In extremely low temperatures the two drivers from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline pushed forward from grid positions eight (Ekström) and twelve (Scheider) - also assisted by the quickest pit stops in the entire field and consistently good lap times. The fast lap by Mattias Ekström was merely 101 thousandths slower than that of winner Bruno Spengler (BMW).
Ekström in the Red Bull Audi A5 DTM improved by one position right at the start, thanks to a better first pit stop moved past Martin Tomczyk in the BMW and ultimately overtook Edoardo Mortara as well. In the final phase, Ekström on position five was able to drive similar times as the front runners. "We didnt have the pace today to win the race but we again learned a lot," said the Swede after crossing the finish line. "This is the most important thing. In addition, I scored more valuable points." Ekström, with 25 points after two rounds, has an equal score as Bruno Spengler, who is ranking third in the standings.
Timo Scheider drove a strong race as well. After starting from P12 on the grid, the two-time DTM Champion in his AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM advanced to ninth place as early as on lap one. With a long first stint he improved to sixth place. After the second pit stop, Scheider fought a brief duel with Mattias Ekström for fifth place. Afterward, he concentrated on bringing the eight points for sixth place home.
After his early retirement that was no fault of his own at Hockenheim, Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra A5 DTM) finished his second DTM race on position 18 after many duels. Rahel Frey (E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM) drove consistently fast lap times and on position 20 clearly won the ladies duel against her rival Susie Wolff.