Kiwi Nick Cassidy, along with Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse teammate Felipe Fraga, are back in action this weekend at the Hockenheimring in Germany. After two winning weekends in a row, the defending DTM Teams champion arrive at the 2022 finale in third place overall.
With three wins between them so far, Cassidy and Brazil’s Felipe Fraga are poised to close out their first full DTM season and it all comes down to two races at the season finale in Hockenheim, Germany this weekend.
“I’m really looking forward to finishing the DTM season on a high at Hockenheim,” commented Cassidy. “The last two weekends have been great for us as a team, and I hope we can round out the season in style.”
Hosting the DTM finale for the 29th time, the 4.574-km Hockenheimring Motodrom is known as DTM’s ‘living room.’ But with season placement on the line and an unprecedented 10 drivers holding potential to seize the championship, no contender can afford to get comfortable. Every point counts, and any mistake could be fateful.
In Team competition, just 13 points separates Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse from second-place ABT Sportsline, and there’s even a theoretical chance to overtake leader Schubert Motorsport – but they’ll also need to watch out for a tightly bunched field close behind.
With back-to-back wins from Cassidy at Rounds 6 and 7 in September, Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse have enjoyed their biggest successes since July, when Fraga drove the #74 Red Bull Ferrari to his maiden DTM win at the Norisring. Cassidy, who drives the #37 AlphaTauri-liveried racecar, logged his own career-first DTM victory at Spa-Francorchamps in early September, immediately followed by a triumph at the Red Bull Ring in the penultimate race weekend of the season.
While Cassidy and Fraga are out of Drivers’ championship contention in 12th and 14th place, respectively, their skills and potential for top placement could throw a wrench into the best-laid plans of the those battling for the title. It’s also worth remembering that the team’s Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 racecars sped to a pair of podiums at the Hockenheimring in 2021.
The DTM season finale at the Hockenheimring features two sprint races of 55 minutes plus one lap, starting at 1:30pm local time on Saturday and Sunday, October 8 and 9, 2022.
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