Mattias Ekström buoyed by solid comeback in Spielberg

Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline driver Mattias Ekström was back to his best antics today at the Red Bull Ring, host of the second round of the 2016 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season, transforming a mid-field starting spot into a podium finish.

The Swede had good pace during qualifying, but was blocked by Mercedes AMG’s Esteban Ocon during his last attempt on the track. The action resulted in Ekström qualifying four rows behind from what he had expected.

For the race, the Swede had a different strategy from his rivals, consisting on pulling forward as hard as he could, whilst delaying the compulsory pit stop until the last moment. It paid off: from 11th on the grid, Ekström managed to recover to be third overall after his tyre change. He soon caught fellow Audi driver Jamie Green to be second, a position he would maintain until the chequered flag.

Ekström felt he had visited the top spot of the podium: “Sometimes second place can feel like a win. Today is such a day. The race was mega. Just a shame that we weren’t so good in qualifying here, otherwise a dream weekend with my friends from Red Bull could have been possible. Even so, it was fantastic racing today and I’m delighted for my team that worked so hard after the accident at the start yesterday in order to prepare the car perfectly again for me.”

Jamie Green was third at the line, with Mike Rockenfeller in eighth position and Timo Scheider in tenth. The haul of points has allowed Audi Sport to overtake Mercedes AMG in the Manufacturers’ table, although the Ingolstadt outfit is still 95 points behind BMW Motorsport.

Dieter Gass, Head of DTM for Audi Sport, was satisfied with the results, although unhappy with the incidents that prevented the team from scoring more points: “The comeback drive from Mattias was of course excellent and Jamie also showed excellent form today. It’s great that the two bounced back today after the difficult start to the season. When you consider Mattias’ race, it’s even more annoying that he was held up in qualifying, because otherwise he would definitely have been a potential winner today. Edo retiring is of course also bitter.”