The seventh DTM race of the year was decided right at the start. While Edoardo Mortara on the more slippery inside dropped from second to third place, Mike Rockenfeller was able to improve from third to second place behind the quickest in qualifying, Marco Wittmann. These positions remained unchanged up to the finish. 1.2 seconds behind Wittmann, ‘Rocky’ in the Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM crossed the finish line in second place, followed ten seconds later in third place by Edoardo Mortara in the Audi Sport Audi RS 5 DTM.
““IÂ’m happy about second place”,” said Mike Rockenfeller after having clinched his so far best result in his DTM home race. “‘”Thank youÂ’ to Team Phoenix and Audi. Marco Wittmann controlled the race. I only came a bit closer towards the end. Maybe I could have grabbed him if the race had lasted five laps longer. But youÂ’’ve also got to accept that he was simply stronger than we were this weekend”.”
Rockenfeller and Mortara were the only two Audi drivers to convert their good grid positions into points at the Nürburgring. Adrien Tambay in his Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM dropped to 16th place in the starting commotion and in the end, in eleventh place, barely missed scoring a point. Jamie Green in the Hoffmann Group Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Rosberg advanced to fourth place after the start, but was subsequently relegated to position 15 after his Audi had been damaged in several incidents of body contact.
The other four Audi drivers had to park their Audi RS 5 DTM cars early following collisions. Mattias Ekström was hit by Timo Glock’s BMW right on the starting lap, with the rear suspension of his Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM being damaged in the incident. Miguel Molina suffered a puncture in a contact at the start and had to park his Audi Sport Audi RS 5 DTM after just four laps as well. Timo Scheider’s AUTO TEST Audi RS 5 DTM on lap seven was pushed into the Financial Services Audi RS 5 DTM of his brand colleague Nico Müller by Mercedes driver Robert Wickens. Both Audi drivers had to retire shortly afterwards.
“Having two drivers on podium in the DTM is basically a good result”,” said Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi Sport. “”Congratulations to Mike (Rockenfeller) and Edo (Mortara). Obviously, itÂ’s not satisfactory that only these two managed to make use of their good grid positions. There were a couple of scenes today we need to carefully look at again. Losing four out of eight cars due to collisions is painful”.”
Despite his retirement, Mattias Ekström continues to rank in second place of the standings. Edoardo Mortara, with the same score, trails him in third place. In the manufacturers’ standings, the gaps practically remained unchanged at the Nürburgring. With 284 points and an 18-point gap Audi continues to have chances of winning the manufacturers’ title.
Following a three-week break, the next battle for points will take place at the Lausitzring on September 14.
