Maro Engel praised Winward Racing’s strategy and pit-stop execution after climbing from seventh on the grid to finish second in DTM Race 2 at Oschersleben.
Engel followed his third-place finish on Saturday with another podium on Sunday, completing a strong weekend that allowed him to extend his lead in the DTM drivers’ championship. Mirko Bortolotti took the victory after the second mandatory pit-stop sequence, while a delayed stop dropped pole-sitter Thomas Preining behind Bortolotti and Engel.
Engel praises Winward after another podium
Engel left Oschersleben with two podium finishes after taking third in DTM Race 1 and second in Race 2. Although he credited the entire Winward team for the successful weekend, he believed its strategy and pit-stop performance made the difference on Sunday. The result also provided a response to Saturday, when Engel lost a position during his pit stop. The team reviewed the setback and delivered a much stronger performance in Race 2.
“Yeah absolutely, thank you. It’s been a really strong weekend and I have to say massive thanks to the crew. Today our race and race result was pretty much everything down to strategy and pit stops. Obviously yesterday we lost the position in the pit stop but yeah we sat together and we knew how we wanted to come back and how they, how the team and the pit stop crew, how they wanted to come back and so I’m very pleased for them that they managed to really deliver today. Winward is known for strong pit stops and that’s exactly what they did today.“
Long opening stint helps Engel climb from seventh to second during DTM Race 2 at Oschersleben
Engel and Winward used a long opening stint to improve their track position. While several drivers entered the pits earlier, Engel remained on his first set of tyres until late in the opening mandatory pit-stop window.
A quick tyre change then allowed him to emerge in third place behind Preining and Bortolotti. Winward fitted Engel’s fresher set of tyres for the middle stint, giving him the opportunity to place Bortolotti under pressure before the final stop.
“Yeah absolutely I think the key was for sure to go long on that first set. Similar to Mirko obviously we didn’t have the best tyres with the second and third set and so we went long on that first set. Didn’t feel that we had amazing pace to be honest especially at the beginning of the race but yeah the track position through the pit stop was great and then we chose to go for the for the fresher set in the middle which which helped us to sort of put put pressure on on Mirko [Bortolotti] and then made the final stint a little bit more more difficult.“
Engel unable to find a way past Bortolotti
Bortolotti had started one position ahead of Engel and remained in front after the opening round of pit stops. Engel attempted to challenge the Lamborghini driver immediately after he returned to the circuit but could not create a clear overtaking opportunity.
The narrow layout at Oschersleben made track position particularly important. Engel believed he needed to complete a move before Turn 7, as passing became considerably more difficult later in the lap.
“Yeah obviously he was ahead of me before the first pit stop so you know I was expecting him to come out ahead and around here if you can if you can get by until turn seven then I think yeah yeah you have a good chance. If you can hold the car behind you until turn seven then then it becomes difficult to overtake and so I knew after turn seven would be would be difficult. Obviously tried everything but yeah didn’t didn’t have a clear chance.“
Preining’s pit-stop delay changes the fight for victory
Preining, Bortolotti, Engel and Luca Engstler entered the pits together during the second mandatory window. Although Preining had controlled the opening part of the race, a problem while changing the left-rear wheel cost him time and dropped him behind Bortolotti and Engel.
Engel admitted that he had expected Preining to retain the lead and potentially complete a near-perfect weekend after taking victory in Race 1 and starting both races from pole position.
“Well I mean to be honest I think I certainly expected Thomas [Preining] to go on and to win this race and I have to say I mean I hope he he doesn’t threaten to retire too many too many times more because this probably could have been a 56 point weekend for him and I think it’s well our luck that that they had an issue. It shows how teams are operating on the on the limit. “
“Yesterday we had an issue today then I think these pit stop crews deserve much more praise than they’re getting and obviously it hurts when you lose a result but yeah it it it ebbs and flows and in general they’re doing an incredible job and obviously yeah we benefited there and I knew on on the out lap both Mirko and me were pushing pretty hard. It was quite fun to actually doing some some wild swerving and trying to get tyre temperature but there was no clear chance to to get Mirko and then then obviously he pulled away.“
Bortolotti quickly built an advantage after leaving the pits and ultimately crossed the line 3.027 seconds ahead of Engel. Rather than focusing solely on Preining’s misfortune, Engel highlighted the pressure placed on every DTM pit crew and praised the work they complete under demanding conditions.
Engel welcomes fan-focused podium ceremony
DTM moved the Oschersleben podium ceremony away from the pit lane and into an area that fans could access during the weekend. The change allowed spectators to move closer to the podium celebrations and created a different atmosphere for the top-three finishers.
Engel supported the initiative after seeing a strong attendance throughout the event. However, he suggested that organisers could also create a designated area for the teams during future podium celebrations.
“Yeah absolutely great. I was saying earlier in general I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Oschersleben as full of fans as we’ve had this weekend. The atmosphere was great so great job to everyone and thanks to all the fans for coming out and fully agree. Would be nice to have a small team’s area in this victory lane let’s call it but it’s a great idea and it’s great to get the fans involved and obviously great atmosphere.“
