he had, as a result of Team RBM’s Tom Blomqvist impeding his progress towards a potential podium finish, which saw Jamie Green take the third step, with an Italian flag instead of a Union Jack, bringing a laugh to both Green and the crowds.
“We had a tremendous race car on Saturday. I gave it a try, we brushed each other and I slightly damaged my car in the process. That’s why position four was still okay,” said the 29-year-old, who took a 37 point haul at the 3.629-km circuit, thanks to having a strong set-up and reflective pace.
“The race on Sunday then was really good. I had a good start from position six and immediately managed to overtake two drivers. In the first part of the race, I pursued the BMW cars and Lucas (Auer). I saved my DRS and took it easy on my tires and my brakes.
He also stated that the team were able to bring him in for his mandatory stop, which helped him in his charge to pursue Lucas Auer to take the lead of the race with just eight laps remaining, with the Austrian being at a significant weight disadvantage.
“When the others pitted before me, I knew that we’d be able to win with a different strategy. The team did a fantastic job. The stop was good and the car top-class. We benefited from being able to drive on a clear track. After the pit stop, I only had to overtake (Auer and he acted in a very fair manner. Everything worked out well. I’m happy to have mounted the top of the podium again and being back in the title race.”