[khanak]

Mercedes-AMG Getspeed driver Arjun Maini, finished second after an intense drive through the streets that make the circuit of Norisring. The street nature of Norisring makes it one of the most unique circuits on the 2021 DTM Calendar. The race in this low grip circuit displayed a lot of overtakes, contacts and a few retirements. Maini started from P4 on the grid after showing pace in both the practice sessions and was able to keep himself out of much danger throughout the race. During the closing laps of the race, Arjun faced intense pressure from championship leader Liam Lawson, but Arjun managed to keep the Ferrari driver behind with some impressive racecraft and matured driving. With that said, let us see how the first race at the Norisring went down for Maini.

Arjun's team managed a sub-seven second pit-stop and that allowed him to get out ahead of Liam Lawson. This put Maini in a potential P2 position.
Arjun's team managed a sub-seven second pit-stop and that allowed him to get out ahead of Liam Lawson. This put Maini in a potential P2 position.Arjun Maini
Right from the start of the weekend at Norisring, Arjun was displaying great pace in the practice session coming P7 in Practice 1 and P2 in Practice 2. As the qualifying round intensified, Maini was able to put together a good lap and saw himself climbing up the order to P4. With the rolling start underway, a lot of cars tried to gain position in the first turn, which resulted in a lot of contacts throughout the grid. Arjun was one of the cars that were nearly taken out of the race in Turn 1, but he managed to gather himself back together, losing just one position in the fiasco. As the race dug deep, Maini slowly started to reel in the gap that he lost and was close to the pack running in front.

In lap 24, Philip Ellis, running in P3, tried to look for a gap through Liam Lawson in P2. But Ellis only managed to spin his car while trying to nail the overtake. With that, Maini moved to P3 and was now in contention for a podium finish. He was further helped by his team when he came into the pits in lap 26 to complete his mandatory pitstop. His team managed a sub-seven second pit-stop and that allowed him to get out ahead of Liam Lawson. This put Maini in a potential P2 position.


Maini was able to slowly build a gap on Lawson after the pit-stop as he got into a rhythm, setting a competitive pace. But towards the end of the race, Lawson inched closer to Maini and was nearly breathing down his neck. The pressure was on Maini, but he managed to keep the charging Ferrari at bay by not putting a foot wrong and ended up finishing second. This was Maini’s best finish in his first season in DTM and this podium finish was a testament to Maini’s improvements throughout the season.



Maini now stands P13 on the grid with 40 points and is just one point away from Esteban Muth ahead with 41 points.
Maini now stands P13 on the grid with 40 points and is just one point away from Esteban Muth ahead with 41 points.Arjun Maini
Maini will start the final race of the season with 20kg of success ballast on board which is a regulation dictated by DTM. Maini now stands P13 on the grid with 40 points and is just one point away from Esteban Muth ahead with 41 points. The final race of the 2021 DTM season will take place in Norisring on 11 October at 5pm IST. Stay tuned to evo India for news and updates from the motorsport world!

https://www.evoindia.com/motorsport/...-dtm-norisring

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[akash_v12]

So happy for Arjun! At the same time, it's just sad that Liam had to go through what he had to. He was a Junior who had almost taken the title if not Van der Linde crashing into him. Now, not taking sides here, but crashing into a championship rival, in the race where the championship would be decided and even knowing it that he won't make the corner seems a bit too desperate from my point of view. Stupid move which ruined poor Liam's race and costed him the championship.