Despite the long summer break, it was to be a damaging and frustrating return to the DTM Trophy Series for the two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4’s of the Team Speed Monkeys crew as the series resumed at the Nurburgring this weekend.

 

Early pace during Free Practice of the #63 car of Jacob Riegel and the #99 of Nick Hancke on Friday was sadly not put to the test on Saturday as all track action was halted due to thick fog with all running on the first race day being put seriously into question.

Fortunately as the hours passed, the fog was to break up enough for racing to be permitted with the series decreeing that Championship position would determine the starting positions for race one meaning that the two Aston’s would be starting from the fourth row.

 

On the long drag to turn one, both Astons would get boxed in amongst the eighteen cars descending into the opening corner, dropping to P11 and P12 respectively as those ahead began to forge a gap between them.

That would be the case until just into lap 12 as the cameras panned to a #63 car nosed into the tyre wall with smoke and flame coming from under the bonnet on the drivers far side. The body language of an exiting Riegel would suggest that he was placed there by another driver, but his race was done and so was that for all as the race would end behind the required Safety Car. Hancke would finish in P9.

 

Sundays race was at least under blue skies and warm sunshine again as fastest laps dictated the order for the two Aston’s to start on the fifth row this time around.

Another clean few opening corners were had but their first journey through the chicane saw Hancke take a hard sideways hit from a BMW, lifting the offside wheels off the ground but at least he was able to continue.

 

Riegel was also in the thick of it again as he battled into P6 whilst his teammate was recovering to P11 after his earlier contact. With the lead Toyota again in a class of its own (most likely just on BoP rather than driver ability), there was again no way back for any of the chasing group as the weekend’s racing fizzled out into a processional finish with Riegel claiming P7 at the end with Hancke in P11.

Next round of the series will be at Spa Francorchamps in two weeks’ time.

 

Photo credits – Team Speed Monkeys