on Hankook tyres
Miguel Molina has won the second DTM race of the weekend on the Nürburgring. The Audi pilot headed into Sunday’s race from pole position and celebrated his first victory in the most popular international touring car series after 43 laps. Fifth place has given front-runner Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes-Benz) a massive boost in the bid for his first DTM title after his toughest rivals Edoardo Mortara and Mattias Ekström failed to finish in the points. The race tyres of the exclusive DTM partner Hankook provided their usual top performance, even in the heated end phase of the championship fight, ensuring that all pilots could benefit from the Ventus Race rubber right to the flag.
Nürburg/Germany, 27 September 2015 – Despite the safety car being deployed in the first lap due to an accident, polesitter Miguel Molina (Audi) still managed to hold on to his lead at the restart and systematically edged ahead to cross the finish line with a 7.5-second margin. Over the course of the race, Paul di Resta (Mercedes-Benz) and Bruno Spengler (BMW) manoeuvred their way up into second and third which they maintained to the flag. Fourth place went to BMW pilot Tom Blomqvist.
The battle for positions treated fans to some gripping action: Taking up the race from ninth on the grid, series leader Pascal Wehrlein managed to work his way up the order in his Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM to fifth place and yielded ten critical points towards the drivers’ championship. His toughest rivals in the title bid, Edoardo Mortara and Mattias Ekström, did not finish in the points, which gives Wehrlein a 37-point advantage with two races at Hockenheim left on the calendar, and puts the first DTM title within his grasp.
DTM race engineer Thomas Baltes: “Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz on the podium shows that the Hankook race tyres worked very well for all three manufacturers. Miguel Molina in particular underlined what is possible with our race slick. With a track temperature of 23 degrees Celsius, he still experienced very little wear, and the grip level remained high right to the end. It was yet another good performance from our Ventus Race rubber.”
The Petronas Mercedes-AMG performed the fastest pit stop for which they receive 25 points towards the overall classification for the Hankook Best Pit Stop Award. The winning crew also receives three crates of beer at the next race weekend in Hockenheim (Germany). At the conclusion of the season the exclusive DTM tyre partner presents the fastest pit crew of the season with a trophy, which has been highly coveted for many years.
Miguel Molina (Audi): “I was already very pleased with the Hankook tyres in qualifying. In the race I first had to get the tyres up to temperature after the safety car was deployed, and then the rubber and the car ran perfectly. I didn’t notice the slightest deterioration with the tyres and I could have kept driving on them much longer.”
Paul di Resta (Mercedes-Benz): “We came to grips very well with the Hankook tyres today. That’s important, because they are the connection between the car and the track. Now we aim to use the Hankook tyres just as optimally at the season finale in Hockenheim.”
Bruno Spengler (BMW): “The Hankook tyres worked very well despite the cool track temperatures and proved incredibly consistent. I was very happy with them.”
