Nürburgring quotes from Mercedes

Bruno Spengler, DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG Mercedes C-Class (2nd place): “In the beginning I got stuck behind Kristensen and lost some time, but after I had passed him I had a fine race and I am happy with second place. I thank my team; they gave me a great car and had the perfect strategy so that I was able to race without traffic most of the time. I am now ten points behind leader Ekström and in the next race in Barcelona, we will have the same weight as the Audis, so everything is possible. I will give it my all until the season finale in Hockenheim.”

Jamie Green, Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class (5th place): “The race was not bad – I started sixth and came home fifth. However, I had a chance for a podium finish, but I missed it due to fading tyres, which allowed Ekström to pass me. Therefore I am not satisfied.”

Paul di Resta, JAWA4U.de AMG Mercedes C-Class (6th place): “My speed was not so good today, but at the moment I don’t know why. Anyway, sixth place is not too bad.”

Bernd Schneider, Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class (7th place): “I started well and found a good rhythm. With my second set of tyres, the car’s handling suffered. It’s a shame; therefore no better result was possible today.”

Mika Häkkinen, AMG Mercedes C-Class (10th place): “This was not the result I had expected, but I will put this 10th place behind me and look ahead. In the remaining two races I will work hard to keep the championship open for Mercedes-Benz and the new C-Class.”

Mathias Lauda, Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Class (11th place): “I am really happy. This was my best race in the DTM so far. In the end, I was even a little bit faster than Mika Häkkinen, but I was not able to overtake him.”

Gary Paffett, Laureus AMG Mercedes C-Class (12th place): “I had a poor start and then I suffered from understeer later on. Our team worked really hard all weekend, but we have to increase our efforts to significantly improve the car’s handling until the next race.”

Alexandros Margaritis, stern AMG Mercedes C-Class (13th place): “I started 18th and finished 13th which is not too bad. Following my early pit stops on laps 17 and 18, I drove 25 laps with one set of tyres what made it very difficult in the end.”

Daniel la Rosa, TrekStor AMG Mercedes C-Class (14th place): “Unfortunately, during my first pit stop we had a problem with the hydraulic air jack. In the end I had not enough grip and it was not easy to keep the car on the track.”

Susie Stoddart, TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class (18th place): “My start was not really good and I lost some positions. The drive-through penalty due to crossing the white line finally destroyed my race. After my good performance in yesterday’s qualifying, I had expected more and now I am very disappointed.”

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “Bruno drove a good race and with his second place, we carried out our plan, reduced the gap behind the top a little bit and reduced weight. Several points, more than the ones Bruno is now missing, we lost already in races one and two by a sports penalty and a technical problem, which was very unusual for the HWA team. Since the third race at the Lausitzring, no other driver in the field has scored more points than Bruno, and this despite the fact that the points at the Eurospeedway race have been halved. In Barcelona in three weeks time, we will finally run the new C-Class without handicap and with the same weight as our competition. In the two final races our points score will not really be at its best, but we will not be without chances. Audi is in the role of the favourite now, but we are also not afraid of difficult challenges.”