– Nicki Thiim’s title dreams shattered during the Sunday race of the DTM at the Sachsenring in the Winward Mercedes of Jules Gounon, who had just returned to the track after the second stop. And in a dramatic way, as the “Mamba” was hit with great force on the right front wheel by the Aston Martin, causing the Frenchman to injure his left hand.
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“I don’t know what happened,” says Gounon. “I was driving and suddenly got hit. It came out of nowhere. Unfortunately, it was a hit on the steering.” The Frenchman immediately reported via radio that he had pain in his hand – and cooled the hand with ice right after the accident.
“I don’t think the hand is broken, but I have to get an X-ray,” says Gounon, who received a bandage and a splint at the medical center to immobilize the hand. The pain is “okay,” he says after the race. “That’s why I hope it’s okay.”
“Go hard or go home”: Thiim did not rule out crash before the race
Thiim was quickly with Gounon – and asked how he was doing. “Health always comes first,” says the Dane. “Of course, he has something on his wrist when you get such an unexpected hit. But he can move his hand.”
Curiously, the Comtoyou Aston Martin driver had announced before the race that he would take full risks. “I said before the race: Either the car comes back on a tow truck, or we get really good points,” says the son of DTM legend Nicki Thiim, who even has “Go hard or go home” on his helmet.
But how did Thiim experience the accident? “Luca completely went off, Vermeulen also went straight – and I come there,” the Aston Martin driver refers to the fact that just in front of him, Abt Lamborghini driver Luca Engstler slid into the gravel and Emil Frey Ferrari driver Thierry Vermeulen just managed the corner.
Thiim convinced: “Something was on the track at that time”
“I see Jules coming out, brake – and suddenly I completely lose grip and slide into Jules,” Thiim describes the crash. “Wrong time, wrong place! No bad intention at all.” And he makes it clear: “I wouldn’t have made the corner if he hadn’t been there. Something was on the track at that time.”
He also noticed in the car “that the deceleration suddenly just let go. That’s always a sign that something was there.”
He also says he did not brake too late. And feels confirmed by Engstler’s off: “To get to where Luca was, for example, he would have to have a complete brake failure.”
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“Car did not decelerate”: Engstler believes in oil in the braking zone
This matches the statements of the Abt Lamborghini driver: “My feeling was that there was oil on the braking zone – or maybe I also touched the white line. Something must have been there. It was very strange. I pressed the brake and was immediately in ABS. The car did not decelerate at all. Then it just went straight.”
According to his own statements, Engstler chose a “similar braking point” as in the previous laps. And a lap later, everything was “fine” again at that spot.
Vermeulen also stumbles: “Lots of stuff on the track”
The 26-year-old suspects that it might have played a role that the track was still slightly wet. “When oil and water mix, it goes even faster than when it is completely dry.”
And Vermeulen, who just managed the corner immediately before and narrowly missed Thiim, also had problems. “I saw Gounon coming out of the box, so I knew I had to brake late to cover him,” says the Dutchman. “And there was less grip than expected. I don’t know if I went a bit too wide.”
The Emil Frey Ferrari driver is glad that he did not hit the “Mamba.” The first sector was generally very “dirty.” “There was a lot of stuff on the track. I think I hit some of it and was carried further out when braking.”
Why Thiim was not penalized unlike Engel
By the way, that was also the reason why the race stewards did not penalize Thiim for the action, unlike Maro Engel, who took out Kelvin van der Linde at the same spot. Due to the other incidents immediately before at exactly the same place, they assumed in their report “that the track surface was impaired in terms of grip.”
Thiim is now in fifth place in the overall standings – 50 points behind DTM leader Thomas Preining, with 56 points still to be won. “Going to Hockenheim with theoretical chances is not an option for me,” says Thiim, for whom the title fight is basically over. “You can also drive a bit more relaxed.”
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