- Luca Stolz: “I’m very happy to be standing on the top step of the podium again”
- Maro Engel maintains his title chances with another podium finish
- Mercedes-AMG regains championship lead in the DTM
The Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Teams once again had a successful weekend in the DTM at the Sachsenring. The sixth stop on the calendar of the prestigious racing series took place from 6th to 8th September in midsummer temperatures. With a victory by Luca Stolz (GER) in Sunday’s race and third place by Maro Engel (GER) on Saturday, Mercedes-AMG moved back into the lead of the DTM manufacturers’ standings. With two race weekends to go, the advantage over the closest rival stands at 21 points. Engel defended third place in the drivers’ standings and is 15 points behind the leader. Stolz improved to sixth position following his victory.
Saturday’s race: Maro Engel secures sixth podium of the season
In the first qualifying session at the 3.645-kilometre Sachsenring, the AMG drivers secured a promising starting position for Saturday’s race. With Luca Stolz and Arjun Maini (IND) in third and fourth place, Mercedes-AMG Team HRT made up the second row of the grid. Maro Engel followed right behind in fifth place. Lucas Auer (AUT) started his 150th DTM race from eleventh on the grid. Like qualifying, the first of the two races over a distance of 60 minutes plus one lap took place on Saturday afternoon in midsummer conditions. Stolz, Maini and Engel held their own in the leading pack from the start of the race. Engel moved up to third position during the first stint.
He kept the position until the beginning of the pit stop window 20 minutes into the race. On lap 15, he came in for the tyre change at the same time as Stolz. Maini pitted one lap later. After 46 laps, Engel celebrated his sixth podium finish of the season in third place. Behind him, Stolz and Maini finished fourth and fifth. Auer had dropped back to 18th place in an eventful opening lap and showed his fighting spirit as the race progressed. After his pit stop on lap 24, he worked his way back up to twelfth place with determined overtaking manoeuvres. As a result, all four Mercedes-AMG GT3s finished inside the points.
Sunday’s race: Luca Stolz repeats last year’s victory at the Sachsenring
The second day of racing also took place in dry conditions and temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius. In the second qualifying session, Luca Stolz was once again the best-placed AMG Performance Driver in the field of 20 DTM professionals. He missed out on pole position by just 0.073 seconds on his way to third place on the grid. Maro Engel lined up for the race on Sunday with five kilograms of success ballast following his podium from the previous day. The AMG brand ambassador from Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD qualified seventh for the second race. Lucas Auer and Arjun Maini started the twelfth race of the season from rows seven and nine on the grid. In Sunday’s race, the AMG drivers once again made their way to the front. Stolz, Engel and Auer all gained positions on the opening lap. On lap 16, Stolz and Engel came in for the tyre change at the same time. Stolz maintained second place during the pit stop window, while Engel improved from sixth to fourth position.
At the halfway point of the race, a collision in the midfield triggered a safety car period. This neutralisation was followed by the restart with 20 minutes remaining. Shortly after the race was restarted, the leader was given a penalty lap, allowing Stolz to take the lead. In the final stages, the HRT driver confidently maintained his position and saw the chequered flag as the winner after 44 laps with a lead of just under a second. It was Stolz’s second triumph with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 at the Sachsenring after 2023. Engel lost one position in the battle for the podium and finished fifth. After a hard-fought race in the midfield, Auer scored points again in 13th place. Maini had to end the second race prematurely on lap 17. He lost the right rear wheel and parked his car in the run-off area of turn eight.
Race Facts, DTM at the Sachsenring
| Third DTM victory for Luca Stolz Fourth podium in a row for Maro Engel with successes at Norisring, Nürburgring and Sachsenring Ninth season podium out of twelve races for Mercedes-AMG in the DTM 2024 208th DTM victory for Mercedes-AMG/Mercedes-Benz 150th DTM start for Lucas Auer in Saturday’s race |
>> Race result DTM Sachsenring
“Overall, we had a very good weekend, which puts us in a good position in the race for the title. Congratulations to Luca and HRT on another victory at the Sachsenring. Luca and the team did a phenomenal job and absolutely deserved this success. In addition, Maro scored consistently again with two good races, which means he stays within striking distance of the leader in the drivers’ standings. Of course, the lead in the manufacturers’ championship is a nice achievement for the moment. We want to build on this form at the Red Bull Ring. The goal is to keep the chance of winning the title until the final round at Hockenheim.”
Thomas Jäger, Sporting Director DTM
“First of all, many thanks to my team. I had a really good car throughout the weekend. We could already see in practice that we were competitive. We knew from last year that we could have a chance here. I had two good qualifying sessions and started from P3 in both races. That’s very important on a track like the Sachsenring. It was a pretty hot race on Sunday. We were expecting to finish second. When I was told that the leader received a penalty, I got a bit excited. I’m very happy to be standing on the top step of the podium again. We have worked a long time for this and have often been unlucky this season. That’s why I’m enjoying this moment.”
Luca Stolz, Mercedes-AMG Team HRT #4
“Overall, it was a positive weekend. The podium on Saturday was my fourth in a row and very important for the championship standings. The second race didn’t quite go to plan. I had a good start, but was then pushed by a competitor going into turn one and made contact with the car in front of me as a consequence. My car was damaged as a result. The balance was no longer perfect after that, but we still managed to keep the pressure on. It wasn’t an easy race, but we scored valuable points again with fifth place. That means everything is still possible for us in the championship.”
Maro Engel, Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD #130
“I had a really good qualifying session on Saturday and was happy with the setup. The performance was there and we scored good points with fifth place in the race. On Sunday, for some reason, I just didn’t have the pace in qualifying. We need to take a closer look at the data and analyse that. The difficulties continued in the race and in the end a wheel came off after the pit stop. The car felt completely normal after the tyre change and we can’t yet explain the cause. We have to get to the bottom of it.”
Arjun Maini, Mercedes-AMG Team HRT #36
“It was a tough weekend. I gave it my all, but unfortunately we weren’t rewarded. The feeling in the practice sessions was good, which we also saw in the results with third place. But in qualifying, we couldn’t extract the performance all of a sudden. We really tried everything, but the pace just wasn’t there when it mattered. We have to stick our heads together and work on being competitive again in qualifying and in the race.”
Lucas Auer, Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER #22
