How DTM surprise man Maximilian Paul wants to snatch a Lamborghini works contract and why the expected heat at the Lausitzring is poison for his bolide
The upcoming weekend at the Lausitzring will in all likelihood be Nürburgring sensation Maximilian Paul’s last DTM appearance of the season. While team boss Gottfried Grasser recently said that they would only talk to Paul about possible further appearances after the race weekend, the 26-year-old is speaking plainly.
“99 per cent of the time I’ll only be driving at the Lausitzring – and the rest GT-Open,” says Paul, who has a contract with the Italian Lamborghini team Oregon,
That’s because in the GT Open series you’re “racing for the championship”, says Paul. “And I’m a guy who very much likes to stay true to what he’s doing. That’s why I stay there and finish it. “
GT open commitment as a path to work contract?
Under these circumstances, further DTM appearances after the home race in Lausitz would not be feasible for Paul, as the weekends at the Sachsenring, Spielberg and Hockenheimring overlap with the GT3 series GT-Open.
Paul, who currently holds Young Professional status in the driver squad of Audi subsidiary Lamborghini, is hoping his involvement in the GT-Open series will lead to a promotion to fully-fledged works driver.
“Lamborghini is supporting me in the GT Open,” says Paul. “They have also decided that I should drive this championship. If you show what you can do on track and deliver well, then there is a possibility of a factory contract the following year. So I just have to keep pushing and keep doing what I’m doing and it could look good. “
In fact, Paul and his Lamborghini team partner Pierre-Louis Chovet, who like him has silver status according to the FIA classification, have taken two wins recently at the Hungaroring and Le Castellet. They are fifth in the championship, 38 points behind with eight rounds to go.
According to Paul, the fact that he is now making another DTM guest appearance at the Lausitzring was anything but a difficult birth. “Gottfried said straight after the win that we would be racing Lausitzring as well – so there was actually no negotiating involved,” he smiles.
Paul on Lausitzring: “I’m going in with no great expectations “
But can Paul, who sensationally won the rain race at the Nürburgring on Sunday as a replacement for Mick Wishofer at the Grasser Team, cause another DTM sensation next weekend?
“Just like at the Nürburgring, I’m going in without any great expectations,” says Paul, who doesn’t underestimate the high level in the DTM. “I’m not a regular driver – and the Grasser team and I are not that mega-well prepared,” he points out that they have only contested one weekend together.
Therefore, he is banking on the four-hour Thursday test. “And maybe a good chance will come up and we’ll be fast and we can take advantage of that“, he says. The man from Dresden doesn’t want to know about a big home advantage: “My only advantage is that I’ve driven on this track a lot – this year, too. But nobody comes there unprepared. “
Why the Lamborghini doesn’t like heat races
In addition, the new Evo package of the Lamborghini Huravan GT3 does not work optimally in heat – and the weather forecast announces temperatures above 30 degrees. “With the new model, there’s a bit of an issue with the intake,” Paul explains. “Because it’s on the roof, you always have the hot air from the car in front directly in the intake. In the slipstream it becomes more and more difficult and you have a bit of a loss of power. And of course when it’s hot outside, that doesn’t help either. “
With this, Paul alludes to the air intake for the naturally aspirated engine, which was still located in front of the rear wheel in the previous model, as in the Audi R8 LMS, which uses the same platform.
The change means that the Lamborghini no longer suffers from waste heat from the front brakes and from the outlet of the water cooler, but above all it needs a clear path. “The best thing is to drive on pole and then away from the front. Then you don’t have any warm air,” grins Paul.
