Audi turned a dominant qualifying session into an impressive one-two-three result at today’s DTM Zandvoort round.
Timo Scheider failed to capitalize on his pole position after stalling at the start, which resulted in Mike Rockenfeller and Edoardo Mortara jumping to the front of the pack. At one point, Rockenfeller had built up a commanding four second lead, but he lost pace during one of the many downpours, which saw Mortara pass him on lap 32 and holding on for the win. Sweden’s Mattias Ekström came home third, completing Audi’s perfect weekend.
It wasn’t a great weekend for Gary Paffett, who still leads the championship despite being spun around following a little mid-race contact with BMW’s Martin Tomczyk. The Mercedes driver had been running in a strong third position until Tomczyk used his C-Coupe to slow down, meaning the Briton had to settle for seventh place.
“It’s good to see that the performance is there. Now we’re back in the position we always want to be in: in contention for victory. I’m happy for the guys who have been working hard to make this success possible,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich.
DTM Zandvoort results after 43 laps
1. E Mortara Rosberg Audi 1h16m17.679s
2. M Rockenfeller Phoenix Audi + 1.513s
3. M Ekstrom Abt Audi + 8.417s
4. J Green HWA Mercedes + 13.283s
5. A Tambay Abt Audi + 21.313s
6. B Spengler Schnitzer BMW + 26.397s
7. G Paffett HWA Mercedes + 33.791s
8. D Werner Schnitzer BMW + 33.923s
9. A Farfus RBM BMW + 34.706s
10. R Schumacher HWA Mercedes + 36.380s
11. R Merhi Persson Mercedes + 36.771s
12. S Wolff Persson Mercedes + 43.135s
13. A Priaulx RBM BMW + 53.127s
14. J Hand RMG BMW + 1 lap
[Source: Audi Motorsport]