Edoardo Mortara remains optimistic despite increased points gap

Audi Sport driver Edoardo Mortara finished third in the first race of the season finale at Hockenheim, after fighting his way from eighth on the grid to keep his title hopes alive for the last race of the season.

The Team Abt Sportsline driver had technical issues with his Audi RS 5 DTM this morning, having to change the pedal box. Mortara said to TouringCarTimes: “The weekend started in the worst way possible. I haven’t had technical problems during all season, this had never happened. We had to go to qualifying with no running during free practice and we managed eighth position, which is not bad considering the circumstances.”

The first part of the race was difficult for the Italian, stuck behind BMW’s Timo Glock. But, as the BMW drivers started to run out of DRS activations, the Italian was able to recover positions, advancing to third place at the chequered flag: “I was behind a train of BMWs and there was a particular yellow one in my way all the time. I was waiting for my time, they were fair with me, and I was able to overtake as they were out of DRS.”

Mortara started the last lap 1.1 seconds behind Wittmann, not being able to use the DRS to try a move on the BMW driver. When asked if the story could have been different, the Italian said: “I suppose I could have tried something, but we don’t know how it would have ended! Anyway, it was a very intense race and I’m happy with the result.”

The Team Abt Sportsline faces the final race of the season tomorrow with a 17-point deficit to Marco Wittmann: “I have kept my chances alive, and I hope I can make it happen. It’s going to be tough, let’s see how it goes.”