Niederwil: It’s a new year, a new racing series and a new driver signing. Under its exclusive licence with Aston Martin, R-Motorsport will contest the 2019 DTM season with Paul Di Resta as one of their four drivers. The 32-year-old Scot brings experience of nine previous seasons in the series, six of which he finished in the Top Five. His biggest success so far was winning the championship in 2010. Last year, Paul was in contention for the title right up to the final weekend at Hockenheim, which he emerged from as third overall.
“I am looking forward to the new DTM season and the challenge to compete with the Aston Martin Vantage DTM car for my new team R-Motorsport,” said Paul. “It will certainly be not easy to challenge our competition of experienced teams of big premium manufacturers with our comparatively small outfit. However my impression of our team’s professionalism and ambition is very positive and I’ll go into the preparation of the championship season with a good feeling. I can’t wait to drive the Aston Martin Vantage DTM car at the first test on the race track and contribute my part to the development of the new car.”
Paul graduated to the DTM in 2007 after winning both the Formula 3 Euro Series and the prestigious Formula 3 Masters in the previous season. In his rookie DTM campaign, he secured four podium finishes in a two-year-old car. At Oschersleben in only his second DTM race, he finished second behind team-mate Gary Paffett.
During his debut season, Paul made DTM history by becoming the first driver of a so-called ‘Jahreswagen’ (i.e. a car from a previous season) to lead the overall standings. In his 126 DTM races to date, he has notched up eleven wins, nine pole positions, 37 podiums and 793 points in the Mercedes-AMG developed and fielded by HWA. The experienced motorsport all-rounder also spent three years (2011 – 2013) in Formula 1 as one of the two Force India drivers. He competed in 58 Grands Prix and scored 121 world championship points.
“In Paul, we have secured the services of a knowledgeable and experienced driver with an impressive sporting CV,” said Team Principal Florian Kamelger. “This signing is a key element in the development of our new Aston Martin Vantage DTM. His experience and natural speed should help us to quickly bring the new DTM car up to a competitive standard. We are aware that this is not going to be an easy task for us at R-Motorsport, because in the DTM we are facing competition from works teams who not only have the backing of well-known premium manufacturers but have also grown accustomed to success over the years. But it’s a challenge that we are happy to rise to, and we’re looking forward to the upcoming DTM season.”
This year, R-Motorsport will be writing a new chapter in their nascent motorsport history as they enter their debut season in the DTM, in which Aston Martin will line up under its exclusive licence with the R-Motorsport. The team’s first two DTM races will take place on the weekend of 4th/5th May at the Hockenheimring, the traditional host venue for the season opener. These race outings will be operated by Vynamic which is a joint venture between AF Racing AG and HWA AG.