In DTM everything is possible, the second race in the Norisring (Nüremberg) has been spectacular with many overtaking and also some accidents that have allowed Martin to get the victory ahead of Auer and Mortara, who joined the podium in a Photo finish end.
Robert Wickens was able to beat Tom Blomqvist at the start, Blomqvist from pole position drop to sixth. In the lead, Wickens was ahead Spengler and Martin.
Already in first lap, Auer, Blomqvist, Farfus, Green and Engel entered the pit late, one lap later the BMW’s of Glock and Wittmann did the same. Both came out right behind Auer who was the first of those who had pitted.
In the fourth lap, Ekström and Paffet entered in the pits and also came out behind Auer but they managed to stay in front of Wittmann and Green.
On the other hand Spengler entered on lap five, He managed to be in front of Auer, but the Mercedes driver battled the position.
The leaders of the race stopped after the first 10 minutes of the race, Wickens on lap eight, while Martin did it a lap before, holding the position with Auer.
The Austrian was not wasting time and in a lap, He beat Martin and Wickens for the first virtual position. The Mercedes driver also outperformed Rockenfeller and Rast on lap 11, just after the Audi drivers entered the box. Immediately, Auer and Martin escaped from the rest of the field.
With 40 minutes remaining, Di Resta was in the box and was went out just behind Auer and Martin in fifth position with Mortara and Duval being the only ones who hadn’t yet entered the pit’s.
5 minutes later the first accidents arrived. Robert Wickens could not avoid an accident between him and Rene Rast who did not leave him enough space at the exit of Turn 1, causing the safety car. Both drivers continued on track.
With 28 minutes remaining, the race was restarted with Loïc Duval in first position – without having entered the pits yet, but the Frenchman lost the first position with Martin. Spengler immediately overtook him but then suffered a puncture in the right front tire.
Then the worst DTM accident of the season arrived, Gary Paffet was pushed against the wall before reaching the first corner. The reserve driver of Williams F1 lost control of his car and hit Mike Rockenfeller at Turn 1. This accident caused the red flag, both drivers were ok after the crash.
After 30 minutes of waiting, the race was restarted without Indianapolis style. Martin was the leader ahead of Auer, Wittmann, Ekström and Mortara. Auer took the inside at turn 1 to overtake Martin without the DRS. The Belgian returned the maneuver a few laps later.
The race would be much quieter in this stage, with Martin securing the victory. The fight for the second position was complicated for Auer with very worn tires. Wittmann tried to pass the Austrian but this made it easier for Ekström to move up to third on the final lap. The Swede defended the position aggressively in the absence of two corners but Wittmann touched him, facilitating Mortara to get parallel with both pilots in a foto-finish end that allowed Mortara to cross the line in third position, fourth was Ekström and Wittmann fifth.
The points area is completed by Paul Di Resta, Augusto Farfus, Jamie Green, Tom Blomqvist and Timo Glock.
In the drivers’ championship, Ekström remains the leader with 89 points, 2 more than Auer. Martin jumped to the third position of the championship to 11 points of the Swedish.