Auto Car: 2011 DTM : Mattias Ekström is the rain master at Oschersleben

2011 DTM - Oschersleben Round Winner : Mattias Ekström (SWE) - Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline - Red Bull Audi A4 DTM

OSCHERSLEBEN : September 18, 2011 - Audi driver Mattias Ekström, the 2004 and 2007 DTM champion, did it again. After his success at Nürburgring, the Swede also claimed victory at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben and crowned a triple victory for Audi that was very special for the brand from Ingolstadt. After a sensational recovery in the rain, Ekström’s fellow Audi driver Martin Tomczyk, who had started 14th, crossed the finish line in second place to extend his lead in the drivers’ standings to nine points.

2011 DTM - Oschersleben Round Winner : Mattias Ekström (SWE) - Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline - Red Bull Audi A4 DTM

After 45 race laps, Italian Edoardo Mortara (Audi) ended up third, scoring his second podium finish in a row as a DTM rookie. After the race at Brands Hatch, this was already the third triple victory for Audi. Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz), on the other hand, was particularly unfortunate. The Canadian was only one point down on Tomczyk in the drivers’ standings prior to the race. Spengler started from second place and led the race for numerous laps. After suspension problems, the 28-year old retired on lap 42.

Ekström, who already scored his 16th DTM race win, said after the race: “The car was perfect, driving was very relaxed today. The track was very slippery, but I am used to that from Sweden and I certainly had an advantage because of that. At the start of the season, things didn’t go too well for me. Now, it is significantly better and I am enjoying such a weekend.”

The spirited drive by Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) also caused excitement among the fans. After technical problems, the 2005 DTM champion wasn’t able to complete a timed lap in qualifying on Saturday. The Brit started the eighth of this year’s ten DTM rounds from 18th place on the grid and finished fourth as the best-placed driver of an AMG Mercedes C-Class. “After this qualifying, I didn’t expect to be the best-placed Mercedes-Benz driver in the end. From that point of view, this is a fantastic result. Had it not been for my collision with Timo Scheider, I could even have finished second”, said Paffett.

Paffett’s fellow Mercedes-Benz driver Christian Vietoris ended up fifth in the Magdeburg region, his best season result to date. The 22-year old was rewarded with four championship points. Audi driver Miguel Molina wasn’t able to bring his maiden pole position home and still scored one championship point in eighth place behind Rockenfeller (Audi) and Maro Engel (Mercedes-Benz). Martin Tomczyk remains points’ leader. The German has extended his margin and, at 58 points, is now leading Spengler, who has 49 points. In total, 65,000 spectators attended the eighth round of the season.

The ninth DTM race weekend of the season will take place at Valencia in Spain from September 30th till October 2nd.

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, head of motorsport Audi: “Of course, we are totally happy. Mattias was pushing incredibly hard and has done a great job. I hadn’t expected that Martin would still make it onto the podium. And Edoardo has again shown how good he is in the rain. Guys, a great job! Our situation in the championship certainly has improved, but with two rounds still remaining, nothing is won or lost.”

Norbert Haug, head of motorsport Mercedes-Benz: “Anyone who knows us, knows that we never give up. The situation with Bruno is too bad, because he had a good chance of claiming back the championship lead. But that is the way things are in motorsport. Now, the motto is attacking, to get the maximum result from the last two rounds of the season.”

Race result : 2011 DTM - Round 8 Oschersleben