Mike Rockenfeller: “I knew that it would be all about tyre management”

Audi Sport Team Phoenix driver Mike Rockenfeller achieved his first victory in two years on Sunday at Assen, coming back in the latter stages of the race as, with much fresher tyres and was lapping two seconds faster than his rivals.

Rockenfeller qualified in third place for the grid, and was part of the leading pack in the early stages of the race. The Team Phoenix driver pitted at half point at the end of lap 18.

“I had a great qualifying session and made a good start to the race,” said Rockenfeller. “I knew that it would be all about tyre management today. I tried to save them as much as I could and that paid off.”

The second stint went well for Rockenfeller, who was able to close in BMW’s Marco Wittmann to take second place. When fellow Audi driver René Rast was called in for a second pit stop, Rockenfeller inherited the lead, heading for his first victory since Zandvoort 2017.

“It was difficult to sense what the tires were doing. In my second stint, I was able to manage them well and to attack, but it was anything but easy,” added Rockenfeller.

Rast had it all in line for a new victory, having claimed the pole position and in a comfortable lead. But, 12 laps from the end of the race, his tyres dropped, and the Team Rosberg mechanics called the 2017 champion for a second stop. Rast was then able to recover to finish fifth.

“I thought I had everything under control but suddenly the tires hit rock bottom,” said Rast.

Team Abt Sportsline’s Nico Müller finished third and the Swiss also suffered a near-puncture, forcing him to ease his attack on Wittmann in second place.

“A rear tire was already losing air, otherwise I could have still attacked Marco,” said Müller. “At the beginning, behind the other cars, I stressed my tires a little too much. That’s why I pitted earlier and was facing a long second stint.

“It was extremely difficult to keep the tyres alive. In the end, it was a really close call. I’m very happy with two podiums this weekend,” concluded Müller.

Rast keeps the lead of the drivers’ championship with 158 points. Müller is 22 points behind in second and Wittmann is third, 40 points behind.

Audi Sport leads the manufacturers’ table with 576 points, 170 ahead of BMW Motorsport.

“René was very fast but then somehow stressed his tires too much,” said the head of Audi Sport Dieter Gass. “Even so, a fifth place in spite of two pit stops is a very good result. I’m very happy for Mike and Nico, who in the end still had a puncture too. It was a fantastic race in front of a great crowd.”