Photo: DTM media

Paffett wins as Ekström has bad luck

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Mercedes driver Gary Paffett has won the first race at the French track of Dijon-Prenois after race leader Mattias Ekström suffered from a rear left tire puncture. Because of this, Ekström is out of the battle for the championship, with only Timo Scheider and Gary Paffett to be able to win it now.

The Swede wasn’t the only driver who had to pit for new tires after a puncture. Championship leader Timo Scheider had a puncture on the rear left as well, luckily just one corner before the pit entrance. Tom Kristensen and Oliver Jarvis had punctures as well.

Tom Kristensen started his race well, by taking over second place from Paul di Resta in the first corner. He soon caught up with race leader Bruno Spengler and started to attack, but couldn’t find a way through.

As the pit window opened, Mattias Ekström and Gary Paffett immideately came in. It proved to be the right move, because on their new tyres they managed to make up enough time to be ahead of Bruno Spengler and Tom Kristensen after they made their stops a couple of laps later.

Ekström kept the lead for the rest of the race, with Gary Paffett right behind him. Their rival in the championship Timo Scheider had worked his way up to 8th place after starting from 16th. That meant Ekström would close up the gap to Scheider to three points, with Paffett another 4 points behind that.

But it wasn’t to be for Ekström. After he had seen his team mates suffering from punctures on the rear left, his tire went with just 5 laps to go. After his pitstop he was down in eleventh. He fought hard to get back into the points, but it failed him on lap, giving him 9th place and no points in the end.

The race directors had a negative role in this race again. After Kristensen’s tire blew, he cut the track in order to avoid debry getting onto the track. He was black flagged for this, even though no one could say he gained an advantage from this. Kristensen left no question to what he thought of this, by driving through the box of the race control in the pit lane.

A negative role for Johannes Seidlitz as well. The young German, who missed two races this season because he had crashed his car several times, today again crashed. Kristian Bakkerud was spun round into the gravel trap in the first corner by Katherine Legge. Seidlitz, who probably startled by the yellow flags, spun as well and flew into the back of the Dane and caused the end of both drivers race.