NEWS // PAFFETT LEADS 1-2-3-4 FOR MERCEDES

Gary Paffett led a Mercedes sweep of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season opener at Hockenheim last Sunday. When the British racing driver crossed the finish line, he was followed by fellow Mercedes drivers Bruno Spengler, Jamie Green and Paul di Resta, making it a 1-2-3-4 for Mercedes... [read more]

Taking the lead on lap 11 after Audi driver Martin Tomczyk (above) spun due to a left rear puncture, Paffett maintained a comfortable lead for the remainder of the race, save for a late race effort by his old Audi rival Mattias Ekstrom. However, after it was discovered Ekstrom had made his first pitstop one lap before the pit window was opened, he was forced to come in for a third stop, effectively taking him out of contention.

Ekstrom’s stop moved Jamie Green (above) and his 2008 car into second, but it didn’t take long before Bruno Spengler (below) demoted the British racing driver to third on lap 32.

As Paffett slowed to preseve his tires, di Resta was able to close the gap between he and Audi driver Mike Rockenfeller, and, having passed Rockenfeller, fell into line with the three other Mercedes.

David Coulthard, who achieved his goal of making the finish in his first DTM race, finished 12th just ahead of fellow Mercedes rookie Franky Cheng.


2010 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters // Round 1 @ Hockenheimring:

1. Gary Paffett Mercedes 1h02m31.580s
2. Bruno Spengler Mercedes + 0.567s
3. Jamie Green Mercedes + 1.841s
4. Paul di Resta Mercedes + 2.251s
5. Mike Rockenfeller Audi + 3.201s
6. Mattias Ekstrom Audi + 3.420s
7. Timo Scheider Audi + 13.067s
8. Miguel Molina Audi + 13.503s
9. Ralf Schumacher Mercedes + 16.911s
10. Alexandre Premat Audi + 28.509s
11. Susie Stoddart Mercedes + 28.944s
12. David Coulthard Mercedes + 35.164s
13. Franky Cheng Mercedes + 36.589s
14. Katherine Legge Audi + 46.817s
15. Markus Winkelhock Audi + 1m14.113s
16. Maro Engel Mercedes + 1m20.480s
17. Martin Tomczyk Audi + 7 laps

Retirements: Oliver Jarvis Audi 1 lap

Images and Info: DTM
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey