The first pre-season test of 2017 for Mercedes-AMG DTM at Portimao this past week provided a lot of input, towards the new cars being brought in this season.
With Gary Paffett, Paul Di Resta and Edoardo Mortara being given a full day’s testing each, it saw the C63 AMG complete 448 laps of the Portuguese circuit, but the work is still ongoing for the Stuttgart brand.
“With the homologation deadline approaching fast, our objective was to put in as many kilometres as possible and once again to try new things,” said Head of Mercedes-AMG DTM, Ulrich Fritz.
“We managed to do that on all three days, completing more than 140 laps each time. Now it’s important to draw the right conclusions from our findings and from the data we’ve collected.”
Paffett was the fastest of all three drivers, and felt good to get back into the car after the long winter pause after testing late last year in Jerez de la Frontera.
“We did a lot of kilometres, and we collected plenty of data on short runs and long runs,” admitted the 2005 champion.
“We looked at the tyres and also tried a few things on setup. It was a good first day, but I think that, as always, we still have a lot of work to do.”
Mortara, who moves to the manufacturer this year after severing ties with Audi Sport, is looking ahead to more success in the DTM.
“There was a lot to do on the setup, and working with the engineers and my team-mates went well. We help each other out and are fully motivated. We’re all pulling together.”
After the homologation is secured for the forthcoming season on March 1st, the teams will head to Vallelunga in Italy with the new cars between the 13th and 16th of March.