Gary Paffett ecstatic after “almost perfect weekend”
Gary Paffett maximised the potential of his Mercedes AMG C63 DTM this weekend at Zandvoort to make a decisive step ahead in the race for the DTM title.
The Briton scored the pole position today and kept the lead at the start, but a conservative pit stop, together with René Rast’s pace in the lead Audi, saw Paffett in second place in the second half of the race.
“It was an almost perfect weekend with two pole positions, a win and a second place and I cannot complain for not winning both races,” Paffett told TouringCarTimes. “The car was really great.”
Both the Briton and Rast were on different strategies and, although Audi’s pace was a concern for Mercedes, the Stuttgart-based squad didn’t change their strategy.
“René came in at the end of the first lap and we didn’t react to that, we kept to our strategy,” Paffet added. “We were racing to be on the podium and chasing René for the win wasn’t the best for us as his pace was incredible on the old tyres.”
Paffett opted for securing a good result with the championship in mind, rather than risking for a victory that was difficult for them.
“I pushed very hard at the start to open a gap to the guys behind and it was just René who really was a threat,” he said. “When I pitted I came out behind him. Then there was a point when I started to catch René slightly and then I thought ‘well, if this is as hard as he wants to be then I’ll run my own race’. So I then I just settled for second as I had a queue of guys behind me. “
The Team HWA driver congratulated his rival and is optimistic for the remainder of the season.
“Overall, it was a perfect weekend for me and I’m happy for René, I think he deserved the win after what happened yesterday with the safety car, so yes, it’s really good,” he said. “We have a very good car and Audi are catching up, so it’s going to be a very competitive second half of the year.”
Paffett leads the standings with 148 points, 27 ahead of team-mate Paul di Resta and 47 over BMW’s Timo Glock.
In the manufacturers’ championship Mercedes now has 547 points in their account, 189 ahead of BMW Motorsport and 382 over Audi Sport.
