Photo: DTM Media

Robert Wickens very happy with second win at Norisring

Mercedes AMG’s Robert Wickens had a stellar weekend at the Norisring, third round of the 2015 DTM season. The Canadian from HWA AG secured two results in the podium, being second on Saturday and a very strong win on Sunday. Wickens leaves Nuremberg as the highest scoring driver of the whole DTM field.

The Canadian has always had a special feeling with this track, although he cannot pinpoint what it comes down to: “I just like Norisring”, Wickens told TouringCarTimes. “It looks like an easy circuit, but the truth is that the bumps in the tarmac can really condition that happens at each corner. But I really like braking hard, and that’s the key here: to be able to come deep into the corners and not lose the car. I just feel at ease at the Norisring.”

The day hadn’t started as good as Wickens had expected, given that he qualified in third position for the grid of the second race: “We always want to improve and do better, that’s what we are as racing drivers. I made a mistake in my best lap in qualifying, should have got the pole position but I could only be third. I had also done a mistake yesterday, so I was very disappointed with that result.”

At the start, the Canadian overtook team mate Christian Vietoris, and attacked BMW’s Bruno Spengler to take the lead, which he would hold until the chequered flag: “I really wanted to win today. I made a good start and was fast. When I catched Bruno, we had a good and clean fight. We have a lot of respect for each other and I think the overtake was pure racing. From then, I just focussed on winning the race.”

The Mercedes have been the best cars this weekend. Asked about what was the key to their success, Wickens commented: “The car was perfect and the tyres simply got better with every lap. I was fast, the brakes worked perfectly and they didn’t overheat nor fail at any time, all the systems were good. The tyres worked perfectly, didn’t have degradation problems and the pressures were good after the pit stop. I just enjoyed driving and the car responded perfectly.”

Robert Wickens counts three victories in the DTM, two of them at Norisring. Asked about whether he was a new ‘Mr Norisring’ in the making, the Canadian laughed and said: “I don’t know, it wouldn’t be good for me to try to put myself above anybody else. I would prefer for people to judge and have their opinion. I just like this track and I’m very happy to get good results here.”

The Canadian leaves Norisring in fifth place in the drivers’ standings, with 57 points in his account, 24 behind Jamie Green.