Arjun Maini bags maiden podium in DTM Norisring
Oct 10, 2021
Nuremberg [Germany], October 10 : Mercedes-AMG DTM star Arjun Maini showed remarkable speed and skill as he bagged his maiden podium after finishing at the second spot in the latest round held at the circuit of Norisring.
"Yesssss we did it!!!!! P2. So happy to get my first podium in DTM @DTM here in Norisring and also the first-ever podium for India. Thank you all for the great support and big thanks to @amgmotorsport and @Getspeed2 for the amazing car. Tomorrow we go again," tweeted Maini.
Maini had started off the race at fourth place, but he went on to display great skill to finish at the second spot.
Last week, Maini had shown phenomenal pace at the Hockenheim race circuit in Germany, though an uncharacteristic error ultimately compromised his weekend. Maini had one of his most productive weekends at the penultimate round of the 2021 DTM Championship with the Mercedes man firmly establishing himself at the front of the field.
The result gave Maini the confidence to experiment with his car's setup during the weekend's second practice session before the Indian claimed a stunning fifth place during the weekend's first qualifying session.
Unfortunately, Maini failed to capitalize on his strong pace with the usually composed Mercedes driver, making a rare driving error as the field made its way towards the circuit's hairpin on the first lap. The Mercedes man misjudged his braking and he careened into the fellow Mercedes driver Lucas Auer, with the ensuing impact ending his race prematurely. The mistake also earned Maini a five-place grid penalty with the ramifications coming during the weekend's second qualifying session.
Despite the previous day's events, Maini put in an impeccable performance during Qualifying 2, with the Indian claiming third overall, missing out on pole by just .11 of a second. However, the penalty meant he would ultimately start eighth and despite gambling on an alternate strategy that saw him pit later than the drivers around him, Maini ended the race in P7 on the Track. However, due to a 5-sec Pitstop infringement penalty the Indian Driver ultimately finished in P8.
