With a blistering start, Timo Scheider opened a huge gap on his arch rival Mattias Ekström in the DTM championship. Even the Swede described the move as a “masterpiece”.
The defending champion leapt from fifth place and into the lead at the start, leaving the field standing on the Circuit de Catalunya. According to pole-sitter Tom Kristensen: “I considered my start to be pretty good for a 42-year-old,” joked the eight-times 24-Heures du Mans winner.
“I already saw Paul Di Resta and Martin Tomczyk in my mirror,” he added. “I was quite surprised to suddenly see Timo pass me on the left. I thought he might have jump-started.”
According to the Scheider, it was (in part) thanks to a new clutch. "My start was like a rocket," he said. "But of course there was a certain amount of luck involved. I also have to thank the guys who installed a new clutch in my car overnight after I wasn’t happy with it yesterday. The new one worked like a charm.”
Ekström, who had lined up behind Scheider in P7, was impressed even though his championship chances seem to be evaporating fast. “My start was OK, nothing to write home about,” said the Swede philosophically. “Timo managed an incredible start on the outside – a nice manoeuvre on his part and perhaps his masterpiece.”
© Audi Motorsport
The two-times champion tried to fight back but found himself caught in traffic at the start and blocked by fellow championship-contender Gary Paffett at the finish. Although he had the Mercedes beaten for pace, he couldn’t find a way past the Briton’s defences: "He tried to block me as much as he could. Although we only exchanged a bit of paint I received a warning. That’s why I wasn’t able to attack harder in the end. Now I’ve got a 12-point gap. That’s a lot but the season isn’t over yet."
Kristensen came home in second and Tomczyk claimed the final podium in the Red Bull Cola car. ”I’m very happy with third place and made another leap forward in the standings,” said the German. “Things are really going well at the moment. It’s nice to be standing on the podium and being able to reward the hard work of the (Audi) team by clinching places one, two and three."
"An incredible weekend – and an incredible start,” added Scheider. “We clinched a nice victory, which is a very good feeling. And in the championship we’ve now got a lead of 12 points."
The DTM heads to Dijon on October 11 before the season finale in Hockenheim on October 25.
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