The lead for the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) title has changed multiple times this season, with Mercedes-AMG DTM’s Robert Wickens being one of several drivers that have led the standings at one point.
But the gap to current points leader Marco Wittmann is still realistic enough, for the Canadian to attack his chief rival over the final six races of the current campaign.
The HWA driver was battling all the way through the 40-lap race at the 3.931-km Moscow Raceway circuit, but was greatful to have the welcome assistance of Spain’s Daniel Juncadella, who had put his C63 Coupé AMG DTM behind his team mate in qualifying.
Wickens’ job wasn’t being made any easier, thanks to a power steering issue that started to affect his race within the first quarter.
“I was third behind Blomqvist for quite a time but then ran into problems with the power steering on Lap 8. It gradually got harder to steer and I could feel vibrations as well.,” said the Guelph native, who has been incredibly consistent this year.
He went on to say that the car had suffered damage shortly after taking his mandatory pit stop, as a result of Martin Tomczyk’s action, which the 27-year-old felt were rather unnecessary.
“I tried to overtake him on the outside, but he didn’t steer into the turn and carried straight on. The resulting damage cost me more lap time than the problems with the steering. It was really hard to keep out of the way of other drivers without power steering and with less downforce than normal.”
Wickens felt at times that he would not be able to finish the race, due to the handicaps received as a result of damage and technical issues, but was pleased with the final outcome.
“Dani is the man of the race for me. I can’t thank him enough for his support. But for him, I wouldn’t have been in the points,” he said, thanking the Spaniard, who kept pace with the Canadian for the remainder of the race until two laps from the finish.
He also paid respect to fellow title rival Edoardo Mortara after their intense duel, following on from Juncadella slipping down the order, which saw him eventually place 12th.
“I realised that it would be really close as I scrapped with Edoardo Mortara in the last turn,” he explained, finishing just 0.067 seconds ahead of the Italian at the chequered flag.
Juncadella had once again showed the form that has seen him take multiple fourth place finishes since he joined the series back in 2012, classing it as “a good day for me.”
“For once, I had a normal qualifying without incidents or problems. In the race itself, I got off to a good start but was unable to improve my situation further,” admitted the 25-year-old, who lined up behind his team mate on the third row.
The Spaniard tried to advance higher up the grid on the very first corner, attempting a brazen late-braking pass on the inside of Bruno Spengler. But he was still able to keep good pace to remain in the top six before his race fell apart at the very end.
“Unfortunately, Robert then had a problem and I tried to defend him, because he was really struggling with his car. In the end, I finished outside the points, but in a team you just have to stick together when it’s a battle for the title.”