Marco Wittmann (Germany) and Kimiyo Sato (Japan) clinched two podium places for Volkswagen at the eighth race weekend of the Formula 3 Euro Series at Valencia. For the German driver Wittmann this was already the fifth win of the season, while the Japanese Sato achieved his second-best result in 2011.
In the second of three races in the Spanish port city Kimiya Sato and Marco Wittmann started from positions one and three due to the reversed grid rule. Whereas Motopark driver Sato did not manage an optimum start, Signature driver Wittmann overtook his rivals and grabbed the lead even before turn one. Last year’s overall runner-up would not relinquish his top position across the 14 race laps anymore and went on to celebrate his fifth victory of the season. Sato, while running in second place, brilliantly countered the attacks by his competitors and on seeing the checkered flag recorded his second-best result of the season after his victory at Zandvoort.
In the first and third races the six Volkswagen drivers in the field failed to achieve top results. The Columbian Carlos Muñoz in the first and Marco Wittmann in the second race were the best drivers of the Wolfsburg-based brand in fifth place, respectively. In the overall classification the Spaniard Roberto Merhi (Mercedes-Benz) secured the title win early. Before the season’s finale at Hockenheim Wittmann is ranking in second place overall with an equal point score as Merhi’s fellow countryman Daniel Juncadella.
Kris Nissen, Volkswagen Motorsport Director:
“Congratulations to Roberto Merhi and his team. They truly deserve the title. The results of the Volkswagen drivers at Valencia were not satisfactory. One victory and one second place were not enough. We need to improve at the season’s finale at Hockenheim and want to show how good the Volkswagen engine is with which we’ve achieved early title wins in the ATS Formula 3 Cup and in the British Formula 3 Championship.”
#1 – Marco Wittmann (Germany):
“By taking victory on Saturday I achieved the maximum that was possible at Valencia. Thanks to a perfect start I was able to quickly take the lead. My rivals slowed each other behind me. Since the title win is no longer even theoretically possible anymore I’m going to concentrate on good single results at Hockenheim.”
#6 – Kimiyo Sato (Japan):
“Second place on Saturday was naturally a tremendous result, although even more would have been possible. I had wheel spin at the start and oversteer in the second half of the race. From that moment on I had no chances against Marco, who was running very fast. A great result also for my team, Motopark.”
