|
ABT driver Kelvin van der Linde had to relinquish his lead in the overall DTM standings at the Red Bull Ring. However, with a deficit of 15 points, the German-South African is still one of three drivers to fight for the championship title at the finale in Hockenheim on 19 and 20 October. A total of 56 points are still up for grabs.
ABT Sportsline had expected a difficult DTM weekend in Austria – but not 17th place on the grid for Kelvin van der Linde on Saturday and more than half a minute behind his two title rivals in the first of the two races.
Two adjustments of car weights only partially changed the picture. In qualifying on Sunday, the two ABT drivers were still seven-tenths of a second behind the leader – a small world in the DTM.
More than damage limitation was not possible, but at least that was achieved. On Saturday, van der Linde benefited from a good strategy and mistakes made by others. From 17th on the grid, he still managed to finish eighth.
On Sunday, an aggressive first lap was crucial to the ABT driver’s move up from eleventh on the grid to fifth. However, the Lamborghini of new championship leader Mirko Bortolotti was still too fast for the Audi R8 LMS, even with 20 kilograms of additional weight.
For team-mate Ricardo Feller, the performance curve pointed clearly upwards after the last difficult DTM weekends. The Swiss driver was the fastest Audi driver in both qualifying sessions and scored points in both races at the Red Bull Ring.
With Hahnenkamm winner Thomas Dreßen, single scull gold medallist Oliver Zeidler and motocross world champion Matthias Walkner, three top athletes from other sports were keeping their fingers crossed for the ABT drivers at the DTM in Austria. The Lamborghini that the team will be competing in the DTM with from 2025 was also a popular photo opportunity in the paddock.
Martin Tomczyk (ABT Motorsport Director): “Unfortunately, from a sporting point of view, this was not a DTM weekend as we would imagine it. There was no equality of opportunity among the different brands. For us, this is very annoying because we have lost a lot of points in the title fight. With a 15-point deficit, Kelvin is now in the role of the pursuer, and it will be very difficult for him at Hockenheim. I would like to make a clear request to the promoter to ensure equality of opportunity and a fair sporting basis at the finale. A big thank you to the whole team for the great work under what were extremely difficult conditions for us.”
Kelvin van der Linde (Saturday 8th/Sunday 5th, 19 points): “As expected, it was a difficult weekend for us. The team gave it everything and I am proud of my on-track performance. More was not possible. The most important thing is that with a 15-point gap in the final, anything is still possible. We have a clear goal and will fight to the last lap at Hockenheim.”
Ricardo Feller (Saturday 10th/Sunday 12th, 10 points): “My car felt different than it has recently. For the first time, my performance was a bit better again, even though I wasn’t happy with the brakes in the second race. We need to take a closer look at that and then I’m hoping for a calm, mistake-free weekend at Hockenheim.”
|
