23rd October, 2011
Jamie Green wins 2011 DTM finale at Hockenheimring
DTM
Hockenheim. A successful DTM final weekend at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg. 120,000 fans celebrated the already-crowned DTM champion Martin Tomczyk (Audi) and the last winner of the 2011 season, Jamie Green. The Mercedes-Benz driver had a perfect start, taking the lead from second place on the grid and crossed the finish line as the winner after 38 laps. For the Brit, this is his best result of the season and his seventh DTM race win. The 29-year old said about his good end of the season: “Today, I have given everything and it worked out perfectly. I am very proud to have scored a win at the end of the era of this car. My AMG Mercedes C-Class was fantastic today. I hope to be racing again for Mercedes-Benz in the DTM in 2012.”
The new DTM champion Martin Tomczyk, who already secured himself the title in the penultimate race at Valencia, finished second and extended his points’ tally to 72 points. The German was presented with the trophy by ex-Formula 1 driver Patrick Tambay. “Today, I really enjoyed driving without pressure. Still, I want to say goodbye to the fans after this season in a decent way. I couldn’t find a way past Jamie today, but second place is very good, too. Now, we will celebrate the title, of course, flat-out”, said the champion.
Tomczyk’s fellow Audi driver Mattias Ekström completed the 1-2 for Audi in the drivers’ standings by finishing sixth and scoring three points in the finale. Prior to the race, the Swede was two points down on second-placed Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz). The Canadian started from sixth place, but lost valuable places at the start and finished the race in ninth place, not scoring any points. In the final standings, Ekström and Spengler are only one point apart.
Spaniard Miguel Molina finished third with the Audi A4 DTM. Having started from pole position, he had to let Green and Tomczyk go after the start and wasn’t able to overtake them anymore. For the 22-year old, this was his maiden podium finish of his DTM career.
Audi also claimed victory in the DTM teams’ classification. The Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline won with 85 points from THOMAS SABO/Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG (76 points). Italian Edoardo Mortara (Audi) was awarded with the prize for the ’Best Performance’ as a DTM rookie.
At the DTM finale, the fans got an outlook on the new season: Audi and Mercedes-Benz, plus new entrant BMW got their new 2012 DTM cars out on the track for two demonstration laps. The first race of the upcoming season will take place at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg on April 29th, 2012. Tickets for the new season can be ordered from tomorrow (October 24th, 2011).
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, head of motorsport Audi: “We are happy with the season. First and second place are excellent. Moreover, the success of the Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline is great. This is an excellent basis for next year. Nice, that so many spectators have come, although the battle for the championship was decided already. With the presentation of the new cars, we have made the link to next season. I thank everybody who is working in our teams, the organisers as well as Norbert (Haug) and his crew. Together, we have had a couple of years with hard competition. Now, we are starting a new era.”
Norbert Haug, head of motorsport Mercedes-Benz: “That was a fantastic race by Jamie (Green). He was very dominant. His fast laps were in a class of their own. That was a very mature performance. Martin (Tomczyk) is a worthy champion. Bruno (Spengler) is a top class driver, but when you start on the wrong side of the field, getting an optimal result is difficult. When there is no real loser in a competition with only two competing brands, that certainly speaks for itself and this is also a reason for another premium brand to join the DTM.”
Note for the editor:
Images of the three new DTM cars from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are available free of rights in the password-secured media section at
www.dtm.com/media.
