Motorsport: Bitter finale for Edoardo Mortara
After an impressive performance at Hockenheim, Edoardo Mortara was four points short of the DTM title. These were stolen from the Genevan in Zandvoort. Nico Müller was left without points for the shootout, Jeffrey Schmidt won a round in the Porsche Cup. Edoardo Mortara made no secret of his disappointment: "Yes, it is a disappointment. BMW won the title because they did their [...]
Edoardo Mortara made no secret of his disappointment: "Yes, it is a disappointment. BMW won the title because they were given their own rules. And I lost it because they cheated me out of points." At the race in Zandvoort, as it later turned out, he received an unjustified and irreversible pit drive-through penalty. As a result, Edoardo Mortara lost far more than the four points that he ultimately lacked to win the title.
Meanwhile, Marco Wittmann, who consistently scored points in the best of BMW's eight M4s, to which the competition had grudgingly made technical concessions to equalize their chances before the start of the season, pulled away in the championship. Despite third place in the first race and victory in Sunday's race in front of a total of 142,000 spectators, Edoardo Mortara was unable to catch up with the championship leader without the help of his Audi colleagues, whom he outclassed.
As the driver with the most victories, he can feel like a moral champion. It was not least thanks to him that Abt as a team and Audi as a manufacturer won two prestigious titles. The brand will soon be history for him, as "Edo" will be driving for Mercedes from 2017, perhaps even under Swiss nationality. Nico Müller was fastest in free practice on both days, but remained outside the points after collisions on the starting lap of both races. With his first victory in Nuremberg and ninth place overall out of 26 drivers, the driver from Bern can be satisfied with his third DTM season as an Audi works driver.
Jeffrey Schmidt defeats the eventual champion
The Porsche Carrera Cup Germany ended with a double bang for Jeffrey Schmidt. On Saturday, the driver from Liestal snatched victory by outbraking the two rivals fighting for the championship, Sven Müller and Christian Engelhart, in the hairpin bend. On Sunday, the man from Basel managed a similar maneuver, but Sven Müller then shot him down. Jeffrey Schmidt retired with a wrecked car and Sven Müller took the title despite the pit drive-through penalty. Next weekend, Sven Müller and Matteo Cairoli, who drives for Fach Auto Tech, will compete for the Supercup title in two races at the US GP in Texas. The team from Schwyz should watch out for Sven Müller...
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