The four rings again dominated in second free practice of the DTM at the Hungaroring. Like on the day before, all six Audi drivers ended up in the top ten. Jamie Green was fastest in 1m35.674s. Nico Muller again was classified second with 1m35.722s. Mike Rockenfeller, fastest in Friday’s free practice, was third this time (1m35.796s).

Mattias Ekstrom (1m35.888s) and René Rast (1m35.973s) rounded out the Audi quintet. Loic Duval again was tenth (1m36.626s). Maro Engel was the best-placed Mercedes-AMG driver in sixth (1m36.336s). Timo Glock was the best BMW representative in seventh with a time of 1m36.533s. Lucas Auer (Mercedes-AMG), the leader in the drivers’ standings, was ninth (1m36.608s).

“Driving here this morning was tricky. There was a lot of wind. The cars were a little bit unpredictable. We ran through our regular programme in qualifying. It looks as if we have managed to improve the driveability of the car compared to yesterday. So far, so good,” Jamie Green commented after his first place.      

What a dramatic race the second encounter of the DTM at the Hockenheimring on Sunday was. Anyone who thought that the excitement and variety from the previous day could not be topped found out otherwise. This time, the rain, that became stronger and stronger over the course of the race, played a major role.

It allowed some drivers to make great progress in the field, but made others look like sitting ducks. Neither the conditions nor a five seconds’ time penalty were able to stop Audi driver Jamie Green. After third place in qualifying, the Brit drove a commanding win home, in spite of all the adversities.

That Gary Paffett with his Mercedes-AMG and Marco Wittmann with his BMW were classified second and third, any script author could not have invented in a more suitable way. Once again, all three manufacturers were represented on the podium. “Today, the race was like a roller-coaster ride. At times, I didn’t even have a clue which position I was in. We put the rain tyres on at exactly the right time. Then, the car was really fast. One should never give up and has to keep on fighting till the end,” second-placed Gary Paffett said.

A truly competitive spirit also paid off for BMW driver Marco Wittmann. Thr defending champion already moved up from 17^th to tenth place at the start and eventually charged to third place. On Saturday, Audi driver Mike Rockenfeller had already put in a similar performance. “After qualifying, I was frustrated, because we had changed to slicks too early. Conditions were difficult today. I think that my pit crew went ballistic. Without any radio communication from the pits, the driver has to make the call for the tyre change. Third place feels like a victory for me,” the overjoyed 27-year-old said.

The second DTM race of the weekend started with a bang and a premiere. After the start, Mercedes-AMG driver Robert Wickens tangled with Nico Müller, who, in turn, made contact with Loïc Duval. For Wickens, the race was already over after the first corner. The safety car was deployed. And for the first time, the spectators got to see the Indianapolis start with a double-file grid formation. The restart mixed up the front-runners. Erstwhile leader Timo Glock dropped back from first to fourth. Eventually, the second-placed from the first race on Saturday finished eighth this time with his BMW M4 DTM.

Jamie Green then led the field from Auer and Bruno Spengler. Subsequently, Green incurred a five seconds’ pit stop penalty for an incorrect grid position, but as the Brit consistently increased his margin as the race leader, the penalty that he served during his tyre change, hardly affected him. René Rast, second in qualifying, was rather unfortunate. The Audi driver retired on lap four already following a collision with Augusto Farfus. “With the slick tyres and a little bit of rain, driving was extremely difficult,” the race winner analysed. “I slid once, but I was fast enough, so no problem for me. The decision when to change to rain tyres was mine and mine alone to make. The timing was spot-on.”

From lap 18, the floodgates opened more and more. Those drivers who were still out with slicks immediately headed for the pits. Wittmann, Paffett and Green changed to rain tyres almost at the same time. Auer stayed out for one lap longer than his opponents and then rejoined the field in second place behind Green. “Perhaps, I stayed out a little bit too long, but on the other hand, the rain could have stopped, too. Then, it would have been absolutely perfect. Basically, I am happy, the new restart was crazy,” Auer emphasized. His joy about a possible next podium finish only lasted for two laps, because then the Austrian locked up under braking and dropped back to fourth behind Paffett and Wittmann. 

Still, Auer remains in the lead of the drivers’ standing at 40 points after the first weekend of racing, ahead of Green and Paffett, who are tied at 26 points each. “It was an incredible season opener for the DTM with all three brands on the podium in both races, and with different drivers on top of that,” Gary Paffett summed up. And he was by no means the only one with that view after two days of action-packed and thrilling racing at Hockenheim.

Mike Rockenfeller posted the fastest time in free practice of the DTM at the Hungaroring. The Audi driver completed his fastest lap of the 4.381 kilometres long Grand Prix circuit to the north-east of the Hungarian capital of Budapest in 1m36.404s.

That made him 0.160 seconds faster than his fellow Audi driver Nico Muller. Reigning DTM champion Marco Wittmann was third-fastest with his BMW M4 DTM, he came to a time of 1m36.984s. 

“At the end, heavy rain set in, but we had 30 minutes of dry running in practice to prepare for the race,” Rockenfeller commented. “It went pretty well and I really enjoyed it. The Hungaroring is a great track and I hope that things will be going equally well for me tomorrow.” 

Behind the top three, Mattias Ekström (Audi), Augusto Farfus (BMW), René Rast, Jamie Green (beide Audi) and Timo Glock (BMW) were classified in fourth to eighth place. Points’ leader Lucas Auer was ninth in free practice on Friday with his Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM. Audi’s Loïc Duval rounded out the top ten.

As rain set in at the end of free practice, the DTM drivers had to do without the trial safety car restart in Indy starting grid formation.

Second free practice of the DTM at the Hungaroring will be taking place on Saturday morning at 9.40 hrs.

Jamie Green is the winner of the DTM race at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg on Sunday. In extremely difficult weather conditions, the Audi driver kept control, changed to rain tyres at the right time and, in spite of a five seconds’ penalty, drove his first season win home after 32 laps. It is the 14th race win of his DTM career.

Second place in an action-packed race went to Mercedes-AMG driver Gary Paffett from reigning DTM champion Marco Wittmann. The BMW driver had started from the penultimate grid position and secured his 16th DTM podium finish.

Eventual race winner Green took the lead from Timo Glock after an early safety car intervention and the subsequent flying restart on lap three. As he already overtook Glock before the field was released again, Green was given a five seconds’ pit stop penalty that he served during his tyre change on lap 19. The change to rain tyres came at the right time as the rain had increased just a little bit earlier. “With the slick tyres and a little bit of rain, driving was extremely difficult,” the race winner reported. “I slid once, but I was fast enough, so no problem for me there.” Green was another driver to discover how challenging the new radio rules are. Radio communication between pits and driver is banned, apart from safety-related information. “The decision when to change to rain tyres was mine and mine alone to make. The timing was spot-on.”

With a furious comeback, Gary Paffett finished second. After an off-track excursion on lap four, the Mercedes-AMG driver dropped back to 14th place, but successively claimed back one position after another. At the time of his pit stop on lap 18, he was already fifth, made up another three places with rain tyres and finished second. Marco Wittmann, too, came to the fore from 17th place on the grid, was already tenth after the opening lap and sixth after the restart. Eventually, the raining DTM champion also chose the right time to change from slick to rain tyres and was rewarded for his race with third place.

Timo Glock, who had started the race from pole position, missed the restart, unlike Green, and dropped back to fourth. Then, he misjudged his tyre choice, initially opted for another set of slicks, only to have them replaced by rain tyres after all another four laps later. Eventually, he finished eighth. Lucas Auer, the winner of the race on Saturday, had his eyes set on a podium finish for a long time, but eventually dropped back to fourth after changing to rain tyres too late.

In the DTM drivers’ standings, Lucas Auer remains in the lead with 40 points after two of 18 season races. After his victory, Jamie Green has 26 points to his tally and is second in the standings. Tied on points, Gary Paffett is third. Timo Glock is in fourth place with 25 points. The third and fourth DTM race of the season will take place in less than a fortnight, from 19 till 21 May, during the Motorsport Festival at the Lausitzring.