Robert Wickens absolutely dominated the field and led a Mercedes 1-2-3-4 home in at a drenched Moscow Raceway
Robert Wickens
Finished: 1st.
Qualified: 2nd.
Championship: 1st (108 points)
You’ve got to have some level of admiration for Robert Wickens after an absolute domination of a race in such difficult conditions. The Canadian took the lead from Gary Paffett on the first racing lap following a safety car start with him capitalising on the English driver going too deep to take the lead. He never looked back and kept on building the gap between him and second place and despite the treacherous status of the track he didn’t make a single mistake. He crossed the line with 10.9 seconds between him and Di Resta in second but that was not overly reflective of his performance as he lifted towards the end. This win lifts him from fourth in the championship to first as his rivals placed poorly
Paul Di Resta
Finished: 2nd
Qualified: 3rd
Championship: 5th (92 points)
Paul Di Resta really put himself back in the hunt for the title with a second place finish on a day that really made up for Mercedes’ disappointment in race two at Zandvoort. Di Resta had an average start and the Scotsman passed Paffett for second well into the race. Paffett barely gave Di Resta any hassle for the position which could invoke cries of “team orders” from many. By the time Di Resta got past Wickens had already ridden off into the sunset. Di Resta did have one hairy moment after this. He overshot the final corner by some distance and lost a fair bit of time. Gary Paffett was back just behind him but the ART driver didn’t pose a challenge and Di Resta finished in a comfortable second. This was a boost he needed after struggling following a flying start.
Gary Paffett
Finished: 3rd
Qualified: 1st
Championship: 8th (67 points)
Paffett never looked overly dangerous in the race. It was a very tame performance from him as he tiptoed around the soaked track letting Mercedes teammates who are championship contenders go quite easily. Paffett could only hold his lead for under one racing lap when he got out of shape and ran wide letting Wickens through. Paffett continued a very uneventful race with letting Di Resta absolutely ghost past him. Paffett’s only real moment of excitement came when he displayed some excellent car control. Paffett turned what could have destroyed his race into an elegant drift. Still these points are much needed for Paffett as bad luck has prevailed over his season but he will be hoping that he can continue his recent good run of form
Max Gotz
Finished: 4th
Qualified: 4th
Championship: 17th (16 points)
Maximilian Gotz recorded his best finish of the season and only his second point scoring finish with a consistent drive. Gotz assisted the top three Mercedes cars in pulling out a gap over the rest of the field and his trundling Mercedes attracted a large queue behind him. He constantly frustrated Ekstrom and the many others that lay behind him in a performance that mirrors the performance of Da Costa in Zandvoort who managed to drive defensively to hold off Ekstrom. However the main difference here is that Gotz was in a much stronger car than those of which behind him.
Mattias Ekstrom
Finished: 5th
Qualified: 5th
Championship: 7th (68 points)
Maxime Martin
Finished: 6th
Qualified: 6th
Championship: 6th (71 points)
Ekstrom and Martin both ran frustrating and uneventful races. Next to nothing occured involving them and both spent the entirety of the race staring at the back of the cars in front of them.
Jamie Green
Finished: 7th
Qualified: 10th
Championship: 3rd (104 points)
Jamie Green had a very strong race with the Audi driver charging up the field despite the conditions. The race didn’t quite get off to a stormer for Green with his Audi teammate Edo Mortara getting past him on the first lap that wasn’t behind the safety car. But he soon started gaining ground again with a pass on Timo Glock who had an utmost struggle with the BMW in the wet. Green then took ninth with a deft move on debutant Felix Rosenqvist on the inside of the final corner. Green’s race was riddled with minor mistakes as he pushed the Audi to the limit but nothing was enough to hamper his pace. He then was evidently let through by Timo Scheider with the latter slowing down allowing him to sweep around the outside. Green’s race was crowned with a skillful overtake on Edoardo Mortara. Green managed to slip up the inside of the Italian while wrestling his car for traction. A perfect way to sign off.
Edoardo Mortara
Finished: 8th
Qualified: 12th
Championship: 4th (92 points)
Mortara also had an excellent race. His first racing lap was a very successful one for the Italian. He eased past Tambay and also managed to pull off a move on Jamie Green at the final turn. He then followed this up with an excellent sweep around the outside of Timo Glock at the final corner. Then Felix Rosenqvist was the next to be passed with the Swede being left with no option but to back off as Mortara dived up the inside. However his challenge hit a snag when he ran very wide onto the grass. This really lost him a lot of time as he was quite a way off Scheider a driver he was once within a second of. However Mortara recovered and caught up with Scheider again and he overtook the former champion with a charge around the outside of him on the start finish straight. Mortara lost a position for the first time when Green shocked him with an excellent move on the inside of the Italian. Mortara is definitely still in the hunt for the title and is level with Di Resta.
Timo Scheider
Finished: 9th
Qualified: 7th
Championship: 23rd (3 points)
Scheider scored only his second points finish of the year with a ninth place at Moscow not a big feat for a double-champion by any stretch. Scheider had an uneventful like that of Ekstrom and Martin but with the difference that he was overtaken by fellow Audi drivers Mortara and Green.
Felix Rosenqvist
Finished: 10th
Qualified: 9th
Championship: 25th (1 point)
Felix Rosenqvist scored a point on his DTM debut as the difficult conditions did not phase the rookie. He overtook Glock very near the start of the race for eighth and was passed by the charging Mortara and Green. An excellent achievement for the Swede especially in the torrid conditions.
Marco Wittmann
Finished: 19th
Qualified: 20th
Championship: 2nd (105 points)
Marco Wittmann’s hyper-consistent run of form came to an end as well as his reign at the top of the championship. The race was already pretty much a write-off for him ever since his poor qualifying in an out of form BMW and the weather conditions didn’t help the 2014 champion.
RACE RESULTS
1. Wickens
2. Di Resta
3. Paffett
4. Gotz
5. Ekstrom
6. Martin
7. Green
8. Mortara
9. Scheider
10. Rosenqvist
11. Glock
12. Tambay
13. Muller
14. Farfus
15. Spengler
16. Rockenfeller
17. Molina
18. Auer
19. Wittmann
20. Da Costa
21. Tomczyk
22. Blomqvist
23. Vietoris
24. Juncadella
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Wickens
2. Wittmann
3. Green
4. Mortara
5. Di Resta
