That was the first weekend of Special Touring Car Trophy – STT in the Bosch Hockenheim Historic 2016. Everything was new for me: the track and the car. Shortly before the start of the weekend, the team boss decided to swap the cars within the team. So the journey went on for me BMW E46 WTC, instead of BMW M3 E46 GTR loose.
Friday began with free practice, which took place in the rain. So I had to get used to the car and the route under difficult conditions. But it paid off because the first qualifying also took place in the rain. As if that wasn't enough, it rained throughout the night and the second qualifying session on Saturday morning was also carried out in the rain. While we achieved 4th place in the first qualifying, we achieved 2nd place in the second attempt. What a debut.
The first race followed and at the same time my first experiences in the dry. The result was 1th place with an exciting duel that I was fortunate to win. I lost touch with the top places at the start due to a lack of route knowledge. But there was still a second race: I had expected a lot from my good starting position in the front row. I was forced off the track by contact in the first corner and was only able to get back in line in third place. An exciting battle with the two brand colleagues behind me was looming. Many battles for position cost the leaders important time. Shortly afterwards the safety car came out due to a fire, so we were stuck behind the safety car and were not allowed to catch up with the leaders in the division. After several laps behind the safety car, the restart took place and a fair but tough duel broke out with my teammate. It was only in the last corner that the battle for third place was decided in favor of his teammate. At the finish line we were separated by just 4 seconds.
Nevertheless, the first race weekend was a huge success for me and I am super happy to be able to be at the front right from the start.
Sven Markert is the successful newcomer from Berlin.
