DTM
Championship leader Liam Lawson is brimming with confidence heading to Nuremberg. This time he has a new team partner, who is also from New Zealand.
It’s a journey into the unknown for Liam Lawson. Among the four title contenders, the youngest kid on the block, the rookie and championship leader is the only one who has not raced before on DTM’s only non-permanent street circuit, the famous Norisring.
Before attacking the short 2.3km track, Lawson said: “I have to use the Friday practice to learn the track. Qualifying will be crucial here for a good result on Saturday. And a good result in Race One will be crucial for the overall outcome on Sunday.” Whatever happens, Liam will enjoy his Norisring debut: “The track is bumpy and tight, but it will create exciting races and a lot of action.”
Liam has a 14-point lead over experienced Audi GT3 driver Kelvin van der Linde going into the final weekend and is 26 points in front of Mercedes stalwart Max Götz. Also still in the running is local hero Marco Wittmann (BMW – 41 points adrift), who has completed the most races at the Norisring of the title contenders.
With the Formula One title fight getting more and more intense, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko decided that Red Bull Racing reserve driver Alex Albon’s presence is required at the Istanbul Park for this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix.
It means the Thai must hand over the keys to his AlphaTauri AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 to Nick Cassidy for the DTM finale. “It’s great to have an all-New Zealand line-up here,” says Lawson, who may get a little help from his compatriot not only on the track, but also in preparations because Cassidy raced on the Norisring in Formula 3.
More recently, the 27-year-old Aucklander enjoyed phenomenal success in Japan, winning the F3 championship in 2015, the Super GT series in 2017 and the Super Formula in 2019. This season, Cassidy has impressed in Formula E, scoring two pole positions and two podium finishes to finish 15th overall for Envision Virgin Racing.
“It was great to see Liam and Alex perform so well in DTM this season. They did an outstanding job. Though I am a rookie in DTM, I know the Norisring from F3 and I hope I can contribute to winning the team title for Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse,” Nick said. The Italian-based team leads the category by 68 points after 14 of 16 races.
While van der Linde and Wittmann will carry no additional weight in Saturday’s race, the DTM handicapping system means Lawson and Götz will have 18 and 15 kilograms more respectively in their cars after finishing second and third in the last race at Hockenheim. This might have a big impact on qualifying and race performance as the field will be split by only a few hundredth of a second on this track.
One expert who is tipping Lawson for the title is German legend Hans-Joachim Stuck, who won DTM in 1990, beginning with victory in race one at Nuremberg in an Audi 200 quattro: “I watched Liam closely on the slow-motion repeats in recent races and I’m impressed how he tackles corners. You can see how good as a driver he already is,” Stuck said.
Overall DTM drivers’ standings:
- Liam Lawson (NZL) – Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse 206pts
- Kelvin van der Linde (RSA) – Team ABT Sportsline 192pts
- Maximilian Götz (GER) – Mercedes-AMG Team HRT 180pts
- Marco Wittmann (GER) – Walkenhorst Motorsport 165pts
- Alex Albon (THA) – Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse 130pts
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