19 Jun Dev Gore first American on a DTM podium
The sixth race of the DTM season at the 4.909 kilometers long Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari will be remembered for a long time, especially by Dev Gore. Thanks to a perfect strategy by Team Rosberg and an equally good performance by the American, he was able to celebrate second place. At the beginning he dropped far behind due to a tyre damage after a contact, but later during a safety car period he was called to the mandatory pit stop as the first driver of the grid. Gore used this to his advantage and saw the checkered flag as second. Nico Müller went from 13th place on the grid to eighth place and was able to score important points. The Swiss remains third in the drivers’ classification, Team Rosberg moves up to second place in the team classification.
Dev Gore: “The race started badly, after I had to pit with a puncture at the beginning. But that gave us the opportunity to go for a different strategy, which paid off in the end. After the pit stop, my main goal was to treat the tyres in such a way that they would last until the finish line – which I managed well. Being on the DTM podium just feels absolutely amazing.”
Nico Müller: “It was not easy today, partly because of the extra weight from second place in yesterday’s race. That’s why I could not do any better than 13th place in qualifying. During the race, I got the maximum out of it, gained places at the start as well as during the restart, and the team also worked out a good strategy. I was able to defend myself against my competitors and secured four points for eighth place. And I am really happy that Dev finished on the podium for the first time: the team brought him into the pits at a perfect time and he also drove a great race.”
Kimmo Liimatainen (team principal): “It was a really good weekend for the entire team. Dev especially stands out today, as he was able to shine in second place. He certainly had some luck with the safety car, but sometimes that is part of the game as well. And after that, Dev showed that he, who came to us last year with extremely little experience in motorsport, can now certainly keep up with the fastest professionals in DTM. I am personally very happy about that. Nico, on the other hand, definitely did not have an optimal starting position today with his additional 15 kilograms, since he finished second yesterday. Nevertheless, he gave everything, fought hard and deservedly picked up a few points in eighth place.”