Bitter consequences of the Norisring crash orgy for the Walkenhorst team: Why Esteban Muth has to leave early and how broken the BMW was after Deledda’s blackout
The crash festival at the Norisring, in which only eleven of 27 cars reached the finish, had bitter consequences for the Walkenhorst team: Esteban Muth’s BMW M4 GT3 is so badly damaged that the 20-year-old Belgian will not be able to start at all on Sunday
“It was a violent crash – the worst of my career,” says Muth, who was cleared by Grasser Lamborghini driver Alessio Deledda on lap 14 and then flew into the Lamborghini of Franck Perera, “even though I have a few bruises. But it’s not funny that I can’t drive tomorrow.”
Looking at the rear of the car in the Walkenhorst pit, the astonishment is limited: Because due to the two violent backward impacts, the complete rear end was pressed into the car up to the rear wheels.
Why Muth’s M4 GT3 cannot be repaired
“You can’t rebuild the chassis like that,” which means we have no way of repairing it in any way. “
There was a good clang too! DTM Norisring pic.twitter.com/ftQ3aJMdlQ
– Motorsport-Total.com (@MST_DTM) July 2, 2022
Repairs are out of the question, but Königbauer doesn’t believe the chassis can be saved in the long term either: “At the moment, the assumption is clearly that we’ll have to replace the entire chassis and that it can’t be repaired like that.”
However, Königbauer cannot yet give a final assessment: “That is the first assumption. We’ll have to take another close look at it at home, when the car is disassembled.” How high does he estimate the damage? “Definitely in the six-figure range,” answers Königbauer, who also has to cope with Marco Wittmann’s retirement after the chain reaction in the first corner.
How the crash happened – no apology from Deledda
But how did the momentous crash between Deledda and Muth in the battle for 16th place come about? “He obviously braked too late and drove into the rear of me – and at high speed,” said Muth about the overtaxed Italian, who was already too slow in Formula racing.
“I crashed into the wall on the right after that and then into Perera’s Lamborghini.” The fast DTM debutant Franck Perera was also only a passenger: “I saw it at the last moment and saw that the car was approaching too fast in the rear-view mirror. That’s why I was able to prepare myself, but I only had a second – there’s nothing you can do. “
Deledda, who admitted the mistake to the race stewards and had to accept a demotion of five places on the grid, had not yet apologised by 6pm. “I am still waiting – maybe he will come. But I’m already travelling home tonight,” said the 20-year-old Belgian.
Walkenhorst team running out of cars
For Walkenhorst, the accident is doubly bitter as the team currently only has three BMW M4 GT3s and has been waiting for the number four and five cars on order for some time. “As of today, we only have two cars,” team boss Königbauer shrugs. So the DTM summer break comes “at the right moment” for the team from Melle.
The team boss is confident “that we will have at least one new car next week. If things go perfectly, possibly already two,” he announces.
