Race report
DTM
Gary Paffett reaches special milestone
Gary Paffett: “It was a really special race being my 100th DTM start and I’m just grateful I didn’t crash out after the first lap!"
Published: Sep 16, 2013, 7:15 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
London, UK – It was a special race for Gary Paffett as he marked his 100th DTM start with a sixth place finish, the best of the Mercedes-Benz drivers, at Oschersleben in Germany at the weekend.
Gary Paffett, HWA, DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupe
Photo by: ITR eV
Qualifying was made tricky with the track being damp on some laps and dry on others, so Paffett had to make sure that he timed his run just right.
He made Q3 comfortably and ended up finishing seventh (quickest of his Mercedes-Benz teammates), just two-tenths short of the pole sitter.
However he was later awarded a five-place grid penalty for the illegal use of a set or tyres during free practice. Now starting 12th, the 32-year old, driving the EURONICS Mercedes AMG C-Coupé, was positive he could move forward as he had felt happy with the car all weekend.
By the end of the first lap, he had moved up two places where he started a long battle with Timo Schneider. Hoping to get him during the pit stops, Paffett would come out just short each time and eventually had to settle for sixth place.
“I am not unhappy with the result”, said Paffett. “It was a really special race being my 100th DTM start and I’m just grateful I didn’t crash out after the first lap! I have been pretty happy with the car all weekend and if I had started where I qualified we could have been on the podium, but I did all I could have done from 12th.
Although I am out of contention for the championship, I still have some things to aim for and can remember this season for this special milestone I have achieved.”
Paffett remains sixth in the championship with 65 points, just six away from third. The penultimate round of the 2013 DTM season will be held at Zandvoort in the Netherlands, 28-29 September 2013.
Gary Paffett
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Audi scores points at Oschersleben with all eight cars
Next article Milestone for DTM’s YouTube channel: one million views
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Gary Paffett
Friday favourite: The team game maestro who showed Wickens a new side to racing
DTM
DTM
Friday favourite: The team game maestro who showed Wickens a new side to racing
The seaside circuit that a double DTM champion made his own
DTM
DTM
The seaside circuit that a double DTM champion made his own
Paffett's DTM return delayed due to travel restrictions
DTM
DTM
Zolder
Paffett's DTM return delayed due to travel restrictions
Latest news
Why MotoGP didn’t move Australian GP to Saturday despite bad weather forecast
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
13 min
Why MotoGP didn’t move Australian GP to Saturday despite bad weather forecast
Winner and losers from MotoGP’s cancelled Australian GP weekend
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
39 min
Winner and losers from MotoGP’s cancelled Australian GP weekend
Inside COTA's Turn 1 clubhouse and its plans to build a second track
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
57 min
Inside COTA's Turn 1 clubhouse and its plans to build a second track
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe