BACK ON A GROWING TREND, TEAM WRT AUDI SPORT LIVES AT ASSEN ITS BEST DTM WEEKEND SO FAR

BACK ON A GROWING TREND, TEAM WRT AUDI SPORT LIVES AT ASSEN ITS BEST DTM WEEKEND SO FAR

21/07/2019

The Audi RS 5 DTM of Team WRT Audi Sport signed off their best weekend so far in the DTM, as they left Assen, in the Netherlands, with three point-scoring results, including a top-5, after having qualified in second and first row, respectively, for the races. In a weekend that yielded all weather conditions, from hot temperatures to pouring rain, the Belgian squad made a significant step ahead in its first season of the competition.

Jonathan Aberdein rounded an excellent weekend by taking P6 in Race 1 and P4 in Race 2, the best finishes so far for the squad, after qualifying in first row on Sunday. Pietro Fittipaldi proved also very competitive, qualifying 4^th for Race 1, but was less lucky in the races that he finished in P11 and P10, respectively.

The weekend started promisingly, with both WRT Team Audi Sport cars making it consistently to the top-10 in both free practices, in hot weather. On Saturday, heavy rain invited itself to the party, but that did not seem to affect the Belgian squad, as Fittipaldi took a brilliant P4 on the grid and Aberdein qualified 11^th.

Race 1 started behind the safety-car given the conditions, with Fittipaldi and Aberdein keeping their temper and running as high as 4^th and 7^th, respectively, in the initial phases. The South African was the first of the two to pit, in lap 9, with the Brazilian doing so in lap 17. In the second part of the race, Aberdein ran 6^th, a position he secured up to the flag after having been fighting for 4^th, while Fittipaldi dropped some positions, also due to a slight contact, closing in P11.

Nice and warm weather graced the Sunday, which started with an excellent Q2 session, as Jonathan Aberdein, for the second time this season, managed to put one of the WRT Team Audi Sport in first row, conceding only one tenth to the pole-sitter, and Fittipaldi qualified an excellent 10^th.

In Race 2, unfortunately, the South African did not have the best of starts losing six positions. In the initial phases, Fittipaldi and Aberdein ran as high as 5^th and 6^th, and in lap 14, the South African passed the Brazilian for what was at that moment P4. Given the risk of tyre degradation in the warm weather, the Belgian squad opted for relatively late pit stops, with Fittipaldi coming in in lap 15 and Aberdein in lap 19. The strategy mostly paid-off, with both cars running in the top-10 by lap 25, with Fittipaldi 6^th right ahead of Aberdein. From there up to the flag, Fittipaldi had to struggle with his tyres but salvaged P10 and one point, while Aberdein held on well and was able to steal P4 in the penultimate lap.

The next DTM round is scheduled at Brands Hatch, in the United Kingdom, on 10-11 August.

Vincent Vosse: “It has been a very good weekend, by far the best we had so far in the DTM, in terms of performance, consistency and results. We still have a lot of things to improve, but this weekend represents a big step forward, and we showed excellent pace throughout the entire weekend. I am very happy for the whole team, it’s a good reward for their great work and it was important to have a positive outing such as this one.”

Jonathan Aberdein: “It was a great weekend for the team and for me, with a fantastic pace and two good races. At the start of Race 2, I struggled a bit and fell back, but then was able to recover, thanks to a good management of the tyres and a solid pit stop. It was an incredible race, and I am very happy for the team that has worked so hard to get us up there.”

Pietro Fittipaldi: “Overall, a good weekend, with far better pace than in Norisring. I qualified fourth in the dry for Race 1, but the race was on wet, and I struggled a bit, we didn’t have the best strategy and fell down to 11^th. In Race 2, starting from P10, I made up some positions at the beginning, but I had a contact in lap 1 and for the whole race, I wasn’t sure of the kind of damage we had. Tyre degradation at the end was massive and we ended 10^th.”

DTM – Round 5
Assen, the Netherlands, 19-21 July 2019

Race 1 Result
1. Marco Wittmann (BMW) 31 laps

2. Nico Müller (Audi) + 3s137

3. René Rast (Audi) + 8s094
4. Philipp Eng (BMW) +25s313
5. Timo Glock (BMW) +25s534
6. Jonathan Aberdein (Audi) +27s887
11. Pietro Fittipaldi (Audi) +45s162

Race 2 Result
1. Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) 37 laps

2. Marco Wittmann (BMW) + 4s518
3. Nico Müller (Audi) + 6s398
4. Jonathan Aberdein (Audi) +17s000

5. René Rast (Audi) §19s348
10. Pietro Fittipaldi (Audi) +36s096

Photo: Audi Sport