Spengler wins at Hockenheim
Bruno Spengler opened up the DTM-season in commanding style by leading every lap and winning at Hockenheim.
Bruno Spengler took his eight career victory as he grabbed the early championship lead. Behind him Audi driver Mattias Ekström held off Ralf Schumacher for second as the German finished third and took his first podium finish in DTM.
Mattias Ekström just managed to hold on to second as he slowed through the final two corners with a rear suspension problem and crossed the finish line just a tenth of a second ahead of Schumacher. Schumacher also had a dramatic finish when he outbraked himself into the Mercedes arena on the final lap and had to defend hard against Timo Scheider who finished fourth.
At the start Bruno Spengler tried to build a gap over Ekström in second place but didn’t manage more than a couple of seconds. The field was close together as the second pit stop approached and it became even closer after Martin Tomczyks pit stop. He exited the pits with the fuel can still attached to the car and as it fell off the car the safety car had to be deployed. This bunched up the field for three laps and set the stage for an intensive finish to the race. At the restart Bruno Spengler managed to fend off attacks from both Ekström and Schumacher.
The incident with the fuel can didn’t stop Martin Tomczyk from having a great finish in the older-spec Audi. He finished fifth just behind Timo Scheider who finished just a second behind Ralf Schumacher. Tomczyk was up to fourth ahead of Scheider after the first pit stop where he passed his Audi colleague but had to give up the fight to Scheider later in the race.
Behind Tomczyk the star of the race was Gary Paffett. The Brit started 18th after a spin in qualifying but managed to make up a lot of ground in the race. He overtook seven cars in the first two laps and an early pit stop, pitting first of everyone already on lap 10, gave him a chance to gain more positions as the pit stops cycled through. He finished ahead of Mercedes team mate Jamie Green making a return to the new-spec Mercedes again.
Less fortunate were Audi drivers Olivier Jarvis in the newest-spec Audi and Miguel Molina. They fought hard over seventh position after the late restart but collided when Molina made a small mistake in turn three and was collected by Jarvis. Molina dropped to the back of the field as Jarvis lost two positions and finished a disappointing ninth.
Maro Engel was the last finisher in the points in eight place. He was initially strong and made a great start putting his Mercedes in fifth place on the opening lap after passing two cars. He later fell back but still managed to claim a point.
But Bruno Spengler was the hero of the weekend, fighting back from a disastrous practice to claim pole and follow it up with a victory and leaving Hockenheim in the championship lead. DTM resumes action in two weeks time at Zandvoort, the track where Audi traditionally performs strong.
