– Surprise rookie Finn Wiebelhaus has confirmed the high expectations after the strong DTM season opener: The 20-year-old HRT Ford driver secured third place at the Lausitzring, the first podium finish for the Ford Mustang GT3 ever in the DTM – and two weeks later at the Norisring, he again reached the podium as second.
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“We can be happy with second place, but we were so close to first place. That is definitely the next goal now,” the youngster said after the duel with winner Nicki Thiim, hungry for the top spot. “We have to analyze what was missing – and hopefully solve that by the next race.”
What makes the performance of the Ford Mustang driver, coached by DTM legend Manuel Reuter, even more impressive: Wiebelhaus had no prior experience on the street circuit, which poses a big challenge for many newcomers due to its bumps.
“Learned lap by lap”: How Wiebelhaus got faster and faster
This became apparent over the course of the weekend, as Wiebelhaus, who was 17th in Friday’s practice and sixth in Saturday’s race, got faster and faster. “I learned lap by lap,” he says. On the first race day, he still “had difficulties finding the limit,” but on Sunday he was already fully in rhythm.
“I gave full throttle – and I think I am now familiar with the track,” says the composed youngster, who was faster on Sunday than teammate Arjun Maini. The Indian, who finished third on Saturday, is considered an absolute Norisring specialist.
What makes the course so difficult? “Every mistake is punished,” Wiebelhaus answers. “If you go slightly into the gravel on a normal track, it’s not too bad, but here you crash into the wall if you misjudge even slightly.” Apart from that, you need “a lot of confidence to drive close to the walls.”
Why Wiebelhaus did not prepare for the Norisring debut
And also the ABS, which suddenly intervenes on the bumps, and the brakes, “which eventually get worse and worse,” are an issue.
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That Wiebelhaus made such progress on the street circuit in Nuremberg could also be due to the fact that he had hardly any opportunities beforehand to prepare for the track by studying onboard footage. Especially the – as Thiim says – “strange” line choice because of the bumps has already been the downfall of many newcomers.
“I went jogging once on the track on Thursday morning,” Wiebelhaus describes his preparation and shrugs. “That was actually it.” The otherwise so meticulous Wiebelhaus had no time due to the dense GT3 program beforehand because the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps was on the schedule the weekend before.
Oschersleben as the biggest challenge for the Mustang
“I came directly from Spa, before that we had Lausitzring and then I was on the road all the time,” he says. “I thought about doing simulator work, but this time I wasn’t really prepared because I didn’t have the time.”
Next weekend, Wiebelhaus, who is twelfth in the championship halfway through the season, 54 points behind DTM leader Thiim, has the next chance to make his dream of a first victory come true.
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On the twisty course in Oschersleben, the situation for the long Ford Mustang GT3 Evo is – at least on paper – more difficult than in Nuremberg, as the track is considered the biggest challenge for the V8 car from the USA.
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