DTM: Mattias Ekström wins Audi’s home round at the Norisring
Audi has not won its home round at the Norisring in Nuremberg since 2002. Mattias Ekström, on his 35th birthday, ended this negative string on clinching his 18th DTM win. The Swede after 83 thrilling laps crossed the finish line with an advantage of 2.646 seconds in front of Mercedes-Benz driver Robert Wickens. Christian Vietoris (Mercedes-Benz) took third place. The best BMW driver was Bruno Spengler in position six.
In brilliant sunshine, the fifth round of the season turned into a classic event in terms of tactics. During a safety car period some of the drivers opted for an early second mandatory pit stop while the group of the front runners saved the stop until shortly before the end of the race. When the two groups met two laps before the checkered flag came down, a collision occurred between Edoardo Mortara (Audi), who had been leading the race for a long time, and Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz), who was catching up. Both drivers retired.
All of the three premium manufacturers involved in the DTM, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, rely on clutch high-tech from ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
Results, Norisring (D), round 5, DTM, July 12–July 14, 2013:
1. Mattias Ekström, Audi, 1h 12m 14.698s, ZF
2. Robert Wickens, Mercedes-Benz, + 2.646s, ZF
3. Christian Vietoris, Mercedes-Benz, + 6.282s, ZF
4. Daniel Juncadella, Mercedes-Benz, + 7.039s, ZF
5. Mike Rockenfeller, Audi, + 8.411s, ZF
6. Bruno Spengler, BMW, + 17.083s, ZF
7. Roberto Merhi, Mercedes-Benz, + 18.594s, ZF
8. Joey Hand, BMW, + 31.198s, ZF
9. Andy Priaulx, BMW, + 34.909s, ZF
10. Marco Wittmann, BMW, + 35.595s, ZF
Drivers’ standings:
1. M. Rockenfeller, 69 points; 2. B. Spengler, 67; 3. C. Vietoris, 55; 4. G. Paffett, 47; 5. R. Wickens and M. Ekström, 45 each; 7. A. Farfus and M. Wittmann, 33 each; 9. D. Werner, 22; 10. J. Hand, 20.
Manufacturers’ standings:
1. BMW, 192 points; 2. Mercedes-Benz, 177; 3. Audi, 136.
Other results:
Results, Norisring (D), round 5, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, July 12–July 14, 2013:
Race 1
1. Kévin Estre, Porsche, 23m 38.977s, ZF
2. Norbert Siedler, Porsche, + 7.089s, ZF
3. Robert Lukas, Porsche, + 11.959s, ZF
4. Jaap van Lagen, Porsche, + 12.164s, ZF
5. Nicki Thiim, Porsche, + 13.093s, ZF
6. Christian Engelhart, Porsche, + 16.007s, ZF
7. Philipp Eng, Porsche, +16.570s, ZF
8. Connor de Phillippi, Porsche, + 18.392s, ZF
9. Sean Edwards, Porsche, + 19.214s, ZF
10. Christopher Zoechling, Porsche, + 21.317s, ZF
Race 2
1. Norbert Siedler, Porsche, 31m 29.124s, ZF
2. Nicki Thiim, Porsche, + 0.852s, ZF
3. Sean Edwards, Porsche, + 12.624s, ZF
4. Marko Klein, Porsche, + 13.763s, ZF
5. Robert Lukas, Porsche, + 14.815s, ZF
6. Sean Johnston, Porsche, + 18.923s, ZF
7. Connor de Phillippi, Porsche, + 20.504s, ZF
8. Kyle Marcelli, Porsche, + 22.582s, ZF
9. Jeffrey Schmidt, Porsche, + 25.071s, ZF
10. Elia Erhart, Porsche, + 25.425s, ZF
Drivers’ standings:
1. K. Estre, 135 points; 2. N. Siedler, 120; 3. S. Edwards, 118; 4. N. Thiim, 114; 5. C. Engelhart, 103; 6. J. van Lagen, 84; 7. R. Lukas, 70; 8. P. Eng, 64; 9. C. de Phillippi, 63; 10. J. Schmidt, 48.
Results, Norisring (D), round 3, Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup, July 12-July 14, 2013:
1. Kelvin van der Linde, Volkswagen, 22m 38.343s, ZF
2. Michele Gatting, Volkswagen, + 2.530s, ZF
3. Manuel Fahnauer, Volkswagen, + 3.183s, ZF
4. Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky, Volkswagen, + 3.989s, ZF
5. Marco Werner, Volkswagen, + 4.887s, ZF
6. Jordan Lee Pepper, Volkswagen, + 9.345s, ZF
7. Luca Rettenbacher, Volkswagen, + 10.030s, ZF
8. Dennis Trebing, Volkswagen, + 10.496s, ZF
9. Matthias Bäurle, Volkswagen, + 14.661s, ZF
10. Victor Bouveng, Volkswagen, + 14.871s, ZF
Drivers’ standings:
1. K. van der Linde, 140 points; 2. M. Gatting, 120; 3. 3. J. Lee Pepper, 82; 4. M. Fahnauer, 76; 5. K. H. Jensen, 67; 6. M. Åhlin-Kottulinsky, 63; 7. M. Bäurle, 62; 8. D. Trebing, 57; 9. L. Schreier and V. Bouveng, 56 each.