Mattias Ekström secures DTM-title – updated

Mattias Ekstrom took the lead from third place, but later had to surrender to a quick Jamie Green who went on to win his second race in a row. Mattias Ekström secured third place, less than a second ahead of Bruno Spengler and won his second DTM-championship. Martin Tomczyk had problems already on the first lap and went to the back of the field. Timo Scheider finished second in the race, his first podium for Audi.

Mattias title-winning race proved to be a very tough one. His rear tyres overheated early on and he had to fight massive oversteer. When Jamie Green attacked for the lead he choosed to play safe rather than sorry. “After a few laps I knew this was gonna be a tough race and a difficult hour”, Mattias said. “When Jamie attacked me I didn’t want to take any risks. Normally I leave room for a go-cart but this time I left room for a bus, a truck, a bus and another truck but I just didn’t have any room left for a third truck, so I went over the curbs and Jamie could pass.”

Jamie Green, who proceeded to take his second win in a row, knew Mattias was playing it safe and took advantage of it. “He had a lot to loose and I knew I could take advantage of that”, he said. “And it seemed I had a pretty fast truck. The team gave me a great car today which was very consistent. It’s a nice feeling to be first, a great feeling really. Especially since everyone was on the track this time so I could prove the last win wasn’t just a fluke. I performed well, won the race and finished fourth in the championship which was maximum for me today.”

Timo Scheider initially lost his second place to Mattias when he was careful not to give his title-fighting any problems in the start. He could take back second place at the first round of pit stops and kept it all the way to the finish to claim his first podium for Audi. “It was a lot of hard work today but we had a good strategy that helped us to second place”, he said. “It was very exciting for me, I always had to keep one eye in the mirror to make sure I didn’t create any problems for Mattias and Martin. I want to thank the whole team and congratulate Mattias for the championship – he knows how to drive a car.”

While Jamie Green and Timo Scheiders last part of the race was pretty controlled the newly crowned champion had bigger problems. He had to fight an oversteering car and the pressure became even greater when Bruno Spengler quickly closed up. “I told myself to concentrate and drive a perfect lap, which I did but then I saw Bruno was even closer. That was very tough.” He could hold it together though and seemed emotionally drained when he got out of the car.

“It’s an incredible feeling and right now it’s great that it’s over, he explained. When the adrenalin was leaving me on the formation lap my legs started to shake, things happen in the body when all the adrenaline is leaving. I tried to enjoy the race today but I couldn’t. The pressure was huge, not only from myself but also from everyone here – there were so many people here and I knew they wanted to celebrate. This is definetly a race I will never forget. We succeeded and did it and I’m so very happy right now, but it will take some time before all this sinks in.”

Martin Tomczyk’s title challenge ended on the first lap when he was involved in an accident and went off. He needed to pit for repairs and went to the back of the field. But he and the other Audi drivers got an invitation from Mattias after the race to come to Sweden this winter for party, snowmobiles and sauna. An invitation from the new champion that seemed to be received well by the Audi-drivers.