Audi delighted after Eifel victory – title race remains
open
Nürburgring. A convincing win and ten points for the
championship. The result for Audi driver Martin Tomczyk in
the eighth DTM round at the Nürburgring couldn’t
have been better. After 43 laps and a distance of 156.047
kilometres, the driver from Rosenheim crossed the finish line
in first place. For the 25-year old, it was already the second
win in a row and the third of his DTM career. “On Friday,
the weekend didn’t start off very well, but it couldn’t
have ended in a better way than with a victory. The success
was the icing on the cake”, Tomczyk said after his success
in front of a weekend crowd of 117,000 spectators. Last year’s
winner, Bruno Spengler from Canada, finished second with his
AMG Mercedes C-Class. The 24-year old started fourth and during
the course of the race first beat Dane Tom Kristensen and
then German Timo Scheider (both Audi). A remarkable recovery
and valuable points in the battle for the championship caused
happiness for third-placed Mattias Ekström from Sweden.
In the 70th DTM race of his career, the points leader started
from tenth place with his Audi A4 DTM and made his way up
one lap after another to finish on the podium.
Ekström, the 2004 DTM champion, is in the best position
in the title race as the leader in the points’ standings
(44 points). Today’s winner Tomczyk (40 points) is following
closely behind, four points down. Spengler is ten points down
on Tomczyk in third place. The chances of DTM record champion
Bernd Schneider to defend his title are almost entirely mathematical.
The Mercedes-Benz driver finished seventh in the Eifel and
with 20 points still at stake he is fourth in the points’
standings, 16.5 points down.
The spectators got to see an exciting race at the Nürburgring
with its long heritage. The drivers not only staged an action-packed
battle in the fight for victory. After duels with Ekström.
Audi driver Timo Scheider finished fourth in the eighth round
of the season. He was followed by two Mercedes-Benz drivers,
Paul di Resta from Scotland in his two-year old car and Briton
Jamie Green. There was a particularly tough battle for seventh
place between Schneider and Kristensen. They were driving
side-by-side through several corners before Schneider eventually
came out on top. Kristensen didn’t give in and kept
Schneider under pressure until the end, but eventually had
to make do with eighth place and one point.
The ninth and penultimate DTM round of the year is taking
place at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona on September
23rd.
Martin Tomczyk (winner, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline):
“On Friday, the weekend didn’t start off very
well, but it couldn’t have ended in a better way than
with a victory. The success was the icing on the cake. Our
strategy was perfect, so that I could drive freely all the
time. My lap times were so consistent that I didn’t
have to make a pit stop, but you have to make them at some
point. I am happy that I have reduced the gap in the points’
standings and I am looking forward to great races in Barcelona
and Hockenheim.”
Bruno Spengler (2nd place, DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG
Mercedes): “I am quite happy with second place.
My car was very good and consistent. Once I had overtaken
Tom, I was quicker and closed up to the front runners. I am
confident for the two final rounds, even though I am ten points
down. Now it is maximum attack, everything is still possible.”
Mattias Ekström (3rd place, Audi Sport Team
Abt Sportsline): “In the race, I was quite
busy, there was a lot of action. It was really fun. I am happy
that Timo didn’t play it that hard in our battle. Making
up from tenth on the grid to finish third is great, especially
after the problems I had in qualifying on Saturday.”
Audi motorsport director Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich:
“We wanted a nice race and today we have shown that
we can achieve a good result with the right strategy and performance.
The spectators got to see an exciting and fair race. The crowd
here was great and I am very happy that the DTM is getting
such a good echo. This was touring car racing as good as it
comes. Martin Tomczyk drove a great and error-free race and
Mattias Ekström was consistently quick throughout the
race. But even if everything was going to plan for us today,
we know, that Mercedes-Benz is a strong opponent.”
Mercedes-Benz motorsport director Norbert Haug:
“Above all, the good thing for us is that we will have
less ballast in the cars for the next round and have closed
up in the championship standings. The race in general was
worth watching. Being ten points down certainly isn’t
the best position to be in and Audi is the favourite in the
final dash. But that doesn’t mean that we are now giving
up, quite the contrary. A tie in the points ‘ standings
after the next race would be awesome. We will do everything
to make sure that the decision in the DTM will be postponed
from Barcelona to Hockenheim.”
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