NEWS // DTM @ HOCKENHEIM - SCHEIDER CHAMPION

Timo Scheider took his 2nd consecutive DTM title at Hockenheim today with a second place finish behind his championship rival Gary Paffett. For Audi it was their 3rd consecutive title and the first time any manafacturer has achieved such a feat in the DTM since 1984. The 30 year old German driving for Audi matched the pace of Paffett's Mercedes from start to finish and crossed the line just over a second behind the Englishman who took his 2nd consecutive race win... [read more]

Speaking after the Podium celebrations Scheider said ""I’m incredibly happy that we did it again - and once more in front of a spectacular turnout on my home ground."
He added "I’m 100% happy with my team and my Audi A4. That was the key to success throughout this 2009 season."

For race winner Paffett (Below) it was the 14th DTM victory of his career and his 4th win this season. The Mercedes driver commented “This season, we have scored four victories. That means that we had a great car during the year. But still, in some races, it didn’t go really well. I think that the races at Barcelona and Nürburgring have cost me the title. After Dijon, the championship came within reach for us once more. We haven’t won the championship and obviously, I am now slightly disappointed. However, we can be satisfied. We had a good year.“

The race had seen a frenetic early battle between the Audi of pole sitter Mattias Exstrom and Paffett's Mercedes with the Englishman taking the upper hand as Exstrom was forced to retire on lap three with cooling problems following the pair's initial panel crunching action.

Scott Paul Di Resta came home in third spot and with the retirement of Exstrom the youngster clinched 3rd place in the standings.

Mercedes's Susie Stoddart was the victim of a sizeable shunt at the first corner due to suspension breakage which necessitated a late safety car period with Susie despatched to the medical centre for a precautionary check-up.


Race Results DTM Final Round 2009 Hockenheim:
1. 10 Paffett/GBR Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 1:06:01.702 39 1:34.351
2. 1 Scheider/GER GW:plus/Top Service Audi A4 DTM 01.043 39 1:34.549
3. 3 Di Resta/GBR AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 01.792 39 1:34.778
4. 14 Prémat/FRA Audi Bank A4 DTM 05.234 39 1:34.370
5. 7 Green/GBR Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 05.994 39 1:34.979
6. 15 Jarvis/GBR AUDI A4 DTM 07.737 39 1:34.773
7. 9 Spengler/CAN Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Klasse 08.664 39 1:34.887
8. 12 Winkelhock/GER Playboy Audi A4 DTM 09.847 39 1:35.492
9. 11 Rockenfeller/GER S line Audi A4 DTM 10.355 39 1:35.225
10. 16 Engel/GER GQ AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 11.009 39 1:35.177
11. 20 Kostka/CZE AUDI A4 DTM 16.744 39 1:36.298
12. 18 Bakkerud/DEN AUDI A4 DTM 20.574 39 1:35.744
13. 19 Seidlitz/GER AUDI A4 DTM 23.587 39 1:36.541
14. 17 Lauda/AUT stern AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 41.679 39 1:34.851
15. 2 Kristensen/DEN 100 Jahre Audi - A4 DTM 2:23.250 39 1:34.874
16. 8 Stoddart/GBR TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 8 laps 31 1:34.868
17. 21 Legge/GBR Audi Collection A4 DTM 9 laps 30 1:35.892
18. 5 Ekström/SWE Red Bull Audi A4 DTM 34 laps 5 1:36.239
19. 4 Schumacher/GER Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 38 laps 1
20. 6 Tomczyk/GER Red Bull Cola Audi A4 DTM 39 laps


2009 DTM Final Championship Table:
01 Timo Scheider Audi 64
02 Gary Paffett Mercedes 59
03 Paul di Resta Mercedes 45
04 Mattias Ekström Audi 41
05 Bruno Spengler Mercedes 41
06 Martin Tomczyk Audi 35
07 Jamie Green Mercedes 27
08 Tom Kristensen Audi 21
09 Oliver Jarvis Audi 18
10 Markus Winkelhock Audi 11
11 Ralf Schumacher Mercedes 9
12 Maro Engel Mercedes 8
13 Alexandre Prémat Audi 6
14 Mike Rockenfeller Audi 4
15 Mathias Lauda Mercedes 1

Stay tuned for more DTM news and reports In 2010!

Photo: DTM.com
Editorial: Neil Tozer