“Ganz großes Manöver”: Lucas Auer is annoyed by Thiim’s “Tank Slapper”

– What bad luck for runner-up Lucas Auer, who took the DTM lead on Saturday with second place: The Landgraf-Mercedes driver overtook Nicki Thiim on Sunday in Zandvoort (race report) at the restart after the safety car phase and was already in seventh place when the Comtoyou-Aston-Martin driver sent him into a spin and he fell back to the end of the field.

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“A really big maneuver,” the Austrian, who was hit from behind by Thiim, complains to ran.de. “Important for both of us – definitely. Now we have become second to last and last. There is nothing to say, after that it was a wasted day.”

The sarcasm shows the mood of the otherwise usually cheerful Mercedes-AMG driver: In the end, he still took 13th place and three points, while Thiim finished 18th. He had to go through the penalty zone three times, which corresponds to a 15-second penalty.

“Got a huge tank slapper”: Thiim explains misfortune

Race director Sven Stoppe did not even refer the case to the stewards – it was that clear to him. “I am disappointed in myself, made a huge mistake at the restart,” the Dane points out that he already went into the gravel before the final corner.

This allowed Ben Dörr to pass – and Auer also took his chance. After he had passed, Thiim said he “got a huge tank slapper in the first corner. Because of that, I hit Lucas, which I am of course sorry about. Car damaged at the front – and then the race was over.”

His car was damaged at the front, and the three penalty laps did the rest. “I definitely deserved those,” Thiim makes clear. What is a tank slapper? It is an English term, which Thiim probably means that he almost lost control of his Vantage himself, had to correct, and thereby slid into Auer’s car.

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Auer after discussion: “He probably had pickup on tires”

After the race, there was a discussion between the visibly annoyed Auer and the “Viking,” who took responsibility for the mishap. “At the restart, he was already wide. Then he probably had a lot of pickup on the tires,” Auer believes after talking with Thiim that his tires were contaminated with rubber. “It can happen. It’s bad for both of us. That’s the worst case for him and for me, but that’s part of racing.”

Auer, who scored two second places and one third place in the first three races of the season, is second in the overall standings after his unfortunate Sunday in the Netherlands behind Winward teammate Maro Engel.

Now it goes to the Lausitzring, where Auer scored his first of eleven DTM wins so far in 2016. “It’s always something special for me to come back there,” he looks forward to the upcoming DTM weekend with positive feelings. Because the runner-up is indeed considered a Lausitzring specialist.

“A very good track for me – and I am looking forward to it,” he says. Thiim is ninth in the overall standings after his ninth place on Saturday.

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