DTM, FERRARI AND BMW SHARE THE HONOURS AT ZANDVOORT
Ferrari driver Aitken wins race 1, while in race 2, Wittmann is victorious from 14th on the grid
Zandvoort hosted the first of two rounds of the DTM to be held outside Germany in 2024 as the series reaches the height of its season. The outcome confirmed the trend which emerged at the previous two rounds with no team dominant and a tight championship table for both drivers and teams. The Dutch track is demanding for cars and tyres because of the banking at some corners, as well as the sand covering the track surface. Shining in these difficult conditions were Jack Aitken at the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3, who won Saturday’s race to record his second win of the season and Marco Wittmann driving a BMW M4 GT3, victorious on Sunday.
Nothing much happened in race 1, with Aitken leading from start to finish, gradually pulling away from his pursuers who changed places behind him, except in the closing laps. Best of the rest was Renè Rast in a BMW who went from seventh on the grid to second, followed by the Mercedes of Arjun Maini. In race 2, Wittmann produced an impressive comeback from 14th on the grid to be first past the flag, with Mirko Bortolotti starting from second and finishing in that position, having led for a third of the race. Rounding off the podium trio was Kelvin Van der Linden, who also charged up the order in his Audi.
Worth noting are the excellent times set in the two qualifying sessions, with most drivers generally quicker than last year at the Dutch track. Quickest over the weekend was Aitken who, in Q1, was the only driver to break the 1 minute 32 seconds barrier, stopping the clocks in 1.31.762, almost a second quicker than last year’s best qualifying time set by Maro Engel (Mercedes). In Q2, poleman Maximillian Paul recorded a 1.32.780 in his Lamborghini, over two tenths quicker than Ricardo Feller’s time from last year in the Audi.
PIRELLI QUOTE
Matteo Braga, Pirelli Circuit Activities manager: "The Zandvoort round not only confirmed how spectacular the DTM can be, but also how closely matched are the teams and drivers, because after six races, no dominant leader has yet emerged. It proves that this series is highly competitive and that all the competitors are fully committed, while working calmly so that teams and drivers can focus on performance. I would say that we are making an important contribution with our tyres that are versatile and well suited to these cars, which ensures performance and reliability at the highest level, even on very demanding tracks like Zandvoort.”
In Zandvoort, Pirelli was also the partner of the two main support categories this weekend, the ADAC GT Masters and FRECA (Formula Regional European Championship) which saw Tuukka Taponen (R-ACE GP) win a rain-affected race 1 and Rafael Camara (Prema Racing) victorious in race 2.