Nico Müller takes maiden DTM win in Norisring thriller

Audi Team Abt’s Nico Müller took his maiden DTM win after a thrilling encounter in the second race at the Norisring, heading home polesitter Tom Blomqvist and Maxime Martin.

After making a good start and passed Mercedes Team HWA’s Paul di Resta into Grundig-Kehre, Muller pressed Blomqvist’s Team RBM BMW throughout the first half of the race and jumped the British driver in the pits.

The Swiss driver had tried to make the move on track with a daring move into Grundig-Kehre on lap 33, but Blomqvist repelled him on the exit of the turn and held the lead until the stops. Blomqvist pitted on lap 35 and Müller left it until lap 43 – by which time, he’d built up enough of a gap to rejoin in front.

He held on despite a late safety car period to win by just under 0.7s after an hour’s frantic racing.

But there was heartbreak for Team Mucke’s Lucas Auer, who had closed onto the tail of the leading pair following di Resta’s pitstop and would have had a good chance of jumping them both, only to lose several seconds due to a sticking wheel in the pits.

Team RBM’s Martin rose smoothly through the field to third, passing di Resta on lap 46, while the Scotsman continued to hold up a long train of cars behind him – including the frustrated Auer, who finished fifth. His team later put his slow pace down to damage picked up from contact with Mattias Ekström on the opening lap.

BMW’s Marco Wittmann was next home in sixth, with Bruno Spengler, Edoardo Mortara, Timo Glock and Martin Tomczyk rounding out the top 10.

From the start, Blomqvist made a good launch to lead Müller and di Resta into Grundig-Kehre, while Audi’s Mattias Ekström picked up damage after contact with di Resta and was forced to retire in the pits, along with BMW’s Augusto Farfus.

After a brief safety car period to clean up the debris, the race emerged into a pattern. Müller and Blomqvist started edging away at the front, with di Resta unable to keep pace. Auer closed on di Resta and put the hammer down when the Scot pitted on lap 24, closing to the tail of Müller.

No doubt conscious of the threat appearing in his mirrors, Müller attempted to divebomb Blomqvist at Grunding-Kehre on lap 33 but went in slightly too hot, allowing the Brit to repass on the exit.

The promise of a win was then destroyed for Auer when his pitstop woes on lap 34 condemned him to looking at di Resta’s bumper for the rest of the race.

There was drama aplenty in the midfield, starting when BMW’s Antonio Felix Da Costa tapped Audi’s Adrien Tambay into a spin at Grundig-Kehre, costing him a five second penalty.

Then Mercedes’ Robert Wickens got embroiled in a fierce fight with Audi’s Edoardo Mortara inside the top 10, with the pair making contact at Grundig-Kehre on lap 43. Wickens pitted with a puncture and was held to be responsible by the stewards, to add insult to injury.

Wittmann made his move on Mortara on lap 51 and Spengler did the same on lap 56, before Mercedes’ Christian Vietoris tapped Da Costa into a spin at the Scholler-S and was given a drive-through penalty for his trouble.

Audi’s Jamie Green then brought his difficult race to a premature conclusion when he tried to pass Da Costa at Grundig Kehre, causing enough damage to his RS 5 to force him to retire.

There was still time for Maximilian Götz to spin his Mercedes at Grundig-Kehre on lap 61 before Dani Juncadella became the latest driver to have contact with Da Costa on lap 63, causing both to retire in the pits.

The safety car was deployed to clear up the debris, and left Müller with just under four minutes to hold on at the resumption. He did this with aplomb, while Mike Rockenfeller and Timo Scheider were the final drivers to have contact entering Dudzenteich-Kehre.

There was also disappointment for Mercedes Team ART’s Gary Paffett, who had advanced into the top 10 from last on the grid only to retire late on.