Robin Frijns: “This victory is a great relief”
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline driver Robin Frijns realised a dream in the first DTM race of the weekend at Assen as he secured his maiden win in front of a home crowd.
Frijns had achieved four pole-positions and a further three front row starts, and had finished on the podium four times this season.
The Team Abt Sportsline felt his first victory could be close, but different issues had stopped him before.
“It took me three years to get it,” said Frijns after the race. “I was close many times and I thought I had the pace on several occasions to get it, but I always had something to drop me back.”
Frijns started from the second spot on the grid, but lost in the initial stages to WRT’s Ferdinand Habsburg.
On the second lap, he regained his position in second place behind Team Phoenix’s Loïc Duval and pitted two laps after the Frenchman; a tyre saving difference that would prove crucial in the last stages of the race.
Frijns overtook Duval on lap 29 and, despite not being able to open a gap, had enough advantage to resist the Frenchman’s attempts to regain the lead.
“I’m really happy it happened here in Assen where the fans were allowed to come in on the grandstands,” added Frijns, “so the victory couldn’t come in a better place than Assen.”
Team-mate Nico Müller had a tidy race to finish third, and congratulated Frijns on his first DTM victory.
“I’m very pleased for the team and for my team-mate,” he said, “taking his first win at home is the best place.”
Audi Motorsport boss Dieter Gass added: “Finally! I did not expect him to win, to be honest. It was a great race by all the guys out there. We were super worried about the tyres and we wondered about two-stopping one or another car.
“But with the wet conditions at the beginning, the tyre didn’t wear as we expected, so we could manage the conditions.”
Müller continues leading the championship with 149 points, with Frijns now moving up to second place, 30 points behind. Team Rosberg’s René Rast, who again suffered with tyre management, is third, 42 points adrift.
