Edoardo Mortara wins in DTM’s 50th visit to the EifelMortara, Ekström and Müller thrill crowd with comebacks
72,500 spectators experienced a tremendous anniversary weekend of the DTM at the Nürburgring that ended on Sunday in an Audi show, with Edoardo Mortara clinching his third victory this season in the Castrol EDGE Audi RS 5 DTM. The victory in the DTM’s 50th visit to the Nürburgring also marked the 50th triumph of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline that brought all four cars into the points on Sunday.
Actually, following the qualifying session, an Audi show was not yet a likely prospect. Edoardo Mortara started from position six as the best Audi driver. Jamie Green, Miguel Molina and Mattias Ekström followed in grid positions seven, eight and ten.
In the race, as has often been the case this season, the Audi RS 5 DTM was the most powerful car. Mortara immediately made up two positions at the start, subsequently stayed on the heels of the leading trio and had a clear track when the three cars in front of him pitted early for the tire change. Mortara only pitted on lap 28 and returned to the track in second place. After overtaking the Mercedes-Benz of the fastest driver in qualifying, Lucas Auer, the Audi driver brought victory home in commanding style.
“On the last lap, I was even able to jest a little with my team over the radio,” said Mortara. “In qualifying, we were struggling a bit, but on used tires, my car was perfect the whole weekend. The only critical moment was the pit stop when I nearly slipped off track on entering the pit lane – that was really hairy.”
Leader of the standings Marco Wittmann (BMW) saw the checkered flag on Sunday in third place, trailing birthday child Lucas Auer. Wittmann still came close to being intercepted on the finish line by Mattias Ekström in the Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM, who drove practically with no holds barred, having battled his way forward from position ten on the grid to fourth place. Ekström had youngster Nico Müller in the Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM in tow, who even improved by nine positions in the race. Last year’s winner Miguel Molina in the Teufel Audi RS 5 DTM completed the strong performance delivered by Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline in position ten.
Jamie Green (Audi Sport Team Rosberg) had to accept a bitter setback in the title race. The Briton in the Hoffmann Group Audi RS 5 DTM was racing with a similar strategy as Mortara. However, because he brushed the Mercedes-Benz of Gary Paffett immediately following his pit stop, Green received a drive-through penalty. In 17th place, Green remained without points just like Timo Scheider (AUTO BILD MOTORSPORT Audi RS 5 DTM), Adrien Tambay (Speedweek.com Audi RS 5 DTM) and Mike Rockenfeller (Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM) in positions twelve, 16 and 22.
“That was a fantastic race for us today,” said Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi Sport. “We’re still struggling somewhat using the full potential of the tire on the crucial lap in qualifying. That’s a disadvantage. But in the race, that’s an advantage for us because we can drive longer and more consistently with our Audi RS 5 DTM than our competitors. Today, this had a positive effect on us.”
On clinching his victory, Edoardo Mortara was able to improve to second place in the drivers’ standings and to reduce the gap to Wittmann to 33 points, with 100 points yet to be awarded.
Quotes following Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline’s 50th victory in the popular touring car series.
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport)
“The 50th victory of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline and the great race on Sunday ended the weekend that had been somewhat disappointing up to that point on a positive note. In the race, our cars were very fast, but in qualifying, we simply didn’t manage to create a good starting base. That’s now our main task for the next races. We’re going to do everything within our means to continue the battle for the championship full-force.”
Dieter Gass (Head of DTM at Audi Sport)
“The tremendous race Sunday compensates for the Saturday that was somewhat disappointing for us. We’re still struggling somewhat using the full potential of the tire on the crucial lap in qualifying. That’s a disadvantage. But in the race, that’s an advantage for us because we can drive longer and more consistently with our Audi RS 5 DTM than our competitors. That pays off particularly in the longer race on Sunday. Very frustrating was the drive-through penalty for Jamie Green because he could have scored good points as well.”
Edoardo Mortara (Castrol EDGE Audi RS 5 DTM #48) position 4 / position 1
“We had a tremendous race car on Saturday. It was a shame that (Tom) Blomqvist blocked me a little and I wasn’t able to overtake him. Otherwise a better result would already have been possible on Saturday. I gave it a try, we brushed each other and I slightly damaged my car in the process. That’s why position four was still okay. The race on Sunday then was really good. I had a good start from position six and immediately managed to overtake two drivers. In the first part of the race, I pursued the BMW cars and Lucas (Auer). I saved my DRS and took it easy on my tires and my brakes. When the others pitted before me, I knew that we’d be able to win with a different strategy. The team did a fantastic job. They called me in to pit at the right time. The stop was good and the car top-class. We benefited from being able to drive on a clear track. After the pit stop, I only had to overtake (Lucas) Auer and he acted in a very fair manner. Everything worked out well. I’m happy to have mounted the top of the podium again, to have scored 37 points and being back in the title race.”
Jamie Green (Hoffmann Group Audi RS 5 DTM #53) position 3 / position 16
“Saturday was very good. It’s always good to finish on podium. On Sunday, I did a good job in qualifying, but we were seventh on the grid. Initially, things were going well in the race. Then I was blocked by Augusto Farfus and I lost a lot of time. Following my pit stop, I came alongside Gary Paffett in turn 1. We touched and he spun. My car was damaged in the process and I received a drive-through penalty. That was frustrating because it wasn’t my fault one hundred percent. With the damage to the car and the drive-through penalty, my chances for points were gone. There wasn’t a lot I did wrong today, but I didn’t score any points.”
Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM #5) position 23 / position 4
“Friday and Saturday didn’t start in a really exciting way. I was struggling to get a good feel for the car. Fortunately, there’s also a Sunday and since Sunday I’ve been feeling more comfortable again in the car. In terms of the set-up we came up with what I need. Sunday’s race was a lot of fun. I was relatively fast and had some nice battles. It would be great if we could start that way on Friday for a change. If we manage that, the outcome will be different than a fourth place too.”
Nico Müller (Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM #51) position 11 / position 5
“Obviously, I’m happy about the ten points on Sunday. We made up nine places in the race on both days. That was great. But my qualifying performance irks me a little. Following the best time in free practice on Sunday, expectations were high. Then, having to start from position 14 was frustrating. But I think we’ve begun to understand what’s been causing this. The big aim is to start from the first three rows in the last four races at Budapest and Hockenheim and to score plenty of points.”
Timo Scheider (AUTO BILD MOTORSPORT Audi RS 5 DTM #10) position 21 / position 11
“Unfortunately, I didn’t score any points at the Nürburgring. But in terms of performance, theoretically, points would have been possible twice. We need to rate this as a positive even though at Audi we’ve generally tended to have a hard time in qualifying. I can draw the positive conclusion that at least within the Audi squad we’ve managed to catch up. We’ve made a development step. I’m taking the positive feeling I had from Friday to Sunday with me. It’s clear that scoring points is difficult when you start so far from the rear. On Saturday, we could have scored points. In the second stint of Sunday’s race, not a lot was possible with the new tire. Plus, the pit stop wasn’t perfect.”
Mike Rockenfeller (Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM #99) position 14 / position 22
“Expectations were very high before the weekend. The team and my mechanics did everything to give me the best possible car for our home round. Following this so far poor season, we tried everything to clinch a good result here. I’d like to thank my team for that. However, at the moment, I’m not able to move the car fast enough – particularly in qualifying. And if you have to start from the far rear of the grid there’s simply not a lot you can do in the races. Obviously, I’d have wished for a lot more for my team, my fans and myself here. Now we’ve still got four more races and I’m going to give all I can to support Audi in the title race.”
Miguel Molina (Teufel Audi RS 5 DTM #17) position 15 / position 20
“I expected a little more of this weekend, especially after my victory last year. The point on Sunday would have been a positive but, unfortunately, there was a retroactive time penalty and position 20 instead of position ten. Qualifying on Sunday was positive. I was just as fast as Audi’s top drivers. Now I’m looking forward to Budapest. I like the track and have been on podium there before. I hope we’ll manage a better result there again.”
Adrien Tambay (Speedweek.com Audi RS 5 DTM #27) retirement / position 15
“It was a difficult weekend because we were struggling with the grip level of my car and need to find a solution for that before Budapest. But the second race gives me a positive feeling. I started from the last position and was able to help a little with respect to Audi scoring so many points.”Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline)
“The 50th victory of our team in the DTM is definitely special. We celebrated our first one 15 years ago with Laurent (Aiello) at the Nürburgring as well. Now Edo (Mortara) with a tremendous race completed the 50 for us. My thanks go to all our drivers and particularly to the whole team. We arrived here with the maxim ‘now more than ever’ – and everyone abided by that. I’m incredibly proud of our squad which is fully motivated to clinch the title for Audi in spite of the advantage that BMW has. That’s why the party for our 50th DTM victory still has to wait a little.”
Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix)
“We continued to sort ourselves and made a step ahead in terms of handling the tires. Timo (Scheider) and Rocky, too, are now feeling the tires a lot better. Still, we’re always lacking a tenth in qualifying and that’s hard to understand. At the moment, we don’t have a solution for this yet. Above all, we’re trying to keep the team’s motivation at a high level, which is incredibly hard. In the first race, Timo could have scored points. Unfortunately, he then received a drive-through penalty, but a steep development was noticeable in his case. Now we’re focusing on the remaining four races and will continue to try to eliminate the problems.”
Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg)
“First of all, ‘well done’ to Edo (Mortara). Mattias (Ekström) and Nico (Müller) drove great races too – congratulations! The potential was obvious. It’s a real shame but, unfortunately, we’re out of the title race now. We’re going to concentrate on the next races and try to support Edo in the battle for the championship.”
