Mercedes-Benz seeking 150th DTM victory
Mercedes-Benz have tasted victory in 3 out of the 4 races so far in 2009, and should they claim victory at Oschersleben this weekend, they will reach a historic milestone of 150 wins in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.
The total stretches back to the DTM of old, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, but nevertheless it is a landmark Mercedes are looking forward celebrating when they claim win number 150.
As a works outfit, Mercedes have enjoyed great success through the two decades since their first works outing in 1988, but Mercedes motorsport chief, Norbert Haug, is being cautiously optimistic ahead of the Oschersleben round.
The 2009 cars will be handed 20kg of ballast after the success so far this season, and he acknowledged that the weight will hurt their performance at Oschersleben, but outlined the entire teams desire, “we want to deliver, nevertheless.”.
The Mercedes-Benz drivers all openly admit that the additional weight will hamper them somewhat during the weekend, but all are optimistic that they can achieve good results. Ralf Schumacher summed this up perfectly as he spoke of the extra 20kg weight, “ this doesn’t mean that we will let our heads droop or be depressed. Far from it! Maybe we can be successful”.
To add to the Mercedes target of win number 150, Audi are also seeking a landmark at Oschersleben. They will looking to claim their 50th DTM victory, in what is their centennial year as a car manufacturer.
