Why the “Mamba” could cause confusion in 2024, especially in the early stages of the season, and what look Winward is using to evoke Mercedes history
The “Mamba” remains in the DTM despite the withdrawal of the Landgraf team: at the unveiling of the vehicle designs for the 2024 DTM season, the Altendiez-based Winward team presented Lucas Auer’s car in the iconic yellow design. And this could cause confusion among DTM fans
Because last year, Auer’s new Winward team-mate Maro Engel – then still driving the Landgraf-Mercedes – raced in the Mann-Filter design that has been seen on various Mercedes-AMG cars in GT3 racing for many years.
This year, Engel’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 will have a special AMG livery, which was already seen in a similar form at the Bathurst 12-hour classic in February. The brand with the three-pointed star is thus making reference to the 130-year history of motorsport, which it has played a key role in shaping
Winward also relies on the “Mamba” in the GTWCE
The biggest sponsor on Engel’s cars is the lubricant manufacturer Ravenol, which was responsible for the design of David Schumacher’s Winward cars last year and is a technical partner of Mercedes-AMG. Motorhome manufacturer Knaus, which has always been the main sponsor on a Winward DTM car since 2021, is no longer on board this year.
However, team boss Christian Hohenadel is delighted to have Mann-Filter as a sponsor. “The poisonous Mamba design has established itself in the motorsport scene in a very short space of time and has become a real crowd favorite,” says the former racing driver. “The people in charge in Ludwigsburg are real racers who live and love motorsport and use it as an ideal platform for their brand.”
And not only in the DTM: the air filter manufacturer also provides the yellow-green cult design for the Winward entry in the GT World Challenge Europe (GTWCE), in which the German-Texan team also relies on Auer and Engel, while Daniel Morad joins them in the endurance races.
The special Mercedes-AMG livery on Engel’s DTM car refers to the first automobile race from Paris to Rouen on 22 July 1894. “The fact that Mercedes-AMG has chosen one of our cars as a symbol for this impressive anniversary pleases and honours us in equal measure and emphasizes the long-standing close partnership between Affalterbach and Altendiez,” says Hohenadel.
For this reason, Engel will not start with the number 48 as last year, but with the number 130. And while Auer’s fans will have to get used to a new design, at least his starting number 22 will remain unchanged
