What is the secret of Nicki Thiim at the Norisring? The Comtoyou driver took both pole positions and both race wins at his favorite track in his Aston Martin - the same venue where he had celebrated his only DTM victory until then in the SSR Lamborghini in 2024. And he did so despite a Balance of Performance (BoP) adjustment on Sunday and success ballast in the second race. This was last achieved by Thomas Preining during his 2023 title win at Hockenheim.
"You have to hit me - living in a dream!", the Dane, who is now also the mid-season champion, can hardly believe it himself. But what makes him so fast in Nuremberg? "Nicki is still a real old-school racer who suits tracks like the Norisring where the wall is the limit," says Mario Schuhbauer, who heads the DTM project at the Comtoyou team, following Aston Martin's historic maiden victory in the DTM.
"He can judge the limit at the Norisring perfectly, he was within a millimeter of the wall every lap," says the German, who was already involved as team principal during Thiim's SSR victory at the Norisring in 2024. "I haven't seen that with any other driver."
David Schumacher: "You only saw that with Nicki Thiim"
What is impressive is that the 37-year-old apparently never went over the limit. "The rear-view mirrors showed slight scraping marks. Like a file, he rasped down a piece, but not once was a mirror knocked off during the entire weekend," Schuhbauer notes. "He obviously just feels comfortable here."
David Schumacher noticed that Thiim drove an unusual line in qualifying at the exit of the Dutzendteich hairpin. "He drives very tight here, always stays very close to the wall to reduce drag along the wall," the ex-DTM driver told ran.de. "I would have thought we'd see that from several people, but you only saw it with Nicki Thiim."
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In addition to the walls, which can quickly mean the end at the Norisring, as Landgraf Mercedes driver Tom Kalender had to find out on Saturday, the braking phase at the Norisring is also crucial. "He also takes a lot of risk under braking and brakes late, but he always gets it spot on and hits the limit exactly. He was never over it," Schuhbauer notes.
Thiim's Norisring secret? "I'll tell you nothing"
But what does Thiim himself say about his Norisring strength? "You need big balls here," the "Viking" says with a smile at ran.de - pointing out that the Norisring is a "driver's track," even if it is often underestimated with its only four corners.
"For me it's more like a driver's track, so it's more like fine-tuning not only the right foot, but also the left foot, because there's so much braking here. Almost getting a cramp in the car because you're putting so much effort into the brakes so often because of this small circuit. It's just optimizing those small details as it's so short," says Thiim.
Could he reveal a few tricks? "I'll tell you nothing," he answers. "It's four corners, a street track with bumps. I think with experience, you know some of the places it's better to go. As it's a street track, you do some weird lines sometimes."
Getting all that right is "the key," says Thiim, who knows the circuit well from numerous appearances in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland and already took pole and both race wins in 2015. Could he not reveal a few tricks? "I'm not revealing anything," he replies. "It's four corners - and a street circuit with bumps. With a bit of experience, you know where you should drive best. Sometimes you drive strange lines. I'm not going to give you more."
Why the braking phase at the Norisring is so tricky
How does Winward Mercedes driver Maro Engel, who finished second on Saturday and is also on Thiim's heels in the championship, react to Thiim's statement? "I've had the pleasure of following him two years ago for the whole race, and now I've followed him the whole race again, so let me tell you: I've seen a few things. I think he's quite strong in Turn 1, 2, 3, and 4," he jokes.
The fact that the drivers drive "weird lines" at the Norisring because of the bumps also has to do with the ABS, which is installed in all GT3 cars. To prevent a wheel from locking on the bumps during the braking phase, the ABS intervenes and releases the brake, which wastes a few meters. In a duel, this can even lead to a collision because the braking effect fails.
Driving skill also plays a role here, as the top drivers brake in such a way that the ABS does not intervene - and they thus have the braking phase under control themselves.
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