The third round of the DTM at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz was done from the start. Overall, both testing sessions and qualifying were pretty even between Mercedes-AMG and Audi. On lap one, the downward spiral began with Ekstrom spinning after colliding with Premat. Ekstrom then hits Timo Scheider, spinning him. The icing on the cake came in the form of David Coulthard smacking in to Mattias. Mike Rockenfeller was the best placed Audi in 4th. Although he moved up only one position and mainly battled only with Gary Paffet it was a great race for him. Reigning champion, Timo Scheider scored a point. He now has a total of 8 and must put in some great performances if he wants to win again.
Mike Rockenfeller was the best Audi driver at the third DTM round at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz. The 26-year-old racer from Audi Sport Team Phoenix clinched fourth place after battling in front of 79,000 spectators and headed straight for the 24-hour race at Le Mans immediately afterwards.
- Fourth place in front of 79,000 spectators
- First points of the year for Martin Tomczyk
- Timo Scheider in the points after recovery
Rockenfeller held up to the pressure exerted by Hockenheim winner Gary Paffett in the first two thirds of the race. After the second mandatory pit stop the young German managed to put a distance between himself and his immediate rival and ultimate crossed the finish line with a four-second advantage over the Briton. In addition, “Rocky” shone by setting the absolutely fastest race lap.
“Mike (Rockenfeller) showed a great performance in the 2008-spec car, he was very strong here throughout the weekend,” commented Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “But that is only small consolation for the fact that we lost our best-placed cars in the championship as a result of a brand-internal collision on the first lap – that’s a nightmare which mustn’t happen.”
Valencia winner Mattias Ekström, who had started into the race from position three, was hit in the rear by Alexandre Prémat shortly after the start and forced into a spin. David Coulthard in the next car was unable to avoid a collision. Ekström’s car was so heavily damaged by the impact that the Swede was forced to retire in the pits. For Alexandre Prémat, who clearly admitted being at fault in the incident, the race was over prematurely as well.
In addition, title defender Timo Scheider became entangled in the collision between Prémat and Ekström. After having dropped to 15th place the German managed to fight his way back into the points again. More than eighth place, however, was no longer possible for the two-time DTM Champion who had shone with a strong race simulation during the warm-up in the morning.
The vehicles of Martin Tomczyk, Oliver Jarvis and Miguel Molina were damaged in the commotion on the starting lap as well. Martin Tomczyk (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline) in sixth place scored his first points this year nevertheless. Markus Winkelhock (Audi Sport Team Rosberg) completed the top ten after a strong fighting race into which he had started from position 15.
Next weekend, the 24-hour race at Le Mans is on the agenda for Audi. The DTM will continue at the Norisring in Nuremberg on July 4.
– Audi Motorsport
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