Paffett hunts first victory of 2011 at Brands

Last season’s runner up, Gary Paffett, has had a tough start to the season and is only ninth in the championship with four race weekends to go.
“There is no way of winning the championship for me now, I’m taking it race by race and will try to finish the season on a high,” said Paffett to TouringCarTimes.

The Brit’s so far best result this season is fourth, but he was on the way for a strong result at Norisring in July.
“We’ve come away from a lot of races thinking, thats motorsport. But that has happened too much, like at Norisring when I had to retire due to mechanical problems while I was battling for the lead. It’s bad luck I guess and it has been a difficult year, but we are going to keep pushing,” said Paffett.

The main goal for Paffett has instead moved to ensure that Mercedes claim the honors this season.
“The goal is to try and make sure that Mercedes win the championship,” said Paffett.

Brands Hatch hosts the coming DTM race this weekend, a track offering an extra challenge with a lap just measuring 1.9 kilometers, meaning that the race features 98 laps. Paffett has got his sights set on securing the first victory of the year in front of his home crowd.
“It is definitely one of the most challenging events of the calendar. The track is short, always turning and the lap times are really close. But it is good with a lot of british support and I really want to get my first win of the year here,” said Paffett.

With the 2011 title being out of reach for Paffett, the new regulations for next year and the additional competition from BMW makes the 2012 season extra mouth watering for the Mercedes driver.
“I am going to be one of the first to test the new car, it is going to be pretty exciting. We are going to start testing in december with the other manufacturers. The car is going to be very different, so there is a lot to learn. 2012 is panning out to be very exciting,” said Paffett.