* Mercedes-Benz driver claims maiden season win in last DTM race
* New champion Martin Tomczyk celebrated by 120,000 fans
* For exclusive tyre partner Hankook, the first DTM year was a success
* Hankook’s Best Pit Stop Award goes to championship-winning Audi Sport Team Phoenix
A blue sky and bright sunshine – the DTM finale at Hockenheim was a motorsport festival for 120,000 fans during the weekend. Next to Martin Tomczyk (Audi), who already had secured the championship title, British driver Jamie Green had the most reasons to celebrate. The Mercedes-Benz driver scored his first win of the season in Sunday’s last DTM race and finished ahead of Tomczyk, who came second. Spaniard Miguel Molina (Audi), who started from first place, took the chequered flag in third position.
Mattias Ekström decided the battle for runner-up spot in the final drivers’ standings in his favour. For the Audi driver, sixth place in the race was enough to topple Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz), who finished ninth and only had a two points’ advantage on Ekström prior to the race, and become runner-up with a margin of just one point over Spengler in the final drivers’ standings. Thus, the Swede completed the 1-2 for the car manufacturer from Ingolstadt. However, Martin Tomczyk undisputedly was the best driver of the season. The 29-year old scored points in all the races, even came in the top 5 in every round and dominantly won three DTM races. The new champion’s Audi Sport Team Phoenix also won the Best Pit Stop Award that exclusive tyre partner Hankook had initiated at the start of the season. The quickest pit stop crew of the season that has now come to an end will be rewarded with a team barbecue. The trophy will be presented during the Essen Motor Show at the Hankook booth.
For tyre partner Hankook, the maiden year in the DTM was a success. There were no retirements due to the tyres, the Ventus racing tyres dominantly mastered all the challenges in their premiere season, from the sand at Zandvoort via the water at Norisring to the high kerbstones at Hockenheim. The tyres allowed all teams and drivers to adapt their car to every race track in the most optimal way. Moreover, Hankook succeeded in offering a tyre that combines the decisive criteria for success like top performance, consistency and maximum safety.
At the start of its DTM involvement, the company had no teething problems and was fully accepted by manufacturers and teams as a reliable partner in the most popular international touring car series right away.
Hans Werner Aufrecht, chairman of the DTM organisation “Our decision for Hankook definitely was the right one. We are very happy, not only with the tyres, which certainly is the most important requirement, but also with the organisation that is behind it. One has to say from zero to 100, a great job that is being done. I can only express a really big compliment. All the drivers are happy, they feel that they are all treated equally by Hankook and that is decisive. I think that a company can’t do better than to become established as a supplier to premium manufacturers in the DTM. Hankook has arrived in the big DTM family, or perhaps, arrived is not the right word: Hankook is a part of it.”
Hans Werner Aufrecht, chairman of the DTM organisation “Our decision for Hankook definitely was the right one. We are very happy, not only with the tyres, which certainly is the most important requirement, but also with the organisation that is behind it. One has to say from zero to 100, a great job that is being done. I can only express a really big compliment. All the drivers are happy, they feel that they are all treated equally by Hankook and that is decisive. I think that a company can’t do better than to become established as a supplier to premium manufacturers in the DTM. Hankook has arrived in the big DTM family, or perhaps, arrived is not the right word: Hankook is a part of it.”
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, head of motorsport Audi: “This year, Hankook has joined the DTM and certainly had a difficult duty, but from my point of view, they have really done an excellent job. We coped very well with the tyres, the tyres worked really well on our cars. I think that, based on a very good interaction with Hankook’s technicians, we were able to take the right decisions in the races every time, which certainly has also helped us win the championship.”
Norbert Haug, head of motorsport Mercedes-Benz: “In its maiden DTM year, Hankook has done a good job and built tyres that worked consistently and reliably. Now, we have to build on this basis in the new DTM from 2012 and communicate the tyre as a performance factor.
Jens Marquardt, head of motorsport BMW: “The right handling of the tyres will be an important factor for being competitive in the DTM in the next years. Therefore, the tyres are also playing an important role in our preparations as well. In the tests we have had so far, we already had a very good interaction with Hankook. I am already really looking forward to the upcoming DTM project and likewise to a good co-operation with Hankook.”
Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook’s head of motorsport Europe: “Our first year was a big success, we have been accepted into the DTM family as an equal partner right away. Our engineers have done a great job and have developed and produced a tyre that supports all the teams in an equal way and guarantees absolutely equal chances for all. This also was one of the reasons why this season was so well-balanced and one of the most exciting since a long time. As we all know, after the race is before the race. Therefore, we are already looking forward to next year, in which we have another premium brand joining the DTM with BMW. We are certain that with our newly developed tyre, we will be able to provide all three car manufacturers with the same performance, safety and consistency in 2012. Of course, at an even higher level.”
