The end of the year culminated in a traditionally large number of celebrations and honours. For Ernst Moser, the team boss of Phoenix Racing, each of these occasions was very special as the spotlight was put on the Eifel-based racing team again and again after strong performances in the past season and winning the DTM title with Martin Tomczyk in the Audi A4 DTM of Audi Sport Team Phoenix. The squad itself was honoured at one of these events, as Audi Sport Team Phoenix had won the “Best Pit Stop Award 2011” in the DTM sponsored by the series’ exclusive tyre partner Hankook.
The accolade was presented on the Hankook stand at the Essen Motor Show. Team Director Ernst Moser and Team Manager Dirk Theimann had travelled to Essen and some of the mechanics would not miss this moment either. In the end, it was Workshop Manager Jörg Baldes who accepted the attractive crystal trophy for the team. “This accolade is the reward for the strong team performance we delivered at all races in 2011 and shows that our intensive pit stop practice paid off,” said Jörg Baldes.
Yet the crystal trophy was not the only recognition to be presented to the close Phoenix squad by Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook’s Motorsport Director. The Korean tyre company will also treat them to an ample team barbecue which the guys from Phoenix are particularly looking forward to.
Hankook had incepted the pit stop competition in its first year as the DTM’s tyre partner. In addition to three cases of beer, the winning team was rewarded by ten points for the fastest pit stop per race weekend. Audi Sport Team Phoenix, the championship-winning team, regularly scored points with fast stops straight from the beginning of the season. Setting best marks at the Nürburgring and at Oschersleben, the squad not only collected several cases of beer from Hankook but also achieved the maximum point score. The team from Meuspath travelled to the Hockenheim finale as the front runner of this special ranking and then commandingly clinched victory in the Hankook pit stop classification.
The quick Phoenix pit stops that were instrumental in helping Martin Tomczyk on his way towards the title win were no accident. The team from the Nürburgring vigorously practiced and performed a total of about 500 pit stops throughout the year.
When Phoenix Racing travels to Australia in February to compete in the famous Bathurst 12 Hours with two Audi R8 LMS cars this won’t be the team’s first overseas commitment. In 1999, the debut year of Ernst Moser’s squad, the team embarked on its first big journey after the end of the Super Touring Cup (STW) season. The destination: Macau.