- Race 1: First point-scoring success of the new season
- Race 2: Top 10 results for Jusuf Owega and Lucas Auer
- Jan Philipp Springob and Simon Primm win first race of the season in ADAC GT4 Germany
A difficult start of the 2023 DTM season for Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing: in the season-opening race weekend at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, eighth place in the Sunday race for Mercedes-AMG Junior Driver Jusuf Owega (GER) was the best classification for a driver of the performance and sports car brand from Affalterbach. In the support category ADAC GT4 Germany, the season opener was successful as Jan Philipp Springob and Simon Primm (both GER) won the first race with the #85 Mercedes-AMG GT4 run by CV Performance Group.
Race 1: Maro Engel and Jusuf Owega in point-scoring positions
The Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing teams not having had good chances to get themselves in optimal positions in the first qualifying session of the year, they made progress in the Saturday race. Maro Engel and DTM newcomer Jusuf Owega (both GER) of Mercedes-AMG Team LANDGRAF managed to make up some positions and crossed the finish line in 13th and 14th place respectively. As a result, they collected the first points for Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing in the 2023 DTM season. Driving for Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD, last year’s runner-up Lucas Auer (AUT) and David Schumacher (GER) only just missed out on scoring points in 16th and 18th position. Mercedes-AMG Team HRT drivers Luca Stolz (GER) and Arjun Maini (IND) retired early.
Race 2: Jusuf Owega and Lucas Auer in the top 10
On the race Sunday, Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing made further valuable progress. The performance by the Mercedes-AMG Junior Drivers made a positive impression. Owega qualified in the top ten and maintained his position. After a strong and faultless drive, he took the chequered flag in eighth place in Sunday. Lucas Auer in tenth place made it another Mercedes-AMG Driver in the top ten. Maini showed an impressive recovery drive in the Sunday race: the Indian overtook nine opponents and still finished in the point-scoring positions as he came 15th. This recovery drive was also facilitated by a flawless effort by Mercedes-AMG Team HRT that put in the fastest pit stop of the entire race. Just ahead of Maini, Engel and Schumacher crossed the finish line. Progress made during the weekend makes Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing confident looking ahead to Zandvoort. The Dutch Grand Prix circuit serves as the venue for the next two races of the 2023 DTM season on 24th and 25th June.
ADAC GT4 Germany: victory in the season opener for Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing
In the support category ADAC GT4 Germany, Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing won the opening race of the season. After one hour of racing, Jan Philipp Springob and Simon Primm (both GER) took the chequered flag in first place with the #85 Mercedes-AMG GT4 run by CV Performance Group. In thrilling finish, they had the upper hand against BMW drivers Sami-Matti Trogen (FIN) and Enzo Joulié (FRA) durch. Denis Bulatov and Marcel Lenerz (both GER) finished fourth with the #4 Mercedes-AMG GT4 entered by BCMC Motorsport powered by EastSide Motorsport.
“The start of the DTM season was different from what we had hoped for. Especially on Saturday, a wrong balance of performance was the reason we weren’t in a position to compete for positions at the front. The performance by the Mercedes-AMG drivers and teams and the upward performance curve this weekend make me feel positive. Now, we have to keep this momentum to successfully strike back at Zandvoort.”
Thomas Jäger, sporting director DTM
“Let’s forget about this weekend really quickly. We didn’t score points in either race, nevertheless we can look back upon a good team achievement. On Thursday, we had an accident and the team brought the car back again so that I was able to take part in the race in the first place. Thanks for that to my team that worked relentlessly. From now on, it can only get better.”
Luca Stolz, Mercedes-AMG Team HRT #4
“That was a challenging weekend. Things did go better in the second race on Sunday, but we still didn’t make full use of our potential. Now, the thing is to remain focused and to keep working. I am already looking forward to the next race weekend at Zandvoort. That is a cool track.”
Lucas Auer, Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD #22
“I am happy with my performance over the entire weekend. I definitely notice a difference compared to my rookie season. Last year, I was thrown in at the deep end. I only knew single-seaters with a lot of aero, GT3 is a very different concept. It took me a while to get used to it. We have good chances to compete for podium results and race wins as well this year.”
David Schumacher, Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD #27
“It was a tough weekend for us and the lack of testing mileage here became apparent. With used tyres, our pace is good. We will learn from it as we have a great team and a great car. The season is still long. We will see what happens.”
Arjun Maini, Mercedes-AMG Team HRT #36
“Of course, we had hoped for more. In the first race, we got the maximum out of it with 13th place and today, we would have been happy to pick up the points for ninth place. Unfortunately, we made a mistake during the pit stop. That can happen, but is still a pity. Now, we have to focus again and head to Zandvoort in a motivated way to have a strong weekend there.”
Maro Engel, Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER #48
“My debut weekend in DTM went very well. I have shown right away that I am able to keep up with the guys, some of them with considerably more experience. The team is doing a super job as well and I am happy altogether, also with the car. These are all good indications and we hope that it will continue like this during the upcoming race weekends. I am confident for this season.”
Jusuf Owega, Mercedes-AMG Team BWT #84
“Incredible, my first-ever victory in ADAC GT4 Germany. We already did well in qualifying, Jan Philipp did a good initial job. We had a little bit of luck, but that is always part of the deal, too. We had a BMW on our tail, but I knew: when I have a better exit of the corner, he can’t overtake me. And eventually, I was even able to pull a slight gap. When the chequered flag was out, it was a load coming off my shoulders. Hard work over the winter paid off.”
Simon Primm, CV Performance Group #85
