From the simulator to the race track: DTM Esports champion Moritz Löhner convinces in first test with Mercedes-AMG GT
”Who is Moritz Löhner?” A question many an expert or a team principal asked himself during the three-day official DTM Trophy test at DEKRA Lausitzring when looking at the timing screens.
In second place, the name of Moritz Löhner popped up in yellow on black. Indeed, the 22-year-old is still very much an unknown quantity in real-world motor racing, but in virtual motorsport, the native of Bamberg in the north of Bavaria has made a name for himself for a long time already. For instance, Moritz Löhner won the title in the DTM Esports Championship powered by MediaMarkt last autumn. His main prize: an invitation for a test day in the DTM Trophy. Recently, during test days at Lausitzring, Moritz Löhner stepped into a genuine, 510 hp strong Mercedes-AMG GT for the first time. “This test in a real GT race car was a dream coming true, a dream I already had when I was a kid,” a euphoric Moritz Löhner reports in an interview with the DTM.comweb portal.
Löhner, now living in Munich, had obtained the required racing licence one week earlier. The CV Performance Group team from Niederzissen took care of the preparation and the running of the Mercedes-AMG GT in which Löhner got his first experience at a real-world race track. In the process, he did really well: in changeable weather conditions, Löhner racked up 33 laps of the 4.570 kilometres long Lausitzring Grand Prix configuration in the morning and even eight laps more in the afternoon. In the classification at the end of the first test day, Löhner came out in second place, his personal best lap time of 1m 55.818s being only 0.378s slower than that of the fastest driver of the day, the experienced Michael Schrey (GER) with the Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport BMW M4 GT.
“It is huge, now standing here and doing it,” Löhner said after his first experience in a real race car, talking to the DTM.com web portal. “Of course, I hope that I have impressed some people a bit after this test day.” Perhaps, this results into a chance for him to make the switch from virtual to real. For the moment, however, virtual racing still has priority for Löhner. “That is my profession, next to my half-time job as a media designer. However, racing in DTM Trophy would be the logical next step. Whenever the opportunity arises, I will most certainly take it!”
Löhner, now living in Munich, had obtained the required racing licence one week earlier. The CV Performance Group team from Niederzissen took care of the preparation and the running of the Mercedes-AMG GT in which Löhner got his first experience at a real-world race track. In the process, he did really well: in changeable weather conditions, Löhner racked up 33 laps of the 4.570 kilometres long Lausitzring Grand Prix configuration in the morning and even eight laps more in the afternoon. In the classification at the end of the first test day, Löhner came out in second place, his personal best lap time of 1m 55.818s being only 0.378s slower than that of the fastest driver of the day, the experienced Michael Schrey (GER) with the Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport BMW M4 GT.
“It is huge, now standing here and doing it,” Löhner said after his first experience in a real race car, talking to the DTM.com web portal. “Of course, I hope that I have impressed some people a bit after this test day.” Perhaps, this results into a chance for him to make the switch from virtual to real. For the moment, however, virtual racing still has priority for Löhner. “That is my profession, next to my half-time job as a media designer. However, racing in DTM Trophy would be the logical next step. Whenever the opportunity arises, I will most certainly take it!”
