AUGUST 4, 2002

Winkelhock gives Mercedes first F3 victory

Mercedes-Benz has not had much to cheer this year in Formula 1 but at the weekend Markus Winkelhock, the son of Grand Prix driver Manfred, gave the Stuttgart firm its first win in the German Formula 3 Championship

Mercedes-Benz has not had much to cheer this year in Formula 1 but at the weekend Markus Winkelhock, the son of Grand Prix driver Manfred, gave the Stuttgart firm its first win in the German Formula 3 Championship at the Nurburgring at the wheel of his Mucke Motorsport Dallara. The 22-year-old beat Timo Glock and Japan's Kousuke Matsuura to take victory - and give Mercedes victory in only the 12th race in which the engine has been run.

The engine is a development of the 1.8-litre compressor engine, which powers the new four-cylinder C-Class Mercedes road cars.

A delighted Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Director Norbert Haug congratulated Winkelhock and the team for their work and thanked HWA-operation for the development of the new engine on behalf of Mercedes-Benz.