The sobering result for defending champion Audi was already evident during free practice and qualifying. With a gap of 224 thousandths of a second to pole position, Nico Müller was the fastest Audi driver in tenth place on the grid. The Swiss suffered a puncture in the race whilst battling hard with the BMW of previous championship leader Timo Glock. Müller dropped to the tail end of the field due to the extra pit stop.
His teammate Robin Frijns only changed tires on the penultimate lap and with this strategy was twelfth and second best Audi driver. Mike Rockenfeller crossed the finish line in 15th position. René Rast started the race from last on the grid following an accident in qualifying. The strategy for the reigning DTM Champion to stop immediately after the first lap was just as unrewarding as it was for Loïc Duval. The Frenchman lost valuable time due to a mistake during the pit stop.