OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
Barcelona, Spain, Sep 21, 2008
� Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) won the ninth round of the 2008 DTM series at Barcelona and took his second win of the season. After 58 laps, Paul took the chequered flag 4.531sec ahead of Timo Scheider (Audi). Bernd Schneider (Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class) ended up third.
� With two races to go, the championship remains open: Paul Di Resta is now second with 55 points; he reduced the gap to leader Scheider (62 points) to seven points. Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class), eighth in today�s race after a 30sec time penalty, is third overall with 46 points. The reigning DTM Champion Ekstr�m first received a 50sec time penalty and was finally excluded from the event because of multiple pushing another car.
� After nine of 11 races, Mercedes-Benz leads with five victories ahead of Audi with four. It is the 146th win for the brand in 309 races since 1988 and the 62nd success in the �new� DTM�s 98 races since 2000.
� Ralf Schumacher (Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Class) came home seventh, his best DTM result so far. Gary Paffett (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished 11th after being hit by Audi drivers twice. Maro Engel (JungeSterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) ended up 14th.
� Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) and Mathias Lauda (Pixum AMG Mercedes C-Class) retired; Bruno due to a radiator damaged by stones, Mathias because his engine�s intake was blocked by dirt from the track and the engine lost power. Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) retired because of a steering problem.
� A total of 35,800 spectators attended the ninth round of the 2008 DTM at Barcelona during the weekend.
Race Summary
The start: For the 25th time in the DTM, Bernd Schneider started from pole position; Paul Di Resta (third) and Jamie Green (fifth) lined up behind Schneider. At the start, Di Resta improved to second place behind Scheider, Schneider dropped to third and Green was sixth after the opening lap. Bruno Spengler moved up from 10th to eighth place.
Lap 4: Susie Stoddart completed a drive-though penalty (cutting the chicane on lap 1).
Lap 5: Mathias Lauda came into the pits and retired because his engine�s intake was blocked by grass and stones from the track and the engine lost power.
Lap 7: Maro Engel pitted for new tyres.
Lap 10: Paul Di Resta followed Scheider with a gap of less than half a second.
Lap 15: Paul Di Resta took the lead when Scheider pitted. Jamie Green, Bruno Spengler and Gary Paffett came in for their respective first pit stops.
Lap 16: Paul Di Resta and Bernd Schneider pitted. Paul resumed immediately behind Scheider; the gap was again less than half a second.
Lap 18: Bruno Spengler pitted again and retired; his radiator had been hit by gravel from cars which had an off in front of him.
Lap 19: Paul Di Resta overtook Scheider.
Lap 23: Second pit stop for Jamie Green, Bernd Schneider followed one lap later.
Lap 25: Ekstr�m completed his first stop and Paul Di Resta took the lead. Susie Stoddart retired in the pits due to a steering problem.
Lap 31: Second pit stop by Paul Di Resta; he remained ahead of Scheider and Schneider.
Lap 40: Ekstr�m was the last driver to come in for his second mandatory stop. Paul Di Resta was now back in the lead ahead of Scheider and Bernd Schneider. Jamie Green was fifth and Gary Paffett ninth. Ralf Schumacher followed in 12th place, Maro Engel was 15th.
Lap 44: Gary Paffett was hit by Markus Winkelhock at the left rear, spun and dropped to 12th place. Winkelhock received a drive-though penalty. Ralf Schumacher moved up to ninth position.
Lap 50: This time, Gary Paffett was hit by Oliver Jarvis and spun.
Finish (lap 58): Paul Di Resta won, Bernd Schneider finished third. At the beginning of the final lap, Jamie Green was hit by Mattias Ekstrom and spun.
Comments
Paul Di Resta (2008 AMG Mercedes C-Class), winner: �That was really great and I am absolutely happy. I started well and from the beginning I was able to put pressure on Timo. Then I saw my chance and overtook him. I thank my team for a perfect car, I was clearly faster today. We will now continue this way and stay on the performance level of the last three races. There are 20 points still available, everything remains open.�
Bernd Schneider (2008 Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class), third: �It was a good race with a good speed. Unfortunately I had wheelspin at the start and lost two positions, otherwise a 1-2 victory for Mercedes-Benz would have been possible today. Paul was the fastest on the track today � congratulations to him on his well deserved victory.�
Ralf Schumacher (2007 Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Class), seventh: �I am quite satisfied. I started well and was lucky in the first-corner mayhem where I gained two or three positions. I thank my team for a great job.�
Jamie Green (2008 Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class), eighth: �This was not really professional by Mattias Ekstr�m. The collision when he ran into my car at the right rear and spun me around damaged my suspension, then he ran into my car a couple of times on this lap and pushed my off the track.�
Gary Paffett (2007 stern AMG Mercedes C-Class), 11th: �After a good start I later struggled with oversteer. Then I was hit twice by Markus Winkelhock and Oliver Jarvis and that was it for my race.�
Maro Engel (2007 JungeSterne AMG Mercedes C-Class), 14th: �I caught up on Gary early on, but in the first corner scrapping I had suffered from a puncture. Therefore I had to make an extra pit stop to have my tyres changed. It�s a shame, today a much better result than 15th was possible.�
Susie Stoddart (2007 TV-Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class), retired with steering problems: �On the opening lap I was pushed by another car and therefore had to cut through the chicane. Later my steering was damaged and I was not able to continue.�
Bruno Spengler (2008 Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class), retired with a radiator damaged by stones: �My radiator was damaged by stones swirled up by other cars. Caused by the leak, the engine temperature increased rapidly and I parked the car in the garage.�
Mathias Lauda (2007 Pixum AMG Mercedes C-Class), retired with a blocked intake: �I made a good start, but at the third corner I was pushed by a competitor and went on the grass. Shortly afterwards my engine lost power, because the intake had been blocked by grass and stones. Therefore I retired.�
Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: �Paul drove a great race and took our fifth victory in the ninth race of the season. From the beginning, he put pressure on Timo Scheider and finally overtook him, although this is very difficult on this track � a great manoeuvre! Paul and Timo showed a hard but fair race, this is exactly the way motor racing has to be. From his 25th pole position, Bernd Schneider had at least the chance to finish second, but he dropped back with spinning rear wheels at the start and eventually finished third � still a strong result. From fifth position, Jamie Green was pushed off the track in the end � there where several unacceptable manoeuvres. Thank you to the HWA team under Gerhard Ungar and Hans-J�rgen Mattheis for their good work during the entire weekend. With two races to go, the championship remains open and I think Paul and Timo will fight it out hard and fair � hopefully in the final race in Hockenheim.�
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