It sadly wasn’t to be that fairytale ending to Nicki Thiim’s first Aston Martin Racing powered adventure within the DTM Series opening race weekend in Austria but the writing already upon the wall as to where his intent lies.
Racing his #007 Comtoyou Racing AMR Vantage GT3 alongside that of the #008 Comtoyou Racing entry for Nicolas Baert, the two Astons formed part of the twenty-one-car entry for this weekend’s opening round from the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Racing their two one-hour pitstop punctuated races as solo drivers, Saturday’s Qualifying and race one certainly didn’t go in the favour of either AMR racer as Thiim would start from P12 whilst Baert would start P18.
With neither driver inexperienced within this series, it was a case of building upon what you had available to you as Thiim would rally before finishing P10 at the end whilst Baert would continue to experience significant issues within his car before he was ultimately forced to retire with suspension failure.
Race two on Sunday was better for both drivers (thanks to an overnight reduction in their cars Balance of Performance minimum weight) after their respective P7 and P17 qualifying positions saw the Dane come home P5 overall, just nine seconds off the race winning time but having grabbed the accolade of the fastest lap in the process. Baert would also have better fortune this time securing his first finish to the season in P17.
The next round will be from Zandvoort at the end of May
Photo credits – Team / ADAC