Thiim Dominates at Norisring to Grab Points Lead

Photo: Gruppe C Photography

Nicki Thiim charged to the summit of the DTM standings after securing Aston Martin’s first series victories on a dominant weekend at the Norisring that featured a frightening collision for Kelvin van der Linde and Maximilian Paul.

Thiim was in flying form aboard the No. 7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo as he claimed pole for both races.

He was able to hold onto the lead at the start of the opener and continued to occupy first place after the pit stop sequence when the race was red-flagged with 20 minutes to go after the scary Turn 1 collision.

Paul had hit the barriers in his Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Temerario GT3 and speared out of control directly into the side of van der Linde’s BMW M4 GT3 EVO, which sent his door flying.

Van der Linde was taken to hospital for precautionary checks but escaped injury while Paul suffered a suspected fractured leg.

After a lengthy delay to extract the drivers, recover the cars and repair the damaged barriers, Thiim proceeded to control the remainder of the race but did have Maro Engel’s Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo right in his mirrors at the flag.

Second place for Engel enabled him to move into the points lead as erstwhile table-topper Matteo Cairoli was only 11th in his Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.

The battle for the final step on the podium was fierce between Lucas Auer’s Mercedes-AMG and the Haupt Racing Team Ford Mustang GT3 EVO of Arjun Maini, with a forceful move from Maini ensuring the Ford snared the place.

Thierry Vermeulen’s Ferrari was fifth while the second Mustang of Finn Wiebelhaus rounded out the top six.

Thiim again maintained the lead at the start of the second contest but it was another tough race for Cairoli as he hit the barriers at the congested first corner before then tangling with Marco Mapelli’s Lamborghini a few laps later, which put him out.

This race was also red-flagged as heavy rain began to fall around ten minutes in, but again Thiim was able to control the restart.

However, he faced several laps of intense pressure from Wiebelhaus after the first round of stops, during which the drivers switched back to slicks as the track had rapidly dried.

But the Ford racer was unable to find a way through and Thiim continued to hold the advantage after the second mandatory stop to complete his clean sweep and become just the second driver in the DTM’s GT3 era to achieve a maximum weekend points score.

With Engel only seventh, Thiim now enjoys a nine-point lead at the head of the table.

Wiebelhaus had to settle for second on another strong showing from the Mustang, while Auer jumped Maini during the first round of stops to complete the podium.

Jules Gounon’s Mercedes-AMG was fifth, while Vermeulen scored another top-six result.

The DTM has now reached the mid-point of its season with the next round due to take place at Oschersleben on July 25-26.

Source: Sports Car 365