“It’s been a great race and a great day for Audi,” Peter Mertens said following the early title decision. The Member of the Board of Management, Technical Development, AUDI AG personally watched the thrilling race at the venue and was one of the first to extend congratulations after the finish. “My congratulations to Dieter Gass and to the entire Audi DTM squad. Our engineers built the best DTM car last winter and our teams and drivers did a perfect job of putting everything on track. The three titles are more than deserved.”
“Today, we secured the drivers’ championship for Audi – that was our big aim,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. “The manufacturers’ and teams’ championships are assured as well. You can’t do any better than that. We saw a tremendous race and clinched a one-two victory. Jamie (Green) once again showed a superb performance. Mike (Rockenfeller) drove fantastically as well. Now we’re looking forward to a great finale tomorrow in which the DTM fans will get to see a thrilling shootout for the drivers’ championship.”
Mattias Ekström (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline) defended his lead of the standings but, in position eleven, scored no points on Saturday and now has only a nine-point advantage over Jamie Green. From position three on the grid, the Briton from Audi Sport Team Rosberg celebrated his third victory this season. “I won, so I’m very happy,” said Green. “I had a tough battle with Timo Glock and am happy that I was able to advance. The winners’ trophy is a sweet reward for Audi and Team Rosberg that have been giving me such a superb car.”
Following cautions, Ekström and Green have received five- and ten-place grid penalties, respectively, for Sunday. This improves the title chances of Mike Rockenfeller (Audi Sport Team Phoenix) and René Rast (Audi Sport Team Rosberg) who took positions two and six on Saturday and are entering the crucial finale with deficits of 13 and 20 points, respectively.
The last time Audi secured all three DTM titles in the same year was 13 years ago: In 2004, Mattias Ekström won the drivers’ championship. The last Audi DTM Champion to date and the first at the wheel of an Audi RS 5 DTM was Mike Rockenfeller in 2013. Jamie Green and René Rast will be battling for their first DTM titles on Sunday.
Results of race 1:
1 Jamie Green (Hoffmann Group Audi RS 5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Rosberg) 36 laps in 56m 52.478s
2 Mike Rockenfeller (Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Phoenix) + 3.939s
3 Timo Glock (BMW) + 5.666s
4 Maxime Martin (BMW) + 10.448s
5 Edoardo Mortara (Mercedes-Benz) + 12.962s
6 René Rast (AUTO BILD MOTORSPORT Audi RS 5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Rosberg) + 14.752s
…
11 Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline) + 25.764s
12 Nico Müller (Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline) + 26.371s
18 Loïc Duval (Castrol EDGE Audi RS 5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Phoenix) + 42.024s
Drivers’ standings after 17 of 18 races:
1 Mattias Ekström (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline) 172 points
2 Jamie Green (Audi Sport Team Rosberg) 163 points
3 René Rast (Audi Sport Team Rosberg) 159 points
4 Mike Rockenfeller (Audi Sport Team Phoenix) 152 points