altodx

5 jun 2005
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With a dominating double victory at Brno, Audi has captured the lead in the DTM standings. Like last year, Mattias Ekström won the race on the Czech Grand Prix circuit ahead of his team-mate Tom Kristensen. The two Audi drivers crossed the finish line almost 25 seconds ahead of the third-placed contender. By clinching the new Audi A4 DTM car’s first victory, the reigning DTM Champion, Mattias Ekström, took the lead in the overall standings. Tom Kristensen moved up to third place. In the manufacturers’ standings, Audi has added 15 points to its score, thus reducing its disadvantage to a mere four points.

1° Mattias Ekström (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline)
2° Tom Kristensen (Audi Sport Team Abt) at 00"288
3° Heinz-Harald Frentzen Opel Vectra GTS V8 at 24"694 
4° Gary Paffett AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse at 28"503 
5° Jamie Green AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse at 30"997 
6° Christian Abt Audi A4 DTM at 34"555 
7° Allan McNish Audi A4 DTM at 34"815 
8° Frank Stippler Audi A4 DTM at 36"102 
9° Jean Alesi AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse at 43"286 
10° Rinaldo Capello Audi A4 DTM at 43"652 

Martin Tomczyk and Allan McNish, as well, demonstrated the high potential of the new Audi A4 DTM at Brno. Tomczyk set the fastest lap in the race and was in fourth place when – while pitting for the first time - the right rear wheel nut became jammed, forcing him to make another long, unscheduled stop. Former Formula 1 driver Allan McNish, who finished seventh, scored his first DTM points. A drive-through penalty imposed for speeding in the pit lane deprived the Scot of a potential podium position.
 
Another strong racing performance was shown by last year’s Audi A4 DTM cars. Christian Abt clinched sixth place and, up until his second pit stop, kept the quickest driver in the Qualifying, Gary Paffett, in check. In his first race at Brno, Frank Stippler worked his way up from 16th place on the grid to eighth place, thus claiming another point for Audi. Rinaldo Capello finished tenth despite having dropped back to the back of the field in the starting phase. He crossed the finish line merely 0.366 seconds behind Hockenheim winner Jean Alesi. Pierre Kaffer was forced to stop on the opening lap when a rival in front of him spuin. From 18th place, the Audi driver managed to work his way up to twelfth.

Rinaldo Capello (Audi Sport Team Joest #18) 10th place, + 43.652s
"I’m very happy, although I threw away points. Yet I was able to show today how quick my A4 is. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in the starting phase, otherwise I could have finished in fifth or sixth place. I was able to move up to the cars in front of me, but overtaking was very difficult.”
sottomenu