Photo: DTM Media

Preview: Spain hosts penultimate DTM round of 2011

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The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers and teams head to Valencia in Spain this weekend for the penultimate round of 2011. Martin Tomczyk heads the championship and the Audi driver pulled up a lead of nine points in the previous race at Oschersleben.

“It goes without saying that such a situation basically is very positive. But at the end of the day we are talking just about a couple of points and not about an advantage on the track or in a battle. The competitiveness in DTM is that high that you always have to give 100 percent. It’s about doing a perfect job to obtain the chance of experiencing another successful race weekend, at Valencia,” said Tomczyk.

Title rival and Mercedes driver Bruno Spengler was on his way to second place and vial points to gain on Tomczyk at Oschersleben, but retired due to technical problems.

“It was just bad luck – nothing you can do. Unfortunately, something suddenly went wrong with the front of the car, and then it wasn’t as drivable as at the start. There are still two races to go and we’re certainly not about to give up. There’s still plenty to fight for,” said Spengler.

Spengler has only scored two points in the last two races and has lost 16 points on Tomczyk in the championship. With 20 points left and a gap of nine points, Spengler needs to finish ahead of Tomczyk this weekend in order to keep the title hopes alive for the final at Hockenheim.

The man on the strongest charge at the moment is Mattias Ekström who climbed to third in the championship after his second victory of the season in the last race.

“I clinched victory at Valencia last year. I liked the track straight from the start. I’ve also learned that every weekend is a new experience. I’m determined to give my best again. If it’s good enough for victory, I’ll be very happy. If it’s not enough for victory I’ll take what I get. But this much is sure: we’ll again do everything to show top performances from Friday to Sunday,” said Ekström.

DTM 2011 – Championship standings