Race one with painful consequences
- Jamie Green best Audi driver in position five on Saturday at Zandvoort
- Turmoil about penalties imposed on Edoardo Mortara and Nico Müller
- Adrien Tambay admitted to hospital for medical examination
Jamie Green in the Hoffmann Group Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Rosberg took fifth place as the best Audi driver in the first of the two DTM races at Zandvoort (Netherlands). Mattias Ekström in the Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline finished in the top ten as well. On his teammate Edoardo Mortara a drive-through penalty with severe consequences was imposed which proved unjustified after the race.
In qualifying, Jamie Green was the best Audi driver in fifth place and defended this position over the 25-lap distance as well. “It was a solid race and we scored valuable points,” Green said after crossing the finish line. “Shortly after the start, I had a long brake pedal in the race but I don’t think that more than fifth place would have been possible today. Tomorrow, we should have better chances.”
Mattias Ekström stayed on the heels of António Félix da Costa’s BMW for nearly the whole race but wasn’t able to overtake the Portuguese and crossed the finish line in position seven.
Edoardo Mortara, like Jamie Green, started from the third row and, trailing the Briton, was in a promising sixth position before the race directors imposed a drive-through penalty on the Italian for an alleged violation of the slow-zone rules. “I did nothing wrong,” said Mortara. “That’s also obvious based on the on-board footage from my car and our data log.”
In the evening, the stewards of the meeting admitted discrepancies in the official GPS system on the cars of Edoardo Mortara and Nico Müller (Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM).
“This is really bitter because, as a result, Edo lost at least eight points which might decide the championship at the end of the season,” said Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi Sport. “In addition, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline has lost the lead of the teams’ standings and we’ve lost points in the manufacturers’ classification because Edo finished in position 17 instead of six. The mistake that happened there is hard to accept.”
For Adrien Tambay the race in the Speedweek.com Audi RS 5 DTM ended after just a few meters due to a collision in which his car was hit on the right side at the front axle. After the steering wheel hit his left hand, the Frenchman complained about severe pains and was taken to a hospital for further medical checks. X-rays have confirmed that nothing is broken.
Timo Scheider in the AUTO BILD MOTORSPORT Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Phoenix just barely missed scoring a point. The two-time DTM Champion recovered from grid position 18 to eleventh place. His teammate Mike Rockenfeller advanced from grid position 17 to 14th place.
Miguel Molina (Teufel Audi RS 5 DTM) and Norisring winner Nico Müller (Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM) finished Saturday’s race in positions 18 and 20.
Audi celebrated four victories in the first half of the 2016 season, clinched three pole positions and set four fastest laps. The second half of the DTM season will start on Sunday at 13:40 with the second of the two races at Zandvoort (from 13:30 live on “Das Erste”).