Robert Wickens expects difficult weekend in Moscow

The summer break comes to an end for the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, with the sixth round of the 2016 season taking place this weekend at the Moscow Raceway. Mercedes AMG has had an eventful season so far, but still vows to keep fighting for the title.

Robert Wickens is the best placed driver for the Stuttgart manufacturer in fourth position in the standings, 22 points adrift from leader Marco Wittmann. The Canadian has had a competitive season so far, with four out of five points results in the podium. However, incidents with other competitors at Norisring and a late puncture when in second place at Zandvoort have robbed the Team HWA I driver from a higher tally: “So far, the season has gone very well for me. I’m in among the group of title contenders. After we kept having bad luck in the first half of 2016, we can now turn it round in the second half and benefit from some good luck. It won’t be easy, but we are in any case well placed”, said Wickens.

Still, the Canadian remains positive and focused for the Russian round, admitting there will be challenges because of the track layout: “The race weekend in Moscow is not going to be easy. The track is very similar to the one in Zandvoort, where it’s always been difficult for me. I’m going to work on that with my team. It’s definitely going to be a tense affair. In the second half of the season, I’m hoping that I can build on the successes of the first.”

Paul Di Resta started the season in full form and held the Drivers’ table lead for a while, but has dropped in the standings after two difficult weekends in Lausitzring and Zandvoort. Still, the Scot remains fifth in the championship classification, just nine points behind his team-mate. Di Resta is clear as to the plan to take out the most of the circuit: “The track in Moscow presents us with some challenges. The surface is very smooth and consequently very different from last time at Zandvoort. But I believe that, if we master the medium fast corners well, we can maximise the speed of our car.”

The main novelty for the Mercedes AMG team will be the promotion of Felix Rosenqvist to a full race seat at Team ART, after Esteban Ocon has moved to Manor F1. The Swede is already savouring the opportunity ahead of him, and wants to prove he deserves the confidence deposited in him: “ I’ve been part of the Mercedes-AMG family for many years, and it was always my aim to one day make it into the DTM. Many thanks to the team for having given me this opportunity to prove my ability.”

Mercedes AMG currently lies in third place in the Manufacturers’ standings, 54 points behind leader BMW Motorsport and 44 adrift from Audi Sport.

Ulrich Fritz, Head of DTM at Mercedes AMG, believes in his men’s potential and hopes that good fortune will be on their side for the remainder of the season: “We’ve seen over the last few race weekends that the potential is definitely there – both in terms of the car and of the team and drivers. Obviously, a race like the one we experienced on Sunday at Zandvoort continues to niggle. Hopefully, we’ve used up all our bad luck for the season and the team is about to be rewarded for its strong performance.”

The Mercedes AMG DTM team will be on track on Friday at 17:30 local time for the first free practice session.