The DTM European competitors were hosted in South City this week, racing at the short and narrow Classic circuit. Pre-race 8 DTM EU second place driver, R.Mooney (Mercury), was unable to participate in this event, and therefore his teammate, G.Swan, faced an opportunity to make a major step to his first championship win.
During the qualification, G.Swan made his intentions clear with a fast, 40.91 second lap, closely followed by his teammate, J.Pickard, with a 41.06. Third in qualifying was P.Gajdemski (4Ignition), with a 41.22.
Starts are always tricky in each race, especially in South City and DTM EU Race 8 would be no different. The first corner went surprisingly well, with the exception of a spin from N.Coelho (DSR), caused by T.H.Mann (Mercedes AMG). However, the following left-right chicane would become the key point for this race. J.Pickard entered the chicane too fast and wasn't able to break in time, resulting in contact with the wall. The car's following had no chance to brake or pass in time, resulting in a multi-car accident in the worst place possible.
"You are one lucky ba..... Kuklinski" said B.Kristiansen, "I was hoping I could get a bit closer in points to your 3rd place in the championship in this race, but oh no....". Indeed, K.Kuklinski (4Ignition) was the beneficiary of the chicane incident. He managed to pass Pickard's car only with slight contact on the side (left picture red-black-white car), something Kristiansen (white car) wasn't able to achieve.
Putting in a fantastic drive, G.Swan’s lead was never in danger for the remainder of the race. Only Kuklinski remained on the lead lap, with G.Swan knocking on the door at the end of the race. Kuklinski is now back in the title hunt with a slight chance to win the Championship.
G.Swan, with 50 points, now has a 11 point gap to Kuklinski (39) and one more to Mooney (38). With two races remaining, Swan is in great position to win the SimFIA DTM EU Championship, with Kuklinski and Mooney having all the pressure on their side. Winning at Blackwood is a must for both drivers to keep any chance for the Championship alive.
Race 8, third place finisher, C.Roescher (1ST), is improving his performance this year on each race, increasing his role in the Championship battle.
Join us next week at Blackwood to see how the Championship battle continues to unfold.
Drive carefully and take care!
Your DTM reporter,
tomylee.