Matthias Ekström (Audi A4) takes a dominant win in the rain at Oschersleben ahead of his team mate Martin Tomczyk who started from 15th place. Bruno Spengler (Mercedes Classe C), was forced to retire after mechanical failure.
The qualifying were encouraging for Spengler – who missed the pole position for one thousand of a second –, and disastrous for championship leader Martin Tomczyk, only 15th on the grid.
Matthias Ekström, who started from fourth position, was the winner of the race, but Tomczyk took the best benefit of the day, as the German driver finally clinches second place after a great catch up, but he was also helped by the others Audi drivers, but also by Bruno Spengler’s troubles.
The Canadian driver, who stood only one point behind Tomczyk in provisional classification before this 8th round of the season, had big chances to take the championship lead back as he started from front row.
He was hit by Timo Scheider’s Audi at the start of the race – the German driver warned Spengler before the race -, but he managed to take the lead in the first lap ahead of poleman Miguel Molina. Then, Matthias Ekström grabbed the lead on lap eight, then pulled away in front.
Later on, Spengler struggled with a damaged car, then lost about thirty seconds in the pit when his mechanics could not take a wheel off. Finally, Spengler had to retire with two laps to go, as he was running outside the point’s zone, in 9th place.
Tomczyk takes second place at Oschersleben, and increases his championship lead to nine points over Spengler, with two races to go. The Audi drivers put a lot of pressure on Spengler today, as it was expected. The driver from Québec had no help from his Mercedes team mates, who were, again, far behind him.
Like in Brands Hatch, two weeks ago, the Audi were dominant on the rain, and the Mercedes struggled a lot in those conditions, excepted Spengler, who gave all he could.
"It was just bad luck – nothing you can do," Spengler explained. "Unfortunately, something suddenly went wrong with the front of the car, and then it wasn’t as drivable as at the start. We don’t yet know exactly what the problem was. I tried to keep going, because there still might have been a chance of securing some points, but I had to retire. It's unfortunate, but it’s not the end of the world. There are still two races to go and we’re certainly not about to give up. There’s still plenty to fight for."
Race classification:
1 - Mattias Ekstrom (Audi A4 09) - Abt 45 laps in 1h.16'14"996
2 - Martin Tomczyk (Audi A4 08) - Phoenix + 42"167
3 - Edoardo Mortara (Audi A4 08) - Rosberg + 42"167
4 - Gary Paffett (Mercedes C Klasse 09) - HWA + 53"184
5 - Christian Vietoris (Mercedes C Klasse 08) - Persson + 53"873
6 - Mike Rockenfeller (Audi A4 09) - Abt + 53"873
7 - Maro Engel (Mercedes C Klasse 08) - Mucke + 56"504.
8 - Miguel Molina (Audi A4 08) - Abt + 1'04"593
Etc.
Championship:
1. Tomczyk 58 points, 2.Spengler 49, 3.Ekstrom 39, 4.Scheider 29, 5.Rockenfeller 26, 6.Green 25, 7.Schumacher et Mortara 21, 9. Paffett 20, 10.Jarvis 10, etc.
The qualifying were encouraging for Spengler – who missed the pole position for one thousand of a second –, and disastrous for championship leader Martin Tomczyk, only 15th on the grid.
 |
| "You think it's going to rain?" Norbert Haug and Bruno Spengler having a chat before the race. (Photo: dtm.com) |
Matthias Ekström, who started from fourth position, was the winner of the race, but Tomczyk took the best benefit of the day, as the German driver finally clinches second place after a great catch up, but he was also helped by the others Audi drivers, but also by Bruno Spengler’s troubles.
The Canadian driver, who stood only one point behind Tomczyk in provisional classification before this 8th round of the season, had big chances to take the championship lead back as he started from front row.
 |
| "This way guys", Bruno Spengler showing the way at the start. (Photo: dtm.com) |
He was hit by Timo Scheider’s Audi at the start of the race – the German driver warned Spengler before the race -, but he managed to take the lead in the first lap ahead of poleman Miguel Molina. Then, Matthias Ekström grabbed the lead on lap eight, then pulled away in front.
Later on, Spengler struggled with a damaged car, then lost about thirty seconds in the pit when his mechanics could not take a wheel off. Finally, Spengler had to retire with two laps to go, as he was running outside the point’s zone, in 9th place.
Tomczyk takes second place at Oschersleben, and increases his championship lead to nine points over Spengler, with two races to go. The Audi drivers put a lot of pressure on Spengler today, as it was expected. The driver from Québec had no help from his Mercedes team mates, who were, again, far behind him.
Like in Brands Hatch, two weeks ago, the Audi were dominant on the rain, and the Mercedes struggled a lot in those conditions, excepted Spengler, who gave all he could.
"It was just bad luck – nothing you can do," Spengler explained. "Unfortunately, something suddenly went wrong with the front of the car, and then it wasn’t as drivable as at the start. We don’t yet know exactly what the problem was. I tried to keep going, because there still might have been a chance of securing some points, but I had to retire. It's unfortunate, but it’s not the end of the world. There are still two races to go and we’re certainly not about to give up. There’s still plenty to fight for."
Race classification:
1 - Mattias Ekstrom (Audi A4 09) - Abt 45 laps in 1h.16'14"996
2 - Martin Tomczyk (Audi A4 08) - Phoenix + 42"167
3 - Edoardo Mortara (Audi A4 08) - Rosberg + 42"167
4 - Gary Paffett (Mercedes C Klasse 09) - HWA + 53"184
5 - Christian Vietoris (Mercedes C Klasse 08) - Persson + 53"873
6 - Mike Rockenfeller (Audi A4 09) - Abt + 53"873
7 - Maro Engel (Mercedes C Klasse 08) - Mucke + 56"504.
8 - Miguel Molina (Audi A4 08) - Abt + 1'04"593
Etc.
Championship:
1. Tomczyk 58 points, 2.Spengler 49, 3.Ekstrom 39, 4.Scheider 29, 5.Rockenfeller 26, 6.Green 25, 7.Schumacher et Mortara 21, 9. Paffett 20, 10.Jarvis 10, etc.