Mercedes-AMG Motorsport saw action all over the world last weekend, from the streets of Monte Carlo to Macau in China and to Londrina in Brazil.
This is what happened: Results and facts
News snippets
Stat-Attack – Monaco: The legendary Monaco Grand Prix ranks among the standout events on the annual race calendar. This year, however, the mood was subdued as the entire Formula 1 family mourned the passing of three-time Formula 1 champion Niki Lauda. During his career, Niki won the race through the streets of the Principality twice (1975 and 1976). The team expressed its appreciation with a red safety halo inspired by Niki’s familiar cap, a red star on the engine cover and a message on the monocoque of the car: “Danke, Niki”. Lewis went on to put in the sort of indomitable performance that Niki had been famous for, securing his third race win on the Monte Carlo street circuit. It was his 77th in Formula 1 and his fourth of the current campaign. Meanwhile, Valtteri was making a first ever podium appearance in the Monaco Grand Prix. On Saturday, Lewis booked the 85th pole position of his F1 career – 59 of which have been as a Mercedes driver. At the same time, he established a new record as driver with most pole positions for a single team.
Run and Recharge: Last weekend, the first ever Mercedes-Benz EQ Run took place in the context of the Formula E race in Berlin. The starting line-up for this charity run included four-time Ironman Hawaii winner Daniela Ryf and Mercedes-Benz brand ambassador Stefanie Giesinger. The grand total of 25,000 euros raised will be donated to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Between them, the runners completed 2,659 laps of the 2.37 km track during the 60-minute slot on Saturday evening after the Formula E race itself. This is equivalent to a distance of 6,302 kilometres – approximately the same distance from Berlin to New York which will be hosting the closing weekend of the 2018/19 Formula E. The two races contested there will be the last before the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team enters the electric racing series in the 2019/20 season.
Three class victories in the International GT Open: At the Hockenheimring, the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing teams celebrated no fewer than three class victories in the second round of the International GT Open. As on the opening weekend, Alexander Hrachowina and Martin Konrad (both AUT) in the HTP Motorsport car were unbeatable in the Am class in both races. Sports & You with António Coimbra and Luis Silva (both POR) and GetSpeed Performance with Janine Hill (GBR) and John Shoffner (USA) finished second and third respectively on Saturday to ensure a Mercedes-AMG podium lockout. The third of three class victories was supplied by a car sporting the unmistakable yellow and green Mamba livery: Indy Dontje (NED) and Russell Ward (USA) of HTP Motorsport / Winward Racing took first place on Sunday in the Pro-Am class. The duo had already finished third on Saturday behind runners-up Tom Onslow-Cole (GBR) and Valentin Pierburg (GER) of SPS automotive performance, who also finished the 70-minute race in third place overall.
Podium finishes in the Brno 12-hour race: Team CP Racing put in a strong performance in the third round of the European Championship leg of the of the 24H Series. Charles Espenlaub, Joe Foster and Charles Putman (all USA) driving the number 85 car made a first podium appearance of the season for their third-place finish in the twelve-hour race hosted by Brno in the Czech Republic. The result was also good enough for the runner-up spot in the A6-Am class. They were followed across the line by Adrian, Manuel and Philipp Zumstein (all SUI) in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of MDC‑Sports who took third in class and fifth overall.
Perfect weekend in the DMV GTC and in the Dunlop 60: Kenneth Heyer and Wolfgang Triller (both GER) in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Race-Art by équipe vitesse got their weekend at the Red Bull Ring off to the perfect start on Friday with a victory in the Dunlop 60 race. On Saturday, Triller was runner-up in the DMV GTC race before team-mate Heyer served up the crowning glory with a lights-to-flag win in the second race on Sunday. Two more podium finishes were provided by Mario Hirsch (GER) in a Hirsch Tracksport / équipe vitesse for P2 and P3 in the two DMV GTC races. In the Dunlop 60 race, Christian Schütz and Marcus Suabo (GER) of Schütz Motorsport were runners-up in the GT4 classification.
Victories at Macao Racing Festival and a podium in Endurance Brasil: At the Macau Racing Festival, Team TRC celebrated two victories in its Mercedes-AMG GT4 (starting numbers 88 and 91). The group B race on Saturday was won by David Pun (HKG), and on Sunday, team-mate Kevin Tse (MAC) claimed victory in the Group A race.
In Brazil, the Scuderia 111 outfit secured further podium finishes in the Endurance Brasil. In the four-hour race at the Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna, Xandy and Xandinho Negrao crossed the finish line second in their Mercedes-AMG GT3. In the GT4 class, two more cars entered by the team and driven by the pairings of Alexandre Auler and Leandro Romera and of Leandro Ferrari and Flavio Abrunhoza (all BRA) finished in the Top Three.