DTM: Three Audi drivers on podium at Oschersleben
At the fifth race of the DTM season at Oschersleben Audi driver Timo Scheider whose A4 DTM is fitted with a clutch from ZF Sachs Race Engineering, clinched his first victory of the season. His brand colleagues Mattias Ekström and Martin Tomczyk followed right behind him and completed a one-two-three win for the brand with the four rings. Tom Kristensen, using a ZF Sachs clutch like all Audi drivers, had started from the pole position but received a drive-through penalty for not standing correctly along the grid position marking. After an outstanding recovery he was able to still celebrate one championship point. Halfway through the season, Ekström and Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) share the lead of the standings, both with a score of 28 points. DTM Champion Timo Scheider is ranking in third place overall, with just a one-point gap to the front runners.
Results, Oschersleben (D), 5th round DTM, 31 jul–02 aug 2009:
1. T. Scheider, Audi, 1h 08m 39.064s, ZF Sachs
2. M. Ekström, Audi, + 5,417s, ZF Sachs
3. M. Tomczyk, Audi, + 9,603s, ZF Sachs
4. P. Di Resta, Mercedes, + 16,868s
5. G. Paffett, Mercedes, + 17,338s
6. B. Spengler, Mercedes, + 35,843s
7. M. Engel, Mercedes, + 40,996s
8. T. Kristensen, Audi, + 44,015s, ZF Sachs
Drivers’ standings:
1. M. Ekström and G. Paffett, 28 points each; 3. T. Scheider, 27; 4. B. Spengler, 23; 5. P. Di Resta, 19; 6. O. Jarvis and J. Green, 14 each; 8. T. Kristensen, 13; 9. M. Tomczyk, 11; 10. M. Engel, 8.
World Rally Championship: ZF Sachs partner Ford wins in Finland
The Finland Rally ended in a superior exploit for ZF Sachs partner Ford: Factory driver Mikko Hirvonen, whose Ford Focus RS WRC is equipped with a clutch from ZF Sachs Race Engineering, won the ninth round of the World Rally Championship with a 25-second lead ahead of World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb (Citroën). With his third consecutive win of the season and his first Finland triumph, Hirvonen extended his lead in the drivers’ championship before the season’s last three rallies to three points ahead of Loeb.
Hirvonen’s team colleague Jari-Matti Latvala in third place completed the good team performance. At the extremely fast and demanding gravel rally in Central Finland ten out of a total of 23 fastest times were set by winner Hirvonen. Latvala managed winning six special stages. Local hero Matti Rantanen in fifth place and Matt Wilson from the Stobart Ford team in eighth finished in the points as well. Both drivers trust high-performance clutches from ZF Sachs Race Engineering in their Ford Focus RS WRC cars too.
Results, Finland Rally (FIN), 9th round WRC, 31 jul–02 aug 2009:
1. M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen, Ford, 2h 50m 40.9s, ZF Sachs
2. S. Loeb/D. Elena, Citroën, + 25,1s
3. J. Latvala/M. Anttila, Ford, + 49,9s, ZF Sachs
4. D. Sordo/M. Marti, Citroën, + 1m 06.1s
5. M. Rantanen/M. Lukka, Ford, + 4m 18.2s, ZF Sachs
6. S. Ogier/J. Ingrassia, Citroën, + 4m 18.5s
7. J. Ketomaa/M. Stenberg, Subaru, + 5m 07.5s
8. M. Wilson/S. Martin, Ford, + 6m 33.6s, ZF Sachs
Drivers’ standings:
1. M. Hirvonen, 68 points; 2. S. Loeb, 65; 3. D. Sordo, 44; 4. J. Latvala, 31; 5. H. Solberg, 27; 6. P. Solberg, 25; 7. M. Wilson, 20; 8. S. Ogier, 16; 9. F. Villagra, 14; 10. C. Rautenbach, 8.
Manufacturers’ standings:
1. Citroën, 119 points; 2. Ford, 105; 3. Stobart-Ford, 64; 4. Citroën Junior Team, 33; 5. Munchi´s Ford, 20.
Other results:
Results, Oschersleben (D), 5th round Porsche Carrera Cup, 31 jul–02 aug 2009:
1. J. Seyffarth, Porsche, 34m 14.062s, ZF Sachs
2. T. Jäger, Porsche, + 3.510s, ZF Sachs
3. R. Renauer, Porsche, + 9.751s, ZF Sachs
4. J. Bleekemolen, Porsche, + 9.982s, ZF Sachs
5. S. Asch, Porsche, + 10.364s, ZF Sachs
6. H. Plesse, Porsche, + 12.586s, ZF Sachs
7. V. Brito, Porsche, + 13.074s, ZF Sachs
8. R. Lukas, Porsche, + 13.415s, ZF Sachs
Drivers’ standings:
1. J. Seyffarth, 88 points; 2. T. Jäger, 84; 3. J. Bleekemolen, 73; 4. N. Thiim, 60; 5. R. Renauer, 53; 6. V. Brito, 41; 7. S. Asch, 40; 8. J. Janak, 32; 9. J. Johansson und H. Plesse, 29 each