Victory at Hockenheim on Saturday, disappointment on Sunday
Nico MĂĽller only Audi driver to score points in both races
Saturday’s winner Edoardo Mortara in third place of the standings
Cheering on Saturday, disappointment on Sunday: in front of 78,500 spectators (throughout the weekend), Audi Sport experienced an emotional roller coaster at the DTM season opener at Hockenheim.
In race one, Edoardo Mortara in the Castrol EDGE Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline celebrated a commanding victory. In race two, the rear of the Italian’s car was hit by a rival as early as in turn two. Mortara dropped to the end of the field and ultimately had to settle for twelfth place. Following the opening weekend, the Italian as the best Audi driver, ranks in third place of the standings with 25 points.
The only Audi driver to finish in the points twice was youngster Nico MĂĽller who, after taking third place on Saturday, battled his way forward in his Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM from grid position 15 to eighth place.
“It’s great that I was able to score points in both races,” said the 24-year-old Swiss. “I’m happy that I didn’t get entangled in the many accidents at the beginning of the race today. I had some nice overtaking maneuvers, am ranking in fourth place overall and already look forward to Spielberg in 14 days’ time.”
“Following the positive opener on Saturday, we’d have obviously wished for a better result today,” Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi Sport, said after the second race on Sunday. “
Unfortunately, we were too slow in qualifying today. When your best car is in position eleven on the grid, you’re going to have a difficult time. For a successful outcome of our strategy of saving a fresh tire set per car for the race, our performance in qualifying wasn’t good enough.”
Mike Rockenfeller in the Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Phoenix advanced from position 18 on the grid to eleventh place and barely missed scoring a point. Adrien Tambay in the Speedweek.com Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Rosberg moved forward from grid position 19 to 14th place in spite of having to make an additional pit stop after suffering tire damage in the hectic early stage.
Miguel Molina in the Teufel Audi RS 5 DTM, after starting from the last grid position, lost possible points by spinning at the the pit lane entrance. Timo Scheider (AUTO BILD MOTORSPORT Audi RS 5 DTM) and Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM) damaged their cars in tussles in the early stage so heavily that they were forced to retire. Jamie Green (Hoffmann Group Audi RS 5 DTM) was carried off track into the gravel by a rival as early as in turn two after the start.
