Arjun Maini claimed his maiden DTM podium result after finishing 2nd in the penultimate race of the season at Norisring. It’s been a long awaited result for the Indian, who has been showcasing an upturn in performance after picking up his first DTM points at Nurburgring.
Maini 2nd in DTM Norisring Race 1
The Norisring round was initially cancelled due to COVID-19 earlier this year, but the traditional street circuit was slotted in the calendar to host the 2021 season finale. Maini appeared to be strong on the circuit from the get go, and was able to qualify fourth with his Mercedes-AMG GT3 race car.
He dropped from fourth to sixth on the opening lap, after making contact with Liam Lawson into Turn 1. Despite picking up some suspension damage as a result of the incident, he was able to continue.
The turning point for him came when it was time for his pit stop. A lightening fast in-lap, that was 1.3 secs quicker than Lawson’s, combined with GetSpeed pulling off a rapid pit stop resulted in Maini rejoining the track ahead of Lawson.
Lawson was able to close the gap to Maini ahead of him, but the Indian racer successfully fended him off to cross the line in second place. “In the past weekends, our speed has become better and better and here at Norisring, this has been converted into a tangible result. In this race, the pit stop was a decisive factor,” Maini beamed after the race.
“I am incredibly happy with this success. I got some damage on the right front suspension in the turmoil after the start. I already thought that my race was over. Being on the podium now is unbelievable.”
Götz emerges victorious
Maximilian Götz secured a dominant win ahead of Maini and Lawson. While Lawson has extended his championship lead, Götz’ victory very much keeps him in the title hunt.
Ahead of the season finale later today, Götz is just one point behind Kelvin van der Linde, and 19 points behind Lawson.
Watch DTM live on Autocar India’s YouTube channel
All the action from the DTM Norisring finale will be streamed live on Autocar India’s YouTube channel. You can tune in at 1:30pm to watch qualifying and at 5pm to watch the race (all timings IST).