Abt Audi driver Ricardo Feller was not the only one to retire at the Lausitzring due to a puncture: Why Turn 1 is so tricky and what the Abt analysis revealed
There was a conspicuous number of punctures in the orgy of retirements at Saturday’s DTM race at the Lausitzring: Abt Audi driver Ricardo Feller, AF Corse Ferrari driver Felipe Fraga and Bernhard Porsche driver Thomas Preining had to retire due to punctured tyres.
And Rosberg Audi driver Nico Müller also complained of “more and more vibrations at the right rear” before retiring. Does this have to do with the steep turn 1, which puts a lot of strain on the Michelin right front and rear tyres in particular?
“At least with the BMW I didn’t notice anything at all”, “Sure, the tyre degradation feels high here. And in Turn 1 you start to slide a bit, but we didn’t have any damage either. “
Right rear tyre problems – is it turn 1?
For Abt Audi driver Ricardo Feller, however, it was most obvious that the right rear tyre had gone flat when he dragged his R8 LMS GT3 Evo II into the pits on lap 15 – eight laps after the stop – with smoke coming from it. But the problem was also found at the right rear of Fraga, who also confirmed a puncture, and Müller.
“We saw today with Feller how quickly you can have a puncture,” said Grasser Lamborghini driver Mirko Bortolotti on ‘ProSieben’. “The load here on this track, especially on the right rear tyre, is extremely high due to the banking and the high speeds.” That’s why special attention was paid to this during the set-up work, he said.
One of already 10 (!) retirements in Saturday’s race! DTM Lausitzring pic.twitter.com/BvdX3xCPVL
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Ex-Abt driver Mike Rockenfeller has a theory as to why his successor Feller got it – and puts it down to the fact that the Audi team currently has to go to the limit. “If you can’t quite get to the front in terms of performance, you’re always tempted to add more camber and somehow get something out of it, but of course you also have to make sure you survive the race. “
Rockenfeller: “The rags were hanging out in the previous year “
When walking this tightrope, one should not overdo it. “It’s the right way to give a little bit away on a lap, but finish the race.” He said he didn’t want to accuse anyone of anything, but “maybe with Feller they went a bit more to the limit, maybe it was a touch or a part on the track.”
The veteran knows at least from last year “that the shreds really hung out on the tyre after the last stint because the track is extremely stressful.” What the cause really was, Abt team boss Thomas Biermaier could not say immediately after the race because of the parc ferme regulation.
Feller’s puncture: This was the result of the Abt analysis
Team-mate Rene Rast, however, had also had difficulties with the tyres. “It was clear that it can be tricky when you stop early and then you have a long stint over 20 laps. And currently we have to go quite an aggressive way to be competitive against the others,” Biermaier admits.
Afterwards, according to the Abt team, the analysis showed that the puncture was neither due to contact nor to a kerb. In addition, Feller’s tyre had been set on the same camber and the same air pressure as Rast’s.
Müller’s vibrations: “Don’t know if it was just tyres “
What was the situation like for Rosberg-Audi driver Müller? “We had vibrations at the right rear,” said the Swiss on ‘ProSieben’ after the race. “I don’t know if it was just the tyre.” Later they put the damage down to collisions with dueling opponents.
Why he gave up? “Since we were in a hopeless position and then also missed the pit-window by one lap and the stop wouldn’t have counted anyway, it wouldn’t have made sense to roll on a second set of tyres,” Müller refers to the tyre shortage in the DTM.
Team boss Kimmo Liimatainen later said that Müller had also been brought in for safety reasons. “We didn’t want to risk an impact in the ultra-fast first corner,” said the Finn.
Bernhard-Porsche driver Thomas Preining, by the way, attributed the puncture most likely to wreckage. “We probably hit a foreign object somewhere,” said team boss Timo Bernhard.