INDIA in F1

Tag: DTM

  • Arjun Maini finishes 4th in a wet race on Sunday: DTM

    Arjun Maini finishes 4th in a wet race on Sunday: DTM

    Styria (Austria), 25 Sept. 2022: Ace Indian driver Arjun Maini excelled in rain and made a dash to the top on slicks gaining places rapidly but had to contend with a fourth place, missing the podium in the DTM races on Sunday.

    Freaky weather at the Red Bull Ring showed completely different race days in Styria. Bengaluru’s Arjun Maini, however, showed an impressive race pace with his #36 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the colours of team-partner PAUL in the first race, when he was turned around by an opponent in the first lap and drove from the last position up to the final 13th position – in the field of 27 GT3 cars.

    DTM Spa 2022

    Arjun had qualified 7th but had to start 10th due to a penalty from the previous race. He clearly showed tremendous Pace during the entire race as it is extremely difficult to overtake at the Red Bull ring.

    The race on Sunday which was completely wet went much better and ultimately Arjun was able to bring the car across the finish line in 4th after an extremely exciting race on a wet Track that was drying towards the end of the race. Arjun Maini again showed his driving quality in the Wet and rewarded himself with 12 valuable championship points for the drivers’ and team standings.

    Arjun pitted at the very end of the Pit Window to take a Chance on the Drying conditions and went out on Slick tyres with 15 minutes left to go. While he came out in P3, he fell back to P12 as the tyres were taking time to get heat into them. Towards the last few laps, he was able to recover several positions to make it to his best result this year in DTM. With all the known Brands in 27 cars, DTM is the most Competitive GT3 race driven by Single drivers across Europe.

    Arjun Maini in action at the DTM races on Sunday in Styria.

    Arjun Maini, #36 Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I’m very happy with my race on Sunday. I was finally able to get a result with my pace. I like the Red Bull Ring – and now even a little bit more. It was very challenging today – but it was also a lot of fun to drive in these conditions. I want to Thank my team and Omega Seiki Mobility for making this happen.” 

    The last weekend of the DTM championship will be held at Hockenheimring between 7th and 9th October and will be Shown in India Live on Eurosports.

  • DTM: Maini has a difficult start to 2022 season in Portimao

    DTM: Maini has a difficult start to 2022 season in Portimao

    Arjun Maini kick-started his 2022 DTM campaign with Haupt Racing Team (HRT) last weekend at Portimao driving the #36b Mercedes-AMG GT3 machine alongside teammate Luca Stolz.

    Starting the weekend, Maini finished 22nd and 24th in the two practice sessions, where he was 15th in Qualifying 1 and 22nd in Qualifying 2. It was a difficult qualifying for the Indian which left him in a difficult spot in races.

    In Race 1, he dropped places at the start and managed to recover to 17th in the end, while in Race 2, he had a better run to move from outside of Top 20 to finish 13th eventually but out of points.

    “Overall, it was a difficult weekend for me,” said Maini. “But we had strong pace, just that not everything came together. In Qualifying 1, we had few issues which didn’t allow me to improve on the second set.

    “In Race, once again, the pace was good but I was in a few unlucky positions and I lost a lot of positions on start and re-starts. In Qualifying 2, the car was very good but unfortunately we got blocked on the fastest lap.

    “After that we had no tyres, so we had to start Race 2 from the back. Also, we had a penalty from the previous day. We started P25, the car was mega, the guys did a really good job in the pit stops, so we finished P13.

    “In the end, that was the best we could do but pace is there, we just need everything to come together now, massive thanks to whole HRT team and Mercedes for giving me a strong car.”

  • Historic DTM silver for Arjun Maini

    Historic DTM silver for Arjun Maini

    Nuremberg, 9 October 2021: Ace Indian racing star Arjun Maini of Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed won his maiden DTM podium with silver in the Saturday’s race. Thus, he became the first Indian on a DTM podium and accolades poured in for the Indian star, who embraced this form of motorsports at the beginning of the season by becoming the first Indian to take part in DTM series.

    Watch the Video here, courtesy DTM.

    Watch Arjun Maini’s short interview here, courtesy DTM.

    The Omega Seiki and J.K.Tyre backed driver was justly rewarded for the pace he has shown throughout the season with the Indian managing to hold off a strong challenge from championship leader Liam Lawson towards the end of the race.
     
    As expected going into the weekend, Maini was able to make full use of his prior knowledge of the Norisring race circuit from his Formula 3 days. The Indian finished second in Free Practice 2 before qualifying fourth for the weekend’s first race. While the Indian was overtaken by Mercedes stablemate Maximillian Gotz at the start, he managed to keep out of major trouble, despite banging wheels with Lawson and mildly damaging his front right suspension.
     
    It took Arjun many laps to get used to the damage and yet retain a reasonable pace.
     
    A cleanly executed pitstop from the GetSpeed racing team further aided the Indian’s effort, with Maini leapfrogging Lawson and settling in behind Gotz, a position he would go on to maintain for the remainder of the race.
     
    “I’m absolutely delighted with the result,” a clearly jubilant Maini stated.
     
    “We’ve worked so hard throughout the year and while our qualifying pace has been good, we’ve never been able to stitch together a clean race. Today was just one of those days where everything came together, our pace was good and GetSpeed executed a well-judged pitstop.
     
    “We have one more race to go tomorrow so I won’t be celebrating too much, but I have to say it feels good to finally achieve my aim for the season.”
     
    The result also marked GetSpeed’s first podium in the championship, the team made their DTM debut this season with Maini and the pair have performed admirably over the course of the season given their relative lack of experience.

    Earlier, in DTM Norisring powered by BWT, the ultimate showdown is imminent on Sunday. With his victory on Saturday, Maximilian Götz has made the three-way battle for the coveted DTM title even more thrilling. With the Mercedes-AMG run by the HRT team, the driver from Uffenheim scored his second win of the season. Points’ leader Liam Lawson secured third place with the Red Bull Ferrari behind Indian Arjun Maini with the GetSpeed Mercedes while Kelvin van der Linde finished fourth with the ABT Audi at the 2.3 kilometres long Norisring.

    With this thrilling outcome of the race, Lawson, now leading with a total of 224 points, extended his margin to 18 points over Kelvin van der Linde (206), but Götz (205) reduced his gap to only one point to van der Linde and 19 to Lawson. In total, there are still 28 points up for grabs, three in qualifying and 25 in the deciding race on Sunday. Arjun Maini, who was plagued by mechanical failures and engine issues earlier, is 13th in the standings with 40 points.

    Arjun Maini with his Silver at DTM Series on Saturday. Photo courtesy Twitter @ArjunMaini

    The Bengaluru-born Maini, began the week-end on a confident note posting a 49.842 sec in Free Practice on to finish 7th , just 0.256 second off the pace of P1,  and put on a good 42 laps with only Esteban Muth putting more laps, and derived good data to set up the car. He did another 43 laps in Free Practice 2 and was the second quickest posting a time of 49.405, missing the top entry on the timesheets by just 0.030sec. He continued the good run improving the time below 49s but could only get a P4 on the start grid for the Saturday race as the top-8  were all in 1/100th of a second. Maini P4 is just 0.007off the pole man as he clocked 48.938. The Indian bagged 18 points to take his tally to a decent 40 points despite all the hiccups with the mechanical issues.

    “What an incredible race! It’s a big day for @ArjunMaini, the first Indian on a DTM podium,” tweeted Mercedes AMG official handle with a hashtag #DTM2021″ and tagged Maini. “Thank you guys! The care was mega,” was the Indian star’s reply.

    “Yes, we did it. P2. I am so happy to get my first podium in DTM (series) here in Norisring and also the first podium for India,” Maini said after the race and thanked all his supporters, his team Mercedes AMG and GetSpeed,for the car, on the Social Media. `”Raring to go for tomorrow’s race,” he quipped.

    THE LONG WAIT IS OVER: Arjun Maini gets his first chance to spray champagne and celebrate at DTM Series on Saturday after winning a Silver.
     
    The season’s final qualifying session and race can be streamed on AutoCar India’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/autocarindia1) with Qualifying flagging off at 1 pm IST with the race starting at 5 pm IST.
  • Arjun Maini raring to go at the Red Bull ring in Styria

    Arjun Maini raring to go at the Red Bull ring in Styria

    Spielberg (Austria) 3 Sept. 2021: Mercedes-AMG driver Arjun Maini will enter the fifth round with confidence after his good performance at the Nürburgring, where he got into the points for the first time scoring two valuable points in the 2021 DTM Championship after suffering initial hiccups which are not under his control. 

    After enduring a difficult start to his campaign, due in part to a series of o-track incidents, the Omega Seiki and JKTyre-backed Bengaluru driver finally broke his points-scoring duck with a stellar performance at the legendary Nürburgring race circuit. 

    Racing for the all-new GetSpeed DTM team, Arjun, the elder of the two Maini brothers, managed to bring his Mercedes GT3 racecar home in 10th at the conclusion of Race 1, in turn becoming the first Indian to score points in Germany’s apex racing championship. 

    “The last two races were fantastic and were an accurate reflection of my pace,” Maini said.

    “I haven’t had the cleanest of weekends up until that point so it was good to finally have an incident-free weekend where I was able to bring home a solid amount of points. This marked GetSpeed’s first points in the series as well so it definitely was a memorable affair.

    “Looking ahead I have fond memories of the Red Bull Ring and I hope I can build on my previous weekend and experience by bringing home some more points. The circuit’s undulations will be tricky to master but I’m confident about the preparation both the team and I have made in the lead up to this weekend,” he said about the circuit at Styria.

    After a few years’ absence, the DTM is making its comeback in Styria in 2021. The Red Bull Ring is located in Spielberg in the beautiful Murtal valley. The track is following the topography of the landscape, so that there is a lot of undulation. From the hotel located on the hill above the track, there is an unparalleled view, not only of the race track, but over the wide valley! The entire circuit facility is state-of-the-art and very nice, significantly contributing to the positive overall experience for visitors. Fascinating race cars are on display in the large welcome building, exclusive merchandise items can be purchased in the shop. Of course, in typical Styrian hospitality tradition, a wide variety of food is available, too, from tasty Leberkäse rolls via Wiener Schnitzel up a to delicious Kaiserschmarrn.

    The weekend will get underway this Friday, August 3rd with the two practice sessions, with Qualifying 1 and Race 1 taking place on Saturday, August 4th, and Qualifying 2 and Race 2 concluding the weekend on Sunday, August 5th.

    The full schedule can be viewed below and the qualifying sessions and races can be viewed live on Autocar India’s YouTube channel here. 

    Saturday Sept 4”
    Qualy 1: 1.50 pm IST
    Race `1: 5.00 pm IST
    Sunday Sept 5th
    Qualy 2: 1.50 pm IST
    Race 2: 5.00 pm IST

  • Arjun Maini hoping to build on his experience before DTM Round 2

    Arjun Maini hoping to build on his experience before DTM Round 2

    Lausitz (Germany), 23 July 2021: Mercedes AMG racing driver Arjun Maini is looking to secure his first points of the season as the DTM visits the popular Lausitzring track for the second round of the 2021 championship. 

    The Omega Seiki Mobility and J.K.Tyre backed driver had a baptism of fire, having had limited testing in the lead up to the first race of the season and a DNF ultimately ending his weekend prematurely. Nevertheless, Maini gained valuable experience over the course of the race weekend, and with his GT debut now firmly in the rearview mirror, the Indian will be looking to build on his experience as looks to secure his first points of the season. 

    Speaking about this weekend’s event Maini stated, “I’m looking forward to this race. The track is going to be interesting because going into Turn 1 we will be using the oval banking while the rest of the track remains the standard GP layout. 

    “The set-up will be key as everyone will have to compromise somewhere, though I am confident the boys at GetSpeed will be able to work around any constraints. Obviously pre-season testing here went well for me, however, with the new layout, which is challenging for everyone, it will be interesting to see how the weekend progresses. 

    “As always I’d like to thank my partners OSM, J.K.Tyre and Mercedes AMG who are all playing a crucial role in helping me build my experience in the DTM, as the days progress I am feeling more confident in the Mercedes AMG GT3 race car and I am confident that a strong result is right around the corner.”

    As touched on by Maini, the Lausitzring track is famous for its banked turn 1, which is reminiscent of the final turn at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The weekend is set to get underway this Friday, July 23, with the qualifying and races themselves taking place on Saturday, July 24, and Sunday, July 25. 


    The sessions will be broadcasted live in India on https://www.youtube.com/user/autocarindia1.

    Saturday
    Qualifying1:   14:00
    Race 1:         17:00
     
         		Sunday
    Qualifying 2: 13:40
    Race 2:         17:00
  • Ace Indian driver Arjun Maini confident of good show: DTM series

    Ace Indian driver Arjun Maini confident of good show: DTM series

    Monza (Italy), 16 June 2021: Mercedes-AMG driver Arjun Maini is confident of a good season ahead of the opening round of the revamped 2021 DTM series, scheduled to take place at the Monza race circuit in Italy between June 18-20. When quizzed at a press conference today about the probable contenders for the championship, the 23-year-old Indian driver backed himself to be the surprise performance of the season.

    The Bangalore-based racer, who is supported by JK Racing, has recorded a series of firsts for Indians racing abroad, and with his foray into DTM is set to become the first Indian to compete full-time in the series. His debut DTM season with Mercedes-AMG backed GetSpeed racing team will mark a new challenge in Maini’s career after his previous expeditions in the FIA Formula 2 championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 category. 

    Speaking about his upcoming debut Maini commented, “I’m delighted to be back racing full-time after the lockdowns affected my 2020 season. I have been wanting to race in DTM since 2015, when I was still in Formula 3, so it feels a bit surreal to finally be able to make my debut. Competing in the series certainly won’t be easy but it’s the challenge that makes this experience so exciting for me.”

    Talking about the season opener, Maini, highlighted the importance of tire management at Monza. “I personally love Monza as a circuit, and I think it’s always great for racing. However, the higher temperatures this weekend will result in tire degradation. So, it won’t be a flat-out sprint race, as tire management will be more important.” 

    Maini also extended thanks to his partners for their support, “As always I’d like to thank my partners for helping me tick another milestone off my bucket list. I wouldn’t have gotten here without the help of my longtime supporter J.K.Tyre who have been with me since my Formula 4 days. I would also like to welcome my latest partner Mumbai Falcons who I’m honored to say have supported my vision of becoming the first Indian to stand on a DTM podium.”

    “Finally, I’d like to thank Mercedes-AMG and GetSpeed for giving me the opportunity to race one of these beasts. The Mercedes AMG GT3 race car is enthralling to drive, and I can’t wait to see what happens once the lights turn green on race day.”

    DTM is Germany’s premier racing series, with pre-covid track attendance figures topping over 60 thousand on race day. An added dynamic to look out for this year is the championship’s technical overhaul, which now sees the introduction of the powerful and exciting GT3 class of racing cars. 

    This means that while the series will continue featuring the German triumvirate of Mercedes, BMW, and Audi, this year’s championship will now also welcome Italian stallions Ferrari and Lamborghini along with British stalwarts McLaren. 

    The 2021 DTM series will be broadcasted live in India at Autocar India’s YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/autocarindia1

    Race Schedule – Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, June 19-20. 

    Saturday
    Qualifying: 14:00
    Race 1: 17:00
     
         		Sunday
    Qualifying: 13:40
    Race 2: 17:00
     
     
  • It is a good learning process for me, says Arjun Maini ahead of DTM season

    It is a good learning process for me, says Arjun Maini ahead of DTM season

    Lausitzring, 6 May 2021: Arjun Maini, who is set to race for the Mercedes-AMG Performance Team GetSpeed in the upcoming 2021 DTM season at the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 expressed that he is looking forward to seeing how he goes up against the best, during an official DTM virtual media conference on Thursday, “One thing that I have had to get used to is the small margin for error. Even a small mistake can cost you and of course the level of the drivers is extremely incredible, like it always is in DTM. And I think the main thing is going to be that we cannot afford to make any mistakes throughout the season. I am looking forward to seeing how I can go up against the best.”  


    Maini, who is backed by JK Racing and Mumbai Falcons so far , has completed  a three-day pre-season test in Lausitzring, Germany from May 4 to 6, further added that he has shown a lot of improvement since the first time he drove a DTM car, “It’s been a really good learning process for me. The team has been absolutely great while helping me get up to speed with the car and the way everything works, and also adjusting the car a bit to my driving style. I have shown a lot of improvement since the first time I drove. We have been focussing on our own program so far and it’s going really well.” 


    Maini posted the fastest time in testing over the two and a half days so far but when asked about it said that the real times will come out in Qualifying at the First Race in Monza.  


    The 23-year-old expressed that it’s a privilege for him to be a part of DTM and the Mercedes AMG family with the support from the GetSpeed team, “I first saw the DTM atmosphere when I was racing in Formula 3 in 2015 and you could realize how big it was already back then. It’s a massive privilege for me to be a part of DTM and the Mercedes AMG family with the support from the GetSpeed team. I am really looking forward to getting the season going with a lot of support coming in from home.” 


    The racer, who will be taking part in eight rounds (16 races) in the series, which will be held across Europe from June 2021 to October 2021, said that he is looking forward to making the DTM series more popular in India. 


    “It’ll be great to have a race in India sometime in the future. With me in the race, I think a lot of Indians will start following the DTM series and I think this series will be quite interesting and different for them. This type of racing is not quite well known as of now in India, so I am looking forward to making it popular for the Indian people and hopefully entertain them,” said Maini. 

  • Looking Forward to driving the Mercedes AMG GT3 in DTM, says Arjun Maini

    Looking Forward to driving the Mercedes AMG GT3 in DTM, says Arjun Maini

    Bengaluru/Virtual, 6 April 2021: Arjun Maini, who is set to become the first Indian to compete in DTM full-time, expressed his excitement about racing for the Mercedes-AMG Performance Team GetSpeed in the upcoming 2021 DTM season at the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 during a virtual media conference on Tuesday. The 23-year-old former Haas F1 Team Development Driver will be competing in eight rounds (16 races) in the series, which will be held across Europe from June 2021 to October 2021. 

    “Everyone knows how big the DTM championship is and I followed it a lot while growing up as well. And now to be a part of DTM as the Mercedes-AMG driver with the GetSpeed team is an absolute honour and pleasure for me. I just can’t wait to continue testing and I am really excited for what’s coming,” said Maini.  

    The racer further expressed that he is looking forward to being alone in a car once again, “I will be racing in a GT car for the first time. In a way, it’s going back to being alone in a car. I have been sharing a car in the last two years because I have been in Endurance Racing . So, it’s good to be on my own again and pushing for myself. But the competition is going to be really high and I am ready for it. I have to be on top of my game throughout the season, so I have to make sure that I am consistently performing at the highest level that I can deliver, and I think we should be alright.” 

    Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, expressed that Arjun is exactly the type of driver the team was looking for, “We had been in discussion with all potential DTM drivers and then we came across a young Indian driver and we thought it would be interesting for him to join us. Then we put all our heads together along with the GetSpeed team and we made it work. He (Arjun) fits exactly the type of drivers we try to attract for this program. Now, among our seven contracted drivers, we will have a good mix of well experienced drivers and few very young, but talented drivers. We need to keep steeping up to be successful in the season.” 

    Steve Buschmann Team Manager, Getspeed Performance said that the team could see how motivated Arjun is to race in the DTM series from the moment they contacted him for the first time, “The DTM is a new start for every team in 2021 and it is giving new opportunities to drivers like Arjun. The DTM series will not have cockpit sharing and I think this was one of the reasons that Arjun was interested in joining DTM because there won’t be another person, who shares the cockpit with him. We got in contact with him, and his management and we could see how motivated he was to join the DTM and to join us. The more the discussions went on, the more we were convinced that this is the right man. Arjun is very motivated and very professional. We have enjoyed the partnership with him from the first minute we met him. We are absolutely looking forward to race with him this year.” 

    GT3 cars will feature in the DTM series for the first time in 2021. A race weekend will consist of two free practice sessions on Friday and then a qualifying and a one-hour race including a pit stop on both Saturday and Sunday.  

    The opening round of the season is set to take place from June 18 2021 – June 20 2021 in Monza, Italy. Thereafter, the series will be held at the Norisring from July 2 to 4, Lausitzring from July 23 to 25, Zolder from August 6 to 8, Nürburgring on August 20 to 22, Red Bull Ring from September 3 to 5, and Assen from September 17 to 19, before the Hockenheimring conducts the grand finale on October 1 2021 to October 3 2021.