Following the spectacular DTM race weekend at Norisring powered by BMW M, it is half-time in the 2022 DTM. Time for a brief break until the second half of the season gets underway in the Eifel with DTM Nürburgring powered by Mercedes-AMG (26-28 August). Then, the action continues in a fortnightly rhythm with DTM Spa-Francorchamps (9-11 September), DTM Red Bull Ring powered by Remus (23-25 September) and the season finale DTM Hockenheimring (7-9 October). At the halfway point of the season, DTM.com asked all the drivers from the world class field of the long-standing series how things have been going so far from their perspective, what the challenges are for them, which ups and downs they experienced, what the challenges are for them, and what their feeling is going into the second half of the season. The sixth instalment is from the drivers of Porsche team SSR Performance, Dennis Olsen and Laurens Vanthoor.

Following a guest race at Nürburgring last year, Munich-based team SSR Performance signed up for the full DTM season in 2022, running two Porsche 911s for Norwegian Dennis Olsen and Belgian Laurens Vanthoor. Olsen had a good start of his season with fifth place in the Saturday race at Portimão and secured the maiden DTM podium result for the team with Stefan Schlund at the helm by finishing second in the Saturday race at Norisring. Also in Nuremberg, Laurens Vanthoor only just missed out on a podium finish by coming home fourth. Olsen is currently twelfth in the drivers’ standings, Vanthoor is in 15th place.

#94 Dennis Olsen: “We are there to try to win”

“It has definitely been a super tough season, tougher than what we had expected. From the beginning it has been really tough for everyone in the team to understand what has been going on and we have done so many things to try to improve on our side. At the end I feel that we managed to optimise a little bit for Norisring. That definitely was a track where we expected that the car would be strong: we have a short wheelbase, the engine in the back, we are good on the brakes. It surely was a track that was positive for us and as soon as the car was competitive we could show where we expected to be and where we belong. Hopefully we can keep this momentum through the summer. Nürburgring has always been quite a good track for Porsche and also for myself. Hopefully we can keep the momentum. We are there to try to win and that's our target so we definitely want to keep on going flat out working here now in the background trying to improve everything for Nürburgring and hopefully we can get a double podium with SSR Performance.”

#92 Laurens Vanthoor: “Hopefully we get a turnaround for the second half of the season”

“The first half of the season was obviously very disappointing. Far from the results which we all hoped for. There were some issues we were having for the last couple races which we couldn’t resolve. That was annoying and hard and frustrating for everybody. Now we have a summer break and we have time to work on it and analyse exactly where the issue is lying and hopefully find it and improve for the second half of the season. Nürburgring is a track where I have enjoyed many positive races and success. I hope that is still the case and hopefully we get a turnaround for the second half of the season for myself and also for the team, for everyone, really. We have the potential, the car has the potential, we just have to find it and execute it in the right way.”