Spielberg (Austria), 30th September 2024: After securing the first pole position of his DTM career and finishing in P3 on Saturday, Arjun Maini backed it up with another spectacular drive and P3 in Race 2 at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on Sunday. Arjun began the second race in P8 and made up significant ground to become the only driver with a double podium this weekend.
“It was a little bit bittersweet to finish third after starting in pole position yesterday but today, I'm very happy with the result. I think we maximized what we could today. I am happy with the amazing car the team gave me this weekend and happy with two podiums,” Arjun reflected after the race.
Starting on the outside, from P8 on Sunday, Arjun made an early move in lap 1 to jump up to P6. He went a few laps extra than most of the cars at the Mandatory Pit Stop and was able to come out in front of Championship leader Mirko. However, Sheldon and Guven pitted even later and were able to come out in front of Arjun, dropping him to a net 5th Place.
In the five car battle, Arjun was squeezed between Sheldon and Guven, he ultimately made it past them to get into P3 which he consolidated to finish on the Podium.
“As soon as I got ahead of Luka, I had good pace and clean air. It takes usually two or three laps on the cold tyres here to get them up to speed. So, I knew if I did some good laps when everyone came out, I would have a good chance. The main challenge was to switch on the tyres after coming out of the pits and today we managed that well,” the Mercedes-AMG Team HRT driver explained.
This podium finish came on the back of a third place finish on Saturday, in Race 1. The 26 year old secured the first pole position of his DTM career in Qualifying 1 after posting the fastest time of 1:30.128 minutes on his final lap and became the first Indian to secure Pole position in the DTM.
“That was really crazy because my radio was not working so I did not know the result at first. I tried to see the times on the screens around the track. However, they were too far away. The Pole position feels incredible. I can enjoy the moment for a few hours, until the race starts,” he had said after the qualifying session on Saturday.
Arjun made a brilliant start to the first race on Saturday and was side-by-side with Maro Engel who then took the lead of the race. The pace after the pit stop was very good and Maini was able to pull away by 12 seconds over P4. He had to be content with P3 which was his second Podium of the Season.
With three podium finishes to his name this season Arjun heads into the last round of the Championship in 8th position on the table with 128 points. He will have a final chance to advance further up the table in Hockenheim, Germany on 19th and 20th of October.
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