PANAJI: Mercedes-AMG star Arjun Maini is set to compete in the third round of the 2021 DTM championship, which will take place this weekend at the Zolder race circuit in Belgium, according to information reaching here.
Maini, who is backed by Omega Seiki and J.K.Tyre, showed a marked improvement in pace during the previous round at the Lausitzring. The Indian driver topped the first practice session and comfortably ran in the top 10 throughout the weekend. While Maini clearly has the pace to compete at the front of the grid, the GetSpeed driver has found himself in unfortunate on-track situations that have forced him to retire from two of the first four races.
The Mercedes-AMG driver, however, is looking forward to racing on the Belgian circuit, citing its “old school” nature as something he is particularly looking forward to.
“It’s a proper old-school track so I’m really excited!” Maini exclaimed when asked about his prospects for this weekend’s set of races.
“Mercedes-AMG have been strong so far this season and hopefully we can continue that form into Zolder. I think it would be good to get some points on the board as the table does not represent our pace at this juncture.
“I’m very motivated to get a great result this weekend and so are the team. We made good progress at the Lausitzring and hopefully we can make even more progress during the Zolder weekend.”
Despite Maini’s current position in the championship, there is much to look forward to this weekend. Having previously tested on the Belgian circuit during the off-season, the DTM rookie will have a strong foundation to build upon.
Further, the fact that this will be Maini’s third weekend in Germany’s premier racing championship should play nicely into the GetSpeed driver’s hands, with Maini now in a position to maximise the potential of his Mercedes-AMG GT3 racecar after familiarising himself with the intricacies involved in piloting a GT3 racecar during the first two rounds.
The race weekend will follow the traditional format with two free practice sessions taking place on Friday with the two qualifying sessions and races scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. You can follow the action live on Autocar’s YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/autocarindia1.
