Perfect strategy produces Audi’s first 2014 win
Mattias Ekström (Audi Team Abt Sportsline) drove a charging race today in Zandvoort to transform his eighth spot on the grid into his and Audi’s first victory this season. But Edoardo Mortara had an even more impressive run, recovering from last to finish fourth, fighting right up to the chequered flag. The downside for the Ingolstadt manufacturer was Mike Rockenfeller, whose race was ruined by the Safety Cars.
Ekström’s fortunes changed dramatically in the course of 24 hours. Whilst yesterday evening the Stewards found him guilty of blocking, and handed him a 5-position grid penalty, he chose a strategy destined to help him get through the field. And it wasn’t easy, with four Safety Car periods, which rendered worthless any previsions.
Starting on standard tyres, switching to options half way through the race, the Swede managed to be fast when it mattered most, climbing six places to take the lead in just three laps. Ekström remarked the role of the Safety Cars on his win: “It’s always nice to win a race, especially if it’s been such a long time ago. We were without a victory for 14 months and this has been the first victory for Audi this year. It’s a special day. We had a bit of fortune today but my car was very fast, too. It was important that I didn’t lose too much time in the beginning on standard tires. Afterwards, the safety cars played into our hands.”
Edoardo Mortara (Audi Team Abt) had an even more difficult race ahead of him. His qualifying times were deleted after being found with a technical infringement, but he managed to stay out of trouble to finish in fourth position, holding off Christian Vietoris’ attacks in the final laps of the race. The Swiss was over the Moon after the race: “It was a fantastic race. We had a perfect strategy and a superb pit stop. I overtook a lot of cars after having to start from the last place on the grid following yesterday’s disqualification. We didn’t give up and showed that we’re able to make use of our opportunities when they present themselves.”
Mike Rockenfeller’s (Audi Team Phoenix) luck was the opposite. The now former champion started on pole position, and lost to Marco Wittmann at the start. He managed to regain the lead but, after three safety car periods, he was the only one in the top 10 to not have made the mandatory pit stop. When Rocky finally came in, he dove back into the pack, to finish in 16th place. Rockenfeller felt frustrated: “Except for the start, the race was actually very good. After overtaking Wittmann and taking the lead, I was able to control the race well at the front. But then the safety car was deployed and my race was ruined. It’s extremely frustrating that the regulations are like this.”
Dieter Gass, Head of DTM in Audi Sport, was obviously pleased of having shaken the demons and managing a difficult race to finally score Audi’s first win this season: “Obviously, were happy to have finally clinched our first season victory. Mattias (Ekström) had the right strategy for this crazy race and in the end was extremely strong on option tires. The recovery by Edo Mortara from the last to fourth place was fantastic too, also because of the way he successfully defended himself on standard tires against the attacks by Vietoris.”
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport, was pleased with the outcome of the race: “This victory was more than overdue and is good for the whole squad who worked very hard for it. It was a pretty crazy race in which a certain amount of fortune was necessary. But the Audi RS 5 DTM was simply the strongest car at Zandvoort. That was really obvious here.”
Gass also had words for his less fortunate drivers, who had been strong all weekend: “The drivers who were struck by the greatest misfortune today were Nico Müller and Mike Rockenfeller. The second safety car was deployed at exactly the wrong moment for them. Rocky would have been hard to beat today.”
Audi now trails BMW by 21 points in the Manufacturers’ table, heading to the season finale in Hockenheim.
