Lucas Auer was ‘too greedy’ at the Sachsenring and ended up in the gravel trap on Sunday: How the AMG driver managed to fight his way back to the front – and what he has to say about his title hopes
Have Lucas Auer’s last hopes of the title gone up in smoke because of this mistake? Shortly after the start of the second DTM race at the Sachsenring, which McLaren driver Ben Dörr went on to win, the Landgraf-Mercedes driver skidded through the gravel trap and consequently dropped back to 19th place.
“I have to take the blame for a mistake today because I went off on the first lap. That was definitely my fault,” “I was too greedy, to be honest. But not in the sense that I was desperate to move up the field, but because I was pushing really hard – and it was wet under the bridge.”
The AMG driver had qualified in eighth place in the second qualifying session, but dropped back to eleventh position within the first few metres as he was overtaken by several drivers on wet-weather tyres. This was because Auer, like most of his rivals, had opted for slicks for the start on a damp track.
The 32-year-old does not regret this decision, as the slick tyres were the better choice on most sections of the track. “Apart from there under the bridge, where I skidded – it was clear that it was still damp there – but the rest of the track was dry.”
Lucas Auer stages a “mega comeback” on Sunday
The fact that Auer ultimately crossed the finish line in sixth place – and even moved up to fifth following Engel’s penalty, thereby limiting the damage – was down to a perfect strategy and the two late safety car periods. “Then we had a mega comeback. We had a brilliant strategy,” says the Landgraf driver happily.
“And then the safety car helped me too,” added the Austrian, who by that point had “already overtaken everyone anyway”. Auer was the last driver to make his first of two tyre changes on lap 15 and had already fought his way up to eleventh place after the first stop.
After the second pit stop, the AMG driver was even up to seventh place before the field bunched up again due to the safety car phase following the crash between Nicki Thiim (Comtoyou-Aston Martin) and Jules Gounon (Winward-Mercedes).
That would actually have worked in Auer’s favour, but at the restart there was a collision between Maro Engel (Winward-Mercedes) and Kelvin van der Linde (Schubert-BMW), which triggered another safety car period. “We’d prepared everything for the final stint,” reveals the Austrian.
Auer: “As long as we can do the maths, we’re in the running”
“And that’s why it was a shame we didn’t have any more race laps, because I had new tyres,” says Auer, believing that otherwise he might have been able to move even further up the field. Nevertheless, the Landgraf driver is not dissatisfied with his race overall.
“The team did a brilliant job overall,” emphasises the 32-year-old, who, despite his slightly counter-cyclical strategy, had only a few free laps, but “they were enough. That was good, and I have to thank the team for the car.”
However, as championship leader Thomas Preining (Manthey-Porsche) managed to finish second on Sunday, Auer’s deficit in the overall standings has grown to 45 points ahead of the finale at Hockenheim. “I need a one-two finish and two pole positions,” says the AMG driver with a laugh.
Nevertheless, Auer – who has already been runner-up twice but has never been able to lift the championship trophy – has no intention of giving up. “No, because as long as we’re still in with a chance, we’re in the running. It’s as simple as that,” he says. “And the final tally is only made at the very end.”