Robert Wickens believes in the potential of the new C63 DTM
Robert Wickens was beaming yesterday evening, after showing a strong pace to finish second in the first race of the2016 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season, his first podium since his victory in Norisring last year.
The Canadian from Mercedes AMG qualified in third position on the grid, climbing up to second place in the early stages of the race and battling with winner Edoardo Mortara until the end.
“The race was interesting and very good,” Wickens said to TouringCarTimes. “I was charging until the end, trying to get close to Mortara, because I never give up. The car was good and I was fast, so I was trying everything I could to get a lap in that would be good and get closer to him, but it wasn’t possible to close the gap. The grip was low because of the dirt and the heat, so it was also necessary to keep it together. But I’m happy.”
“It was a tough race and it was very hard. The slow zones added more complication, but it’s great to be back on the podium again. I think we have started the season where we finished last year, and we can build on from here”, added the Canadian.
One of Mercedes AMG’s sticking points is the new bodywork, whilst the rest of the car is the same as last year due to the homologation freeze, causing some problems in the aerodynamic aspects of the new C63 DTM. Robert Wickens still thinks the issues will be solved and that the car has potential: “There is a compromise in the car, the bodywork is new but the rest is the same, so we have to see how it fits together and find a working point. But we have a good balance, so I think we will get around these issues. I did a good race, but I was confident because we did a lot of testing in the winter and I knew we had some potential. It’s good to start the championship like this.”
Mercedes AMG lost five kilos with the calculations of the performance weights after yesterday’s qualifying session, which will be carried on today. Asked about the effect of the weight changes in the car, the Canadian driver from Team HWA said: “We will see how it goes tomorrow in qualifying, but I don’t notice whether there is more or less weight, to be honest. I think the weight situation was blown out of proportion last year, some people should just shut up and get on with their job. So no, the weight change is not an issue for me.”
