Tomczyk leading Audi-quartet to victory at Zandvoort
Zandvoort. For the second time in his DTM-career, Martin Tomczyk (Audi) crossed the finish line as a race winner. The German, having started from third position, won the seventh DTM round at Zandvoort in The Netherlands after 38 laps from his fellow Audi drivers, Alexandre Pr?mat, Mattias Ekstr?m and Timo Scheider. Bruno Spengler was the best-placed driver with an AMG Mercedes C-Class in fifth place. Six points for third place allowed Ekstr?m to extend his lead in the championship standings. Tomczyk now moved up into second (30 points) ahead of Spengler (26 points). Bernd Schneider (25.5 points), who was second in the points coming to Zandvoort, failed to score any points after finishing twelfth and dropped back to fourth in the championship standings. An extensive press release with quotes from the drivers and the motorsport directors will follow shortly.
The race in detail
Weather conditons: bright to overcast
Air temperature: 17.0 ?C
Track temperature: 17.3 ?C
12.59 Daniel la Rosa is not on the grid. After a technical problem, the German is starting from the pit lane. Markus Winkelhock's car is being pushed from the grid into the pit lane
Start Kristensen has problems getting away, Scheider is taking the lead but Ekstr?m goes through on the inside through Tarzan.
Lap 1 Di Resta spins after a collision with Kristensen at Tarzan. Ekstr?m is leading from Scheider, Tomczyk, Pr?mat, Rockenfeller and Spengler
Lap 2 Tom Kristensen has dropped back to twelfth while Markus Winkelhock has made up a lot of places and is already eleventh after having started last on the grid. Kristensen overtakes Winkelhock and is now eleventh
Lap 5 Lucas Luhr runs wide at Gerlach and loses 16th place to Jamie Green
Lap 6 Ekstr?m is leading by 0.5 seconds from Scheider, Tomczyk, Pr?mat, Rockenfeller, Spengler, Abt, Margaritis, Paffett and H?kkinen. Spengler, Abt, Margaritis, Winkelhock and Luhr are the first drivers coming in for their first mandatory pit stops
Lap 7 Abt and Spengler leave the pit lane side by side, Abt goes through. Tomczyk, Pr?mat, Paffett, H?kkinen into the pits
Lap 8 H?kkinen leaves the pitlane just ahead of Paffett and gains one position
Lap 9 Timo Scheider into the pits. Warning for Christian Abt because of dangerous manoeuvre
Lap 11 Tomczyk and Di Resta side by side, but the Scot stays in front
Lap 12 Di Resta is holding up Tomczyk, Pr?mat and Scheider, who are much faster, but can't get past. Pr?mat comes in for his second stop
Lap 13 Tomczyk into the pits for his second stop. Also pit stops for Spengler and H?kkinen. For the two Mercedes-Benz drivers, it is also their second stop
Lap 14 Race leader Ekstr?m into the pits, Schneider, Abt and Di Resta into the pits as well.
Lap 15 Ekstr?m's pit stop takes 9.6 seconds
Lap 16 Kristensen and Rockenfeller into the pits. Christian Abt is under investigation by the stewards
Lap 16 Green, Scheider into the pits
Lap 17 Ekstr?m locks up under braking while trying to overtake Susie Stoddart. Ekstr?m into the pits for his second stop.
Lap 18 Lauda and Stoddart are now first and second, but they still have to come in for their first stop. Margaritis, Rockenfeller, Winkelhock into the pits
Lap 19 Paffett, Schneider and Luhr into the pits
Lap 20 Kristensen into the pits
Lap 21 Kristensen and Schneider side by side, the two tangle, Schneider loses his outside rearview mirror
Lap 22 Lauda into the pits
Lap 23 Margaritis and Winkelhock under investigation. Di Resta and Stoddart into the pits
Lap 24 There is a massive problem with the left rear wheel during Susie Stoddart's pit stop
Lap 25 Green is leading, but he has made just one pit stop so far. Behind him are Tomczyk, Pr?mat, Spengler, Scheider, Abt, H?kkinen, Ekstr?m, Margaritis and Paffett all with two stops
Lap 27 Green into the pits
Lap 28 Green rejoins in 13th place behind Schneider
Lap 29 Tomczyk is leading from Pr?mat, Spengler, Scheider, Abt, H?kkinen, Ekstr?m and Margaritis
Lap 30 Green overtakes Schneider under braking for Tarzan and gets past. Lauda into the pits
Lap 32 Fourth-placed Timo Scheider is right on the tail of Bruno Spengler's car. Pr?mat and Tomczyk briefly swap positions, but Tomczyk stays in front
Lap 33 Pr?mat overtakes Tomczyk at Scheivlak, leading the race. Kristensen into the pits, retires after earlier contact with Schneider. Ekstr?m has overtaken H?kkinen and is now sixth
Lap 34 Scheider attacking Spengler for third. Abt lets Ekstr?m through, the Swede is now fifth
Lap 36 Scheider has overtaken Spengler at Hunserug after several attempts and a lot of wheelbanging. The German is now third
Lap 37 Ekstr?m has closed the gap to fourth-placed Spengler
Lap 38 Final lap. Ekstr?m overtakes Spengler at the Masters corner and takes fourth place. Tomczyk takes victory from Pr?mat, Ekstr?m, Scheider, Spengler, Abt, H?kkinen, Margaritis
