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In pouring rain, Mercedes-AMG took the first two positions in first free practice of the DTM at the Nürburgring on Friday.

With a time of 1m39.959s, Gary Paffett ended up 91 hundredths of a second faster than his fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Paul Di Resta (1m37.050s).

“When coming to the Eifel, you know you have to expect weather conditions like this. This is a good result, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us." Mercedes-AMG team principal Ulrich Fritz said

"The pressure is there, but also the determination to strike back here after Zandvoort,” . 

With Augusto Farfus (1m38.098s) and Marco Wittmann (1m37.352s), two BMW drivers followed in third and fourth place.

“Initially, it was very slippery. For us, this was good preparation for tomorrow. I like the Eifel and the Nürburgring. I have won here twice. Tomorrow, we will drive with maximum attack,” Marco Wittmann commented.

René Rast was the best-placed Audi driver, classified fifth with 1m37.735s. “I haven’t been out on track too much with a DTM car in the rain,” Rast said.

“The more laps I did, the better it went. Eventually, I was feeling very well in the car.”

All six BMW drivers ended up in the top ten, with Mike Rockenfeller (1m38.292s) just missing out on a top ten result in his home event in eleventh place.

“We still have room for improvement, it will be difficult, no matter if in the wet or in the dry. We didn’t have a lot of grip with the rain tyres."

There is no such thing as a home advantage on the track, but we are doing what we can,” the Audi driver said.

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For BMW, the starting grid positions could hardly have been better: the drivers from the brand from Munich already having locked out the first two rows on the grid on Saturday, there will again be three BMW M4 DTMs up front for the second race of the weekend.

First and foremost Augusto Farfus, who secured the best place on the grid with a time of 1m27.475s. For the Brazilian, it is the sixth pole position of his DTM career. Next to him on the front row is Marco Wittmann, Maxime Martin qualified third.

Jamie Green will be starting from fourth as the best-placed Audi driver on the grid for the race on Sunday. Positions on the third row are shared by Timo Glock and DTM points’ leader René Rast. Mattias Ekström is twelfth.

After engine problems in free practice, Paul Di Resta was unable to take part in qualifying. The team is changing the engine and hopes that the Scot will be able to take part in the race from 15.15 hrs. ARD is broadcasting live from Zandvoort from 15.00 hrs onwards.

"This isn’t a bad weekend for me. We had a good balance in the car. I like the track."Said Farfus "The entire package is right here." 

"It has been a long time since I last was on pole position. Now, I am back. That is making me very proud. I hope for a good race."

"Yesterday, I didn’t have a good first stint in the race, today it will be better. I am back in the game. It is my goal to win races and today is a very good opportunity to do so." He cocluded

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Mike Rockenfeller is the winner of the race at Zandvoort in The Netherlands on Sunday. The Audi driver, who took the chequered flag in second place after 37 laps, was retroactively declared as the winner.

He was promoted to first place as Marco Wittmann was disqualified after the race. The BMW works driver had finished first in the twelfth race of the DTM season, but in post-race scrutineering of his car, the required minimum amount of fuel was no longer in the tank.

As Rockenfeller’s fellow Audi drivers Loïc Duval and Mattias Ekström were promoted as well after the disqualification, the brand from Ingolstadt secured a clean sweep of the podium. For Duval, this is the first podium finish in his twelfth DTM race. Ekström claims back the lead in the DTM drivers’ standings.

Previously, everything looked set for a successful day for Wittmann: from second place on the grid, the German had taken the lead at the start and successfully defended his position against a strong Rockenfeller in the closing stages.

His first win of the season would also have propelled him to second place in the drivers’ standings. For Wittmann, who was presented with the trophy by Formula 1 star Max Verstappen, his joy didn’t last long: as it proved to be impossible to take the amount of 1000 g as required in the regulations for the fuel probe, he was disqualified.

In the drivers’ standings, Ekström, who still has to score his first win of the season, is 14 points clear of fellow Audi driver René Rast. The latter remained without any points after a retirement on Sunday. For the Swede, the race was anything but a walk in the park.

In the closing stages, Ekström complained about decreasing tyre pressure in the left front wheel and lost a lot of time. Because Nico Müller covered his fellow Audi driver in front of him in an apt, but fair way, Gary Paffett, the best-placed Mercedes-AMG driver, couldn’t find a way past the Audi duo. “On the final lap, I almost drove on the rim,” Ekström smiled at the finish.

Next to Marco Wittmann, the big loser of the Zandvoort weekend was Mercedes-AMG driver Lucas Auer. The Austrian had started the race as the third-placed in the drivers’ standings from eleventh on the grid. Just before the end, he turned into the pits for an unscheduled stop due to a puncture and lost a lot of time.

At the finish, he was only classified 15th. In the race on Saturday, Auer hadn’t scored any points either and he dropped back four places in the drivers’ standings as a result.

The outcome of the race again considerably mixed up the situation in the drivers’ standings: behind Ekström (128 points) and Rast (114 points), Rockenfeller (110 points) is rounding out the trio of Audi drivers up front.

With six races remaining prior to the finale at Hockenheim, BMW drivers Timo Glock (104 points) and Maxime Martin (102 points) are also within striking distance, just like Lucas Auer and Jamie Green (both 99 points).

The battle for the 2017 DTM title continues at the Nürburgring in three weeks’ time. From 8 till 10 September, the DTM has its next event in the Eifel.

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Loïc Duval had one of his relatively rare moments of success in third free practice of the DTM at Circuit Zandvoort.

The Frenchman, who has yet to score his first championship point in the DTM, drove his Audi RS 5 DTM to a lap time of 1m28.326s and ended up first.

With BMW’s Augusto Farfus (1m28.349s) in second and Mercedes-AMG driver Maro Engel (1m28.495s) in third, all three manufacturers had one driver in the top three.

"Unfortunately, there are no points for first place in free practice." He said

"Of course, qualifying is more important, but we have a good basis. So far, the weekend has been satisfying for me, but it will be difficult against the strong BMWs," the rookie added

Even though the practice result hasn’t too much significance: DTM points’ leader René Rast was classified last in the 30 minutes’ session on Sunday morning, while his main rival Mattias Ekström ended up sixth.

Auer also did better than Rast: the Austrian ended up in eleventh place, 0.475 seconds down on Duval’s time.

 

         

 

 

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