Klien rues sluggish pitstop on McLaren’s DTM debut
Klien is contesting a piece advertising and marketing campaign in the DTM this 365 days with the JP Motorsport group forward of a ability full-season entry in 2022, with final weekend’s Belgian occasion marking his and McLaren’s debut in the class.
The Austrian driver had a slightly uneventful first speed of the weekend on Saturday, qualifying 16th and spirited up four areas to quit 12th.
Issues were on an upward pattern on Sunday as he qualified an ideal seventh on the grid, aided by a red flag precipitated by BMW driver Timo Glock.
Klien ran eighth in the gap phases of the speed earlier than deciding to model an early quit when the pit window opened at the stop of lap 5, aiming to tear in neat air to web a bounce on his opponents.
Alternatively, the 39-365 days-light lost nearly 5 seconds to the leading runners in the pits with a sluggish quit, dropping firmly arrive the rear of the discipline.
He finally finished 14th at the flag, seven seconds in the assist of the final parts-scoring automobile of Mike Rockenfeller (Audi).
Asked to sum up his first weekend in the DTM, Klien acknowledged: “It became once ample, the entire lot became once in it. We additionally had factual enhancements over the weekend. The races were fun, rather a entire lot of action, especially the first couple of laps and I enjoyed it
“It is miles a truly solid championship, you possibly can now not stop any mistakes. To illustrate on Sunday we had a truly factual starting space with seventh.
“We determined then to quit early after the safety automobile duration however the quit became once a minute bit too lengthy and then I became once right in the assist of Timo Glock. I became once nearly held up for honest about 10 laps except I purchased previous him.
“The terrifying aspect we can capture from this speed is that we had a truly solid tempo this afternoon in the second speed.”
Klien additionally battled with the Rowe Racing M6 of Glock in the first speed of the weekend, finishing right eight tenths in the assist of the BMW DTM stalwart.
“It became once rather a entire lot of issues occurring in the first couple of laps and in the restart it became once rather tight,” acknowledged Klien, who additionally races for JP Motorsport in World GT Delivery.
“However I became once lucky to web via the first chicane to start with most continuously. I made up a pair of positions which became once factual.
“Then it became once rather an uneventful speed for a whereas and then it bought tantalizing again after I became once preventing with Timo Glock, my mate. I tried to consume him but I ran out of time.”
Klien will model his subsequent DTM speed appearance in the fourth round of the championship at the Nurburgring on August 20-22.
Christian Klien, JP Motorsport
Photo by: DTM