39,000 spectators (throughout the weekend) watched a spectacular DTM race in extremely difficult conditions. Rain showers from the nearby North Sea repeatedly moved across the race track that was never wet enough, though, to switch to rain tires.
Mattias Ekström (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline) perfected Audi’s one-two-three result. The Swede was fighting a nail-biting duel across several laps with leader of the standings Gary Paffett which he decided in his favor, also thanks to a good strategy and quick pit stops by his team.
Ekströms team mate Adrien Tambay scored his first points in the DTM. The 21-year-old youngster shone by taking fifth place in difficult conditions and even held up to the pressure from the two-time season winner Bruno Spengler, who had also been the runner-up in the standings up to now.
The quickest in qualifying, Timo Scheider, experienced a pitch-black day. At the start, the two-time DTM Champion dropped from first to 14th place and in a collision with David Coulthard damaged the front of his AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM.
Despite the four retirements it was a great day for Audi at Zandvoort – on a track on which the brand with the four rings has now clinched as much as its sixth victory since its return to the DTM in 2004. “It’s good to see that the performance is there,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Now we’re back in the position we always want to be in: in contention for victory. Here at Zandvoort, we were strong as a whole team. I’m happy for the guys who have been working hard to make this success possible.”