R-Motorsport - Encouraging performance at Nürburgring goes unrewarded 14.09.2019: • 15th DTM race of the season at Nürburgring: R-Motorsport drivers gain places in the race and book P11, 12 and 13 • Daniel Juncadella: "We were not that much down on our rivals, which is most encouraging for the whole team."

•    15th DTM race of the season at Nürburgring: R-Motorsport drivers gain places in the race and book P11, 12 and 13


•    Daniel Juncadella: "We were not that much down on our rivals, which is most encouraging for the whole team."


•    Dr Florian Kamelger: "The maximum possible today was P11 for Daniel. The race showed, however, that we were able to narrow the gap on our rivals."
 




First race outing for Aston Martin Vantage DTM at the legendary Nürburgring: Daniel Juncadella, Ferdinand von Habsburg and Paul Di Resta finish eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth respectively.



R-Motorsport got the penultimate race weekend of their debut season in the DTM under way at the Nürburgring. The team's squad of four drivers began the race from the second half of the grid.



Daniel Juncadella (28, Spain) was the first of the team's four drivers to pit for his mandatory stop on Lap 14. The Spaniard moved up three positions in the race and was even in the points until just before the end. Juncadella ultimately crossed the finish line in P11, just outside of the Top Ten. He was only around one and a half seconds down on Audi driver Robin Frijns in tenth place.



His team-mates, Ferdinand von Habsburg (22, Austria) and Paul Di Resta (33, Great Britain), also gained places during the 41 laps of the race to finish twelfth and thirteenth.



For Jake Dennis (24, Great Britain), his race was over after only 25 laps. The British driver had to retire his car with a technical problem.



Racing continues for the team on Sunday with the second qualifying session at the Nürburgring at 10:25 am. The lights will go out for the 16th round of the season at 1.30 pm (live on SAT.1 from 1.00 pm onwards).





Comments after the race




Daniel Juncadella

•    Qualifying: P17
•    Race: P11
•    Pit Stop: L14
•    Start number: 23
•    Car: Aston Martin Vantage DTM

"I got off the line really well and improved from P14 to P10. That was quite something! After a few laps, I found myself struggling to keep up with the cars in front of me. Plus, I was overtaken by a BMW. My pace was excellent again after my pit stop, but unfortunately, I was unable to finish higher than eleventh. As a result, I just missed a point, but we were not that much down on our rivals, which is most encouraging for the whole team. We must now analyse today’s performance and see where we can improve tomorrow."





Ferdinand von Habsburg

•    Qualifying: P18
•    Race: P12
•    Pit Stop: L23
•    Start number: 62
•    Car: Aston Martin Vantage DTM


"The race went quite well. At first, I couldn’t gain any advantage from being on fresher tyres, because I was battling with an Audi. So as far as I’m concerned, there’s some room for improvement, but I now feel a good deal better in the car as compared to yesterday."




Paul Di Resta

•    Qualifying: P14
•    Race: P13
•    Pit Stop: L21
•    Start number: 03
•    Car: Aston Martin Vantage DTM


"I made an excellent start but subsequently got boxed in twice. We drove a long first stint, but unfortunately, I lost some time during the pit stop and was then stuck for several laps behind Nico Müller. His speed on the straights was tremendous, so I couldn’t get past. I was within three seconds of Timo Glock before pitting, and he finished in the points. If we’d had a clear run, then it’s just possible that we might have had a good race."




Jake Dennis

•    Qualifying: P16
•    Race: DNF
•    Pit Stop: L22
•    Start number: 76
•    Car: Aston Martin Vantage DTM


"We had a problem with the water pump earlier towards the end of the qualifying and it seems to have happened again in the race. At any rate, it would have been difficult to finish in the points, but there might have been one or two points in it but for the retirement. However, we decided to retire the car as a precaution."




Dr Florian Kamelger, Team Principal


"The maximum possible today was P11 for Daniel. The race showed, however, that we were able to narrow the gap on our rivals. In doing so, Ferdinand and Paul raced with their elbows out but finished outside of the points twelfth and thirteenth. Unfortunately, a technical problem with Jake's car led to his retirement. We still have to investigate the cause."
 



Wolfgang Schattling- photos  R-Motorsport