Di Resta wins in Barcelona ? point for Schumacher
Barcelona. The battle for the DTM title is entering its decisive stage and could hardly be more thrilling. The main rival of points? leader Timo Scheider (Audi), Scotsman Paul di Resta, claimed victory in Barcelona. German driver Scheider ended up second and now is only seven points ahead of di Resta. ?I was having a great fight with Timo. At some parts of the circuit, he was faster, but at other parts, I was?, said 22-year old di Resta after his second win of the season. Third place was taken by DTM record champion Bernd Schneider. The two drivers with year-old Audis, Mike Rockenfeller and Alexandre Pr?mat, landed a big surprise by finishing fifth and sixth behind their fellow Audi driver Martin Tomczyk. British Mercedes-Benz driver Jamie Green, who was second in the drivers? standings, tied on points with di Resta, came home seventh. He is now 15 points down on the leader. With his AMG Mercedes C-Class, Ralf Schumacher again achieved a points? scoring finish by coming home eighth. The German had reached the same position at the N?rburgring.
For Bernd Schneider, the joy about his 25th pole position and the first one since Zandvoort in 2005 didn?t last long. At the start already, Scheider and di Resta managed to overtake the 44-year old and started a thrilling duel. On lap 19, di Resta overtook the points? leader and managed to pull a slight gap that he didn?t lose anymore until the chequered flag was out. Rockenfeller also had a very good start and made up two places, moving up into fifth. Eventually, he drove this result home. Further down the order, some duels were too hard. Going into the final lap of the race, reigning DTM champion Mattias Ekstr?m (Audi) from Sweden was sixth. He became involved in a battle with Mercedes-Benz driver Green, who was in front of him. The duel ended with a collision. The stewards of the meeting saw the Swede at fault and gave him a 50 seconds? time penalty. For Ekstr?m, this meant ninth place, no points and, 18 points down, only mathematical chances of defending his title.
In the DTM points? standings, Scheider remains in the lead with 62 points from di Resta (55) and Green (47). The penultimate DTM round of the season will take place at Le Mans (F) on October 5th.
Paul di Resta (winner, AMG Mercedes): ?Today, I probably had the fastest car in the field. I had a great fight with Timo Scheider. At some parts of the track, he was faster, but at other parts, I was. The overtaking manoeuvre was absolutely clean and Timo played along perfectly. I knew that I would have to be very close to him all the time in order to being able to start an attack at all. But it was also my goal to avoid too many risks as I didn?t want to drop back in the points? standings.. There are still two races remaining, we will see what we can do.?
Timo Scheider (2nd place, Audi Sport Team Abt): ?I am not at all disappointed with second place. My start was good and I was able to overtake Bernd Schneider before the first corner. After that, Paul di Resta put me under quite some pressure. He was a little bit faster and made good use of a slight gap. Being on the podium today was our goal. There are still 20 points at stake. Anyone who knows the DTM also knows that everything is still possible, even though we remain in front.?
Bernd Schneider (3rd place, Original-Teile AMG Mercedes): ?Unfortunately, I had wheelspin at the start and therefore really had to battle for third place in the first corner. I couldn?t really keep up with Paul di Resta and Timo Scheider out in front. I had hoped to be able to fight with Timo for second place. But unfortunately, we had a slight problem during the pit stop which cost us some time. After that, I could work with my tyres quite well and I was running pretty much on my own. For a man of my age, it is quite comfortable not having somebody right behind me all the time.?
Mercedes-Benz motorsport director Norbert Haug: ?Today, Paul di Resta has driven a remarkable race. My compliments for a faultless performance. He dealt with Timo Scheider perfectly. Out in front, it was a fair and thrilling race. That is what racing should be like. The battle for the title remains well-balanced and we still have chances to come out as the winners. We will give everything to be that decisive point ahead of the opposition at Hockenheim.?
Audi motorsport director Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich: ?Timo Scheider has driven second place home and thus scored the best possible result. Both of them, Timo Scheider and Paul di Resta, have staged a great race today. After the second stop, Paul di Resta had a slight advantage. Still, I am more than happy with the result for Audi. We are also happy with the performance of our two drivers with year-old cars, Mike Rockenfeller and Alexandre Pr?mat, who both scored points. It will remain exciting in the battle for the championship.?
