The second round of the DTM, held from 22 to 24 May on the Dutch North Sea coast, had all the ingredients for a successful weekend for Land-Motorsport. On Saturday, Bastian Buus underlined the team’s potential by qualifying fourth, demonstrating the pace needed to challenge for top results. In the end, however, the hard work put in by the team at Circuit Zandvoort went unrewarded.
“On paper this weekend went anything but well for us,” said team principal Christian Land. “But we still have a lot of positive things to take away from it. We showed that we have the pace to be at the sharp end of the field and were the best Porsche on Saturday. Now it’s important to convert this performance into some solid points hauls.”
On Saturday, it looked for a long time as though the team would come away from the opening race in Zandvoort with a strong haul of points. In qualifying, Buus set the fourth-fastest time and was the highest-placed Porsche driver in the Porsche 911 GT3 R. The Dane then underlined his talent in the race with an impressive display of skill and racecraft.
Buus’ determination enabled him to hold on to fourth place all the way to the chequered flag, with the 22-year-old thrilling the 39,500 spectators with a series of impressive overtaking manoeuvres in his battle with Mercedes-AMG driver Jules Gounon. However, the strong performance ultimately went unrewarded, as the car was disqualified after the race for being underweight.
Sunday was therefore all about making amends for Saturday’s disappointment. “Our plan for the race is to climb as far up the field as possible,” said Buus on the grid. “After yesterday, we know we have the pace. With two pit stops, there are also more opportunities to gain positions through strategy.” However, despite the Dane’s determined approach, the race came to a premature end when a puncture caused damage to the car.
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- #29 Porsche 911 GT3 R
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- #29 Porsche 911 GT3 R
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- #29 Porsche 911 GT3 R
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- Bastian Buus
