AMG Mercedes Teams Score First Win of Season in German Touring Car Series

It couldn't have gone any better for the AMG Mercedes Teams at the opening race of the German Touring Car Masters (DTM) at Hockenheim this weekend. AMG Mercedes Teams scored the first win in the championship opening race since 2006 in style.

HWA-AMG Salzgitter C-Class driver Gary Paffett qualified on the pole and romped to his third victory at the circuit followed by Daimler Bank HWA AMG driver Bruno Spengler in second, Junge Stern Persson Motorsport AMG driver Jamie Green third, and AMG Driving Academy HWA driver Paul Di-Resta fourth. The highest finishing Audi was fifth.

AMG Mercedes Deutsche Bank Mucke Motorsport driver David Coulthard opened his DTM history with a solid 12th place finish.

The rules for the series have been frozen with no new cars being constructed for the 2010 season ahead of a new rules package for 2011.

AMG-HWA and Audi Abt Sportline Teams run 2009 spec cars all other Teams run 2008 spec cars.

The next race is May 2nd in Oscherslaben, Germany

1. Gary Paffett- Salzgitter HWA AMG Mercedes C-Class
2. Bruno Spengler - Daimler Bank HWA AMG Mercedes C-Class
3. Jamie Green- Junge Stern Persson Motorsport AMG Mercedes C-Class
4.Paul Di Resta -AMG Driving Academy HWA AMG Mercedes C-Class
5.Mike Rockenfeller- Audi Sport Team Phoenix Audi A4
6.Mattias Ekstrom- Audi Sport Team Abt Sportline Audi A4
7.Tim Scheider -Audi Sport Team Abt Sportline Audi A4
8. Miguel Molina- Audi Sport Team Abt Rookie Audi A4
9. Ralf Schumacher- Laureus HWA AMG Mercedes C-Class
10, Alexander Premat -Audi Sport Team Phoenix Audi A4

HENDRICK MOTORS OF CHARLOTTE

We Are Pleased To Announce The 2010 AMG Driving Academy

As a true performance driving school, the AMG Driving Academy offers participants custom-designed, hands-on lessons in dynamic, high-performance driving by world-class professional driving and racing instructors. Unlike competitive manufacturers’ programs, the AMG Driving Academy is the only program offered coast-to-coast at two of the nation’s premier race tracks: Road Atlanta in Georgia and Laguna Seca Raceway in California.

The AMG Driving Academy will offer three distinct programs this year, pushing participants to the limits of the performance envelope in select AMG vehicles, including the 2011 SLS AMG, the most-advanced AMG vehicle ever built.

Course descriptions are as follows:

Basic ($1,795): Intense, one-day track program focuses on performance driving dynamics. In the morning, participants learn the fundamentals of vehicle dynamics and car control maneuvers using customized exercises. Once participants perfect car control and handling, they progress in the afternoon to a set of high-speed exercises that make use of the entire track.

Advanced ($3,295): Two-day program picks up where Basic leaves off, providing advanced training and technical on-track instruction. Onboard diagnostics and data capture enable detailed computer analysis and evaluation. Advanced is offered to drivers who have completed either Basic, AMG Challenge, European Driving Academy program or equivalent courses.

Pro ($3,995): The pinnacle of the AMG Driving Academy curriculum, the Pro program offers increased instruction while challenging and improving capabilities and skills to a much greater degree. During the three-day program, participants will train on the legendary Road Atlanta circuit. As speeds increase and skills improve, open lapping provides the maximum challenge and thrill. With an intense curriculum, AMG experienced instructors prepare participants to confidently welcome the challenges of Road Atlanta.

Should you wish to learn more about the AMG Driving Academy, please visit http://www.amgacademy.com/.

Hendrick Motors of Charlotte Website

David Coulthard Joins Mercedes-Benz Touring Car Championship Team

As the 2010 season of the DTM (German Touring Car Championship) gets closer there's some big news to report.

The AMG Mercedes C-Class driver squad for 2010 will be joined by yet another former winner from Formula One- Scotsman David Coulthard.

The very popular and charismatic former McLaren Mercedes and Williams F1 driver won 13 Grand Prix in 246 starts, 12 of those wins in Mercedes powered McLarens, so it is a return to the family of sorts. He finished second in the World Driving Championship during his McLaren years. Coulthard retired from F1 in 2007 while still competitive in the Red Bull F1 Team. After a couple of years in the commentary booth he tried an AMG C-Class DTM in testing and was immediately comfortable. In the interim he has been a Mercedes-Benz Brand Ambassador driving historic Mercedes racers at various events around the world.
He joins returning ex-F1 driver Ralf Schumacher in the AMG Mercedes DTM line-up, which also includes current F1 Test Drivers Paul Di Resta (Force India) and Gary Paffett (McLaren). Other AMG Mercedes DTM drivers for 2010 should include Bruno Spengler, Susie Stoddard and Jamie Green.
The DTM season kicks off on April 25th at Hockenheim and can be followed at http://www.dtm.com/ or www,autosport.com. The televised races are usually carried by SPEED Channel later in the year check local listings.
Hendrick Motors of Charlotte Website

2011 SLS AMG Price Released

Relase from MBUSA

April 7, 2010

We are pleased to inform you that the base price of the 2011 SLS AMG was officially announced during last week's Mercedes-Benz press conference at the New York International Auto Show.

2011 SLS AMG MSRP: $183,000*

This price point represents an extremely aggressive position in our endeavor to compete directly with the competitive models from Ferrari and Lamborghini. While the wonderful press reports on the SLS AMG have almost universally estimated a price around $225k, we feel that this sub-$200k price point represents incredible value in this competitive segment.
Proven by its performance statistics, the SLS AMG enters the super sports car segment not just to participate, but to win. What is most impressive is that our new Gullwing flagship delivers this stratospheric level of performance without compromising the refinement, comfort and technology expected of a Mercedes-Benz. It is the everyday supercar.
Launch of the 2011 SLS AMG is still scheduled for early May, 2010.

* price does not include transportation, taxes, dealer prep charges or license fees.

CLICK HERE for Hendrick Motors of Charlotte Website