Robert Wickens wins second Nürburgring race as Lucas Auer spins

Robert Wickens headed a Mercedes AMG 1-2 with Paul di Resta in the second DTM race at the Nürburgring as Mercedes’ title contender Lucas Auer made a mistake to spin and fall down to finish 13th.

Di Resta claimed the lead from pole sitter and BMW Motorsport driver Marco Wittmann at the start of the race. Wittmann fought back to take back the lead on lap 15.

Wickens managed to take the lead after the pit stop, passing Wittmann who remained right on the tail of the Mercedes driver. Wittmann tried to retake the lead, resulting in contact between the two and the BMW driver dropping down to be overtaken by di Resta.

Wickens won the race just three tenths ahead of di Resta, with Wittmann a distant third, close to eight seconds from the leaders and BMW colleague Bruno Spengler right behind in fourth.

Maro Engel crossed the line in fifth, with championship leader Mattias Ekström coming home in sixth from 14th on the grid, re-passing Audi colleague Jamie Green, who finished seventh, right at the end of the race.

Timo Glock came home in eighth in a scarred BMW M4 DTM after making heavy contact with Nico Müller in the braking zone for the chicane. Glock went straight into the back of Müller, with the Audi driver having to retire later due to damage from the incident.

The last lap saw another incident at the chicane, this time between BMW driver Maxime Martin and Mercedes driver Gary Paffett. Martin went on the outside of Paffett heading into the chicane and the two made contact at the exit, spinning the Mercedes driver. Martin crossed the line in eleventh while Paffett dropped to 14th.

With Auer’s spin, Ekström extended his championship lead to 136 points, nine points ahead of Auer and 12 points ahead of René Rast who only managed 12th after starting last with a five-place grid penalty.

The DTM resumes at Red Bull Ring in Austria on September 24th.