DTM: Mattias Ekström clinches second place for Audi at Norisring

The race at Nuremberg's Norisring is affectionately known as Audi's "home race" of the DTM season. That said, with the number of four-ringed fans, sponsors and executives in attendance the pressure on the Audi squad is higher than usual. Though Audi did not take the checkered flag, Sunday's race was the best Norisring result since 2005; with Mattias Ekström taking second place, leading a total of 5 Audi drivers into the points.

Ekström's performance was the most notable of the Audi A4 DTM squad. Starting in 5th position, 'Eki' managed to not only pass standings leader, Bruno Spengler, but also get within striking distance of race leader Jamie Green, finishing just 0.591 seconds behind Green's race winning Mercedes. "Jamie simply didn’t make the slightest mistake,” commented Ekström. "My car was perfect today. Of course it’s a shame that I wasn’t able to bring home the victory which the Audi fans and the team had been hoping for because we were competitive enough today. But there will be tracks at which we’ll strike back.”

"In view of the grid positions we squeezed the maximum out of the situation,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich after the race. "We had a really good vehicle performance, great pit stops and a perfect strategy. With Mattias (Ekström), we at least clinched second place and made up two points in the championship. More important, though, is the fact that we’re back and that everyone saw how strong we are – even at the Norisring.”

Results:

Position/Make/Laps/Time(Delay)
1 Jamie Green / Mercedes / 82 / 1h 08:05.282
2 Mattias Ekström / Audi / 82 / (0.591)
3 Bruno Spengler / Mercedes / 82 / (1.910)
4 Oliver Jarvis / Audi / 82 / (9.946)
5 Timo Scheider / Audi / 82 / (12.315)
6 Gary Paffett / Mercedes / 82 / (14.521)
7 Alexandre Prémat / Audi / 82 / (15.834)
8 Martin Tomczyk / Audi / 82 / (16.100)
9 Maro Engel / Mercedes / 82 / (22.154)
10 Paul Di Resta / Mercedes / 82 / (31.536)
11 Ralf Schumacher / Mercedes / 82 / (31.979)
12 Mike Rockenfeller / Audi / 82 / (34.790)
13 David Coulthard / Mercedes / 82 / (35.751)
14 Cong Fu Cheng / Mercedes / 81 / (1 Lap)
15 Susie Stoddart / Mercedes / 81 / (1 Lap)
16 Katherine Legge / Audi / 81 / (1 Lap)
- Miguel Molina / Audi / 29 / (Retired)
- Markus Winkelhock / Audi / 16 / (Retired)


Written/compiled by quattroholic.com
Source: Audi Motorsport
Results via autosport.com