In front of 31,000 spectators (throughout the weekend) Audi maintained its one-two lead in the DTM drivers’ standings and first place in the DTM manufacturers’ classification. Audi’s man of the race on Sunday was Mattias Ekström, who in the Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline shone with a recovery.
Following the disappointing result on Saturday, the two-time DTM Champion had the set-up of his RS 5 DTM changed completely for the race on Sunday. However, due to a defect on the cable harness he was unable to do any laps in the warm-up session and subsequently had to settle for grid position 16. In the race, however, he had one of the fastest cars in the field, made up a total of nine positions and scored six valuable points.”
“Today, I was very happy with my car,” said the Swede. “I had some tough duels with Pascal (Wehrlein) and Christian (Vietoris) that were huge fun. It’s positive that I was able to decrease the deficit in the standings and that we’ll be able to reduce weight for the next two races at Spielberg.”
Adrien Tambay scored his first points this season. The Frenchman in the Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM kept Gary Paffett in the Mercedes-Benz at bay in the final stage and finished in ninth place. Mike Rockenfeller in the Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Phoenix trailed Paffett by a narrow margin in eleventh place. The 2013 DTM Champion, who had started from grid position 19, showed a similar recovery as Mattias Ekström.
For Miguel Molina and Jamie Green the race was a disappointment. Molina in the Teufel Audi RS 5 DTM defended position five at the start and was able to keep pace with the lighter BMW cars for a long time. But in the hectic stage following the mandatory pit stops, the Spaniard was heavily attacked by other drivers and dropped to twelfth place with a damaged car. Jamie Green in the Hoffmann Group Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Rosberg finished out of the points in 13th place. As a result, the overall leader’s advantage over Mattias Ekström and Pascal Wehrlein has shrunk to five points.
Timo Scheider in the AUTO TEST Audi RS 5 DTM, after starting from position 22, advanced to 15th place. Nico Müller (Audi Financial Services Audi RS 5 DTM) and Edoardo Mortara (Castrol EDGE Audi RS 5 DTM) were forced to retire following ‘enemy contact.’
