Red Bull-backed Audi driver Martin Tomczyk has won the fourth DTM season round at Lausitzring to take the lead in the championship.
Tomczyk is proving to be the surprise package of the 2011 DTM season as he followed his victory on the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, with his sixth career win. The 29-year old has now taken over the top spot on the leaderboard with 30 points in a win made all the more remarkable because the Bavarian was at the wheel of a 2008-spec Audi A4 DTM.
"That was simply sensational today. Right at the start I made up one place and then soon realized that I could drive very fast times. The overtaking maneuver with Jamie (Green) at the end of the start-finish straight fit in perfectly and then my team helped me get past Bruno (Spengler) with a good strategy and great stops. After that I continued to drive my race with consistently fast times. Winning here with such a large lead and putting an end to Audi’s six-year barren spell here is really special."
Martin Tomczyk (Audi A4 DTM)
Timo Scheider’s second place made it a one-two for the marque. Scheider’s finish was a feat of courage and clever strategy after the two-time champion started back on P9. Two late pit stops saw him leapfrog Bruno Spengler.
"A great day! Although I’d have wished to advance as much as possible from P9, finishing in second place in view of the highly competitive field in the DTM is anything but normal. As early as in this morning’s warm-up session we realized that our race set-up was very good and that we could drive fast times… It’s good to experience the feeling of standing on the podium again."
Timo Scheider (AUTO TEST Audi A4 DTM)
The day had stared well for Canada’s Spengler, who started from pole but in the end he had to hold on to take third place and the consolation of a place on the podium.
“You can’t be disappointed if you get onto the podium in such a hotly contested racing series as DTM. Martin Tomczyk put in a magnificent performance today to take a well deserved victory. At the same time, though, we’ve banked six valuable championship points.”
Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class
Behind Spengler a battle for fourth place raged between three Brits: Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz), Oliver Jarvis (Audi) and Jamie Green (Mercedes-Benz). In the end, it was the McLaren test driver who came out on top – later Tweeting to Jarvis: “You did see a lot of the back of my car today mate. Just managed to keep it on the track till the end. Not a fun race!!!”
“I’m relatively happy with my result. Thanks to making a good start, I moved up one position, moving into fourth place. After a great pit stop, I was even able to pass Jamie. Throughout the race, my speed was a match for Bruno’s, who finished on the podium.”
Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Class)
"I’m pretty disappointed. In the warm-up this morning we showed that we had a really good pace for the race. But the strategy wasn’t optimal. Before the stops we were in front of Timo (Scheider) but then we must have made a mistake. Otherwise I might have finished on the podium."
Oliver Jarvis (Audi Sport performance cars A4 DTM)
“After my second place in qualifying, I’m not pleased with sixth. I lacked the necessary pace in the race. I also had some bad luck as a result of pit stops, dropping a couple of positions.”
Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class)
The great Dane Tom Kristensen made his return to the series deputising for the injured Mike 'Rocky' Rockenfeller. Kristenson made a solid comeback starting and finishing in seventh so he could return Rockenfeller’s Audi in one piece.
"I really enjoyed the weekend with the guys in the DTM. Seventh place in qualifying, seventh place in the race with a lot of consideration for all team colleagues, two points and ‘Rocky’s’ Audi doesn’t have a single scratch on it - that’s a nice result. Now my wish is for ‘Rocky’ to return soon and to be able to attack again. In the future I’ll enjoy watching the DTM again on the sofa with my family.”
Tom Kristensen (E-POSTBRIEF Audi A4 DTM)
"It’s been a good weekend for me. We were running well straight from the start. In the first stint I lost a lot of time behind Mattias Ekström. But after the pit stops, the track was clear for me and I was able to set good times… I scored a point and that’s fantastic for me and the team."
Filipe Albuquerque (TV Movie Audi A4 DTM)
Two-time champion Mattias Ekström had another tough race, starting in P3 but problems with tyre pressure and a difficult pit stop saw the Swede having to settle for 11th.
"This was not what we wanted. Especially in the first stint I was struggling with way too much oversteer – while braking and in the turns. After the first and second pit stop things were a little bit better but not perfect either. We’ve learned a lot today - but you don’t get points for that.”
Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi A4 DTM)
“I’m not happy with twelfth, but at least the race itself went better than the rest of the weekend. The second stint was really fun and my C-Class ran really well. I lost a little time on the first stint perhaps, but not much more was possible today.”
Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class)
“Unfortunately, I had problems with the car’s balance and couldn’t find my rhythm in the race. It was impossible for me to do better than P13. It was just not meant to be today.”
David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class)
"The race went well. The car was perfect and fast. The strategy was right too. We were running in sixth place when something broke on the transmission. Of course that was a shame."
Miguel Molina (Red Bull Audi A4 DTM)
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