Timo Scheider wins Race 1, Pascal Wehrlein is the 2015 champion
Audi Sport Team Phoenix driver Timo Scheider won Race 1 at the Hockenheim today, becoming the 13th different driver to win a race in the 2015 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Season. Pascal Wehrlein was eighth, clinching the drivers’ title.
At the green lights, poleman Maxime Martin pulled for the lead, followed by Timo Scheider. Audi’s Miguel Molina was late getting off, and was overtaken by five cars. Jamie Green was touched at the first corner by Mercedes’ Paul Di Resta, but the Audi man stayed in front to take third.
There were touches and bumps all around the pack, with Wehrlein colliding side by side with BMw’s Martin Tomczyk at the main straight. Mercedes’ Robert Wickens launched himself at the inside of Mattias Ekström at the hairpin, pushing the Swede from Audi into a spin. A few corners later, Miguel Molina and Gary Paffett collided, leaving a lot of debris on the track.
This caused the safety car to be called into action. The race was neutralised for 2 laps. At the restart, Martin was still first but soon enough Timo Scheider would go through to take the lead.
Robert Wickens was given a drive-through penalty for his manoeuvre on Mattias Ekström, which he complied on lap 7. Bruno Spengler also got the same penalty for pushing Adrien Tambay out of the track.
Jamie Green pushed after the safety car returned to the pits to put pressure on Martin. The fight would prove fruitful, with the Briton from Audi taking second place on lap10.
Wehrlein climbed positions after overtaking Tomczyk, reaching tenth place half way throough the race. Behind him, Ekström was also able to recover, albeit being far from the positions that would allow him to continue in the fight for the title.
On lap 20, the Swede overtook Christian Vietoris for 11th place, whilst Edoardo Mortara had to retire with damage on his RS 5 DTM. Pascal Wehrlein also overtook Maximilian Götz for ninth, ensuring he stayed ahead of his main rival. A lap later, Bruno Spengler also retired his BMW M4 DTM.
The last few laps saw Wehrlein closing into BMW’s Antonio Félix Da costa, with the two fighting for eighth place. The Mercedes driver went through, with Da Costa falling to Ekström and Götz. BMW’s Timo Glock spun off track on the last lap, having to retire.
Timo Scheider won the race at the chequered flag, followed by fellow Audi driver Jamie Green and BMW’s Maxime Martin.
Paul Di Resta was fourth, followed by Mike Rockenfeller, Marco Wittmann, Tom Blomqvist and Pascal Wehrlein. Mattias Ekström was ninth in the end, with Maximilian Götz scoring the final point.
