Maiden victory for Timo Scheider at Oschersleben
He finally broke his duck in his 77th DTM race. German driver,
Timo Scheider claimed his maiden DTM race win with his Audi
A4 DTM. In the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, the 29-year
old was the first to cross the finish line after 44 laps with
a margin of 1.452 seconds over his fellow Audi driver Martin
Tomczyk. ”This is so great. But it was about time”,
Scheider shouted over the radio while still in his car, overjoyed
with victory. After his second place at Hockenheim, the Audi
driver has now taken over the lead in the championship standings
with 18 points. Third place went to Canadian Bruno Spengler
with the AMG Mercedes C-Class. A total of 64,000 spectators
came to witness the race weekend in the Magdeburg region.
Next to the DTM and its partner series, Formula 1 driver Sebastian
Vettel also thrilled the fans with a few demonstration laps
in his Toro-Rosso-Formula 1 car.
Following a jump start by Tom Kristensen (Audi), who was
second on the grid and got a drive-through penalty as a result,
Timo Scheider had a clear drive and led all the way from lights
to flag, scoring a never challenged victory. Kristensen made
it back into the midfield, but retired after a collision with
Maro Engel (Mercedes-Benz). With seven laps to go, the safety
car was deployed and led the field for four laps. Engel was
still classified 18th, Kristensen was 19th.
Together with Spengler, the two Mercedes-Benz drivers, Paul
di Resta (GB) and Jamie Green (GB) completed the Mercedes-Benz
trio in third, fourth and fifth place. Markus Winkelhock (Audi)
showed a good performance by finishing fifth with a year-old
car. Reigning DTM champion, Mattias Ekström from Sweden,
failed to improve himself from his grid position and finished
eighth behind his fellow Audi driver Mike Rockenfeller. Thus,
Ekström scored one point for the drivers’ standings,
in which he is third behind Scheider and Tomczyk.
DTM novice Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes-Benz) only just missed
out on a points-scoring finish in tenth place. The 33-year
old was only 1.891 seconds short of eighth place. Only Alexandre
Prémat with Audi A4 DTM came even closer to the points
by finishing ninth.
In the drivers’ standings, Scheider is now leading
with 18 points from Tomczyk (12) and Ekström (11). The
third DTM round of the season will be taking place at Mugello
in Italy in a fortnight (May 2nd – 4th).
Timo Scheider (winner, Audi Sport Team Abt):
“This feeling is just incredible. Finally, the long
years of waiting patiently have paid off. Thanks to my mechanics
of the Team Abt. Thanks to Audi for giving me a sensational
car, Thanks to Dr. Ullrich, who has seen that I am not the
worst driver after all. It is strange that one always has
to say thank you. But it was never more appropriate than today.
This moment is very emotional. Now, I will do everything to
be among the contenders for the title.”
Martin Tomczyk (2nd place, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline):
“Today, Timo Scheider was in a class of his own. Our
cars were perfect from the word go and we were able to pull
away. After that, we took it a little bit easier. The safety-car
phase brought some excitement, but our cars went like a rocket
and as a result, we managed to pull clear right away once
more.”
Bruno Spengler (3rd place, Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG
Mercedes): “The race went well. I couldn’t
expect any more from fifth place on the grid. I got a lot
of support from my team. Otherwise, this certainly wouldn’t
have been possible. I am happy with third place and I didn’t
want to risk too much. In the DTM, every point is important
for the championship.”
Audi motorsport director Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich: “First
of all, I want to say that I am very happy that we have been
able to score a 1-2 here. I am also very happy that Timo has
made it. This season, he has been showing a strong performance
from the very beginning. He was almost perfect at Hockenheim
and he was really perfect here at Oschersleben. Unfortunately,
Tom Kristensen messed up at the start and with a drive through
penalty, you don’t have any chance of a podium finish
in the DTM. After a collision, Mattias Ekström lost aerodynamic
parts from his car and during the race, he just kept the damage
limited. I am impressed with how many spectators came to the
Motorsport Arena today and I am happy to see the reception
the DTM gets here at Oschersleben.”
Mercedes-Benz motorsport director Norbert Haug:
“Congratulations to Timo Scheider. I am happy that he
has won a race after such a long time. He has deserved it.
Even though we weren’t really in contention for victory
here, we were much closer than at Hockenheim a week ago. In
any case, we have to make one more step ahead when we want
to win. But that will come for sure. For the championship,
scoring as many points as possible is always important and
the drivers have shown that they can deliver a very good performance
while under pressure. One can’t always finish first
and second, but one also has to pick up the points for third
to fifth place. That surely isn’t a reason to celebrate,
but I still want to thank the drivers for this performance.”
The race at a glance
Air temperature: 13.7 ° C
Track temperature: 17.4 °C
14:04 hrs Pit stop window from lap 15 to 29.
Start Kristensen takes the lead after a very optimistic start
from Scheider, Tomczyk. Jarvis spins at the first corner after
contact with Green. Schneider also moves before the lights
are out.
Lap 1 Kristensen under investigation, the Dane gets a drive
through penalty because of a jump start.
Lap 2 Schneider under investigation. Kristensen into the pits.
Lap 3 Scheider is leading from Tomczyk, Spengler, di Resta,
Ekström, Rockenfeller, Green, Schneider and Paffett.
Jarvis has dropped back to 17th.
Lap 4 Drive-through penalty for Bernd Schneider. Schneider
into the pits.
Lap 6 Green under investigation.
Lap 7 Rockenfeller is putting Ekström under pressure
for fifth place.
Lap 9 Jarvis and Lauda battle for 14th.
Lap 10 Decision of the stewarts: No further action will be
taken against car number 5 (Green). Kristensen overtakes Lauda
and is now 15th.
Lap 11 Black and white flag for Mathias Lauda because of pushing
another car.
Lap 12 Albers spins into the barrier after being pushed by
Jarvis, continues.
Lap 14 Jarvis under investigation. Tomczyk, Spengler, Rockenfeller,
Green, Paffett, Prémat, Engel, Kristensen, Albers into
the pits.
Lap 15 Scheider, di Resta, Ekström, Winkelhock, Schumacher,
Jarvis, Stoddart, Schneider, Legge into the pits.
Lap 16 Drive through for Jarvis because of pushing another
car. Paffett under investigation for a collision with Prémat
in the pit lane. After the pit stops, Ekström is third
behind Scheider and di Resta. Lauda, Prémat, Albers
into the pits. For Prémat and Albers, it is already
their second stop.
Lap 17 Drive through penalty for Paffett because of the collision
with Prémat. He comes in. Second stop for Rockenfeller.
Lap 18 Engel, Jarvis, Stoddart into the pits.
Lap 19 Ekström, Schumacher, Schneider, Paffett into the
pits for their second stops.
Lap 20 Green, Kristensen into the pits. Kristensen's stop
takes very long.
Lap 21 Lauda into the pits.
Lap 24 Green past Ekström for seventh. Scheider into
the pits for his second stop.
Lap 25 Tomczyk and Spengler into the pits.
Lap 26 Di Resta, Winkelhock into the pits.
Lap 27 Ekström and Rockenfeller battle for seventh, Rockenfeller
prevails. Legge, Jarvis into the pits. Now, all drivers have
completed both stops.
Lap 28 Battle between Kristensen and Schumacher for eleventh,
Kristensen comes out on top.
Lap 32 Legge spins at the first corner, continues. Prémat
puts Ekström under pressure in the battle for eighth.
Lap 34 Katherine Legge under investigation.
Lap 36 Drive through penalty for Katherine Legge for disrespect
of the blue flag.
Lap 37 Kristensen loses control of his car at Hotel corner,
spins and hits Engel. Safety car.
Lap 40 Restart - Scheider leads from Tomczyk, Spengler, di
Resta, Green, Winkelhock, Rockenfeller, Ekström. Albers
locks up and goes straight at the first corner.
Lap 44 Final lap. Timo Scheider takes his first DTM race win
from Tomczyk, Spengler, di Resta, Green, Winkelhock, Rockenfeller
and Ekström.
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