PAFFETT CLAIMS 1 FOR MERCEDES-BENZ
By DTM
4 June 2009

With an impeccable tactic and well-timed pit stops, Briton Gary Paffett claimed victory for Mercedes-Benz after 52 laps at last weekend's DTM race at EuroSpeedway Lausitz, second round of the 2009 DTM.

The 28-year old planned his two mandatory pit stops late in laps 24 and 34 and was thus able to extend his lead in first place lap after lap.

Second-place went to his team-mate Bruno Spengler (right) from Canada, who also went past Swedish Audi driver Mattias Ekström thanks to late stops. The champion of 2004 and 2007, who had started from pole position, came third in the second DTM race of the year.

“I don’t know what was wrong at Hockenheim, but everything was just perfect. Especially the strategy that my team worked out was the key to success."

"This is going to be a great season. I am already looking forward to Norisring in four weeks’ time”, said Paffett (left) after his eleventh victory in the DTM.

For Mercedes-Benz, it was already the 148th race win in the most popular international touring car series.

Ekström (right), who already made his first stop on lap 13 and his second one on lap 22, said about his third place: “I drove a race without any mistakes and still, I wasn’t as fast as the two Mercedes. Of course, when you start from pole, the goal is to win, but we will be faster next time round.”

Last year’s runner-up Paul Di Resta (left) finished in fourth place ahead of reigning champion Timo Scheider (Audi).

Mercedes-Benz driver Jamie Green from Great Britain ended up sixth as the best-placed driver of a 2008-spec car.

With a great recovery in his DTM machine, Ralf Schumacher (below left) thrilled the fans in the Lower Lausitz. Having started last, the German made it all the way up into tenth place.

The winner of the season opener at Hockenheim, Tom Kristensen (Audi, above right) had a rather disappointing weekend. Initially, the dane failed to make it into the second heat of qualifying on Saturday. On Sunday, the 41-year old was involved in many duels and incurred one drive-through penalty and a pit stop time penalty for his manoeuvres. This left Kristensen without a chance of challenging for a top position. After 180.856 kilometres, he finished twelfth.

In the overall standings, champion Scheider is leading with twelve points from Kristensen and Paffett, who have ten points each. The third DTM race weekend of the year will be taking place at the Norisring in Nuremberg from 26 - 28 June.

[View Results & Standings]