2009 DTM : Paffett’s second strike - Mercedes-Benz wins at Zandvoort

2009 DTM Zandvoort Winner : Gary Paffett - Salzgitter AMG Mercedes - 2009 Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Klasse

ZANDVOORT, Netherland : July 19, 2009 - With excellent tactics, British driver Gary Paffett wins the fourth season round of the DTM at Zandvoort in The Netherlands. For the Mercedes-Benz driver, it already is his second season win after his success at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz.

2009 DTM Zandvoort Winner : Gary Paffett - Salzgitter AMG Mercedes - 2009 Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Klasse

The 2005 DTM champion takes over the lead in the points’ standings with a total of 24 points from Mattias Ekström (22 points). “The track is really difficult, but we had a great car and a superb performance today. The Mercedes-Benz team has done an outstanding job throughout the weekend”, said Paffett about the twelfth DTM victory of his career.

After a great recovery from ninth on the grid, Audi driver Ekström crossed the finish line in second place, 1.431 seconds down. “That was a race with a lot of action. I started well down on the grid, but of course, I hoped to be able to move up the order, because I was really fast. The car was very good and I was able to keep a consistent pace. I think that I can be happy with my result”, said the Swede, who won the race on the circuit in the dunes last year. With an impressive performance in his year-old Audi A4 DTM, Briton Oliver Jarvis claimed third place. With Alexandre Prémat (F), Martin Tomczyk (D) and Markus Winkelhock (D), three more Audi drivers followed in fourth to sixth place, completing the quintet of Audi drivers behind the winner.

For 15 laps, Jarvis, who had started from pole position, and Paffett were involved in a thrilling battle. Then, the 25-year old Audi driver made a slight driving error and came off the track, which allowed Paffett to take the lead with his AMG Mercedes C-Class. Two ideally timed pit stops were also the basis for success.

Bruno Spengler eventually wasn’t able to maintain his third starting position. The Mercedes-Benz driver opted for a late first pit stop on lap 16 and the second one only four laps later. Eventually, the 25-year old Canadian ended up seventh ahead of reigning DTM champion Timo Scheider (D/Audi). In the points’ standings, the two are tied at 18 points behind Paffett and Ekström. Jamie Green (GB/Mercedes-Benz), who had won the race at the Norisring, failed to score any championship points, finishing twelfth. Ralf Schumacher started from 18th place with his AMG Mercedes C-Class and after 41 laps was classified 13th.

Results remain provisional pending the outcome of further investigations by the stewards of the meeting.

The fifth DTM race weekend of the year will be taking place in Oschersleben from July 31st till August 2nd.

Mercedes-Benz motorsport director Norbert Haug: “This is a very good result for Mercedes-Benz. We didn’t expect it, but of course, we had hoped for it. Gary did it all on his own. For him, it wasn’t an easy race. But he has given the right answer. He was very good. Since last year, we have been improving steadily and we have made a big step forward here and today. One only has to believe in oneself, and then it is also possible to win.”

Audi motorsport director Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich: “Gary was really, really fast. We aren’t surprised by that as we know that Mercedes-Benz has been working very hard. From that point of view, we also needed a good strategy for Mattias and Timo. At the end of the race, Mattias was faster, and that is what brought him to the front. He really has worked hard for it.”

2009 DTM Round 4 : Zandvoort, Netherland - Race Result

Pos	No	Team-Driver	Machine-Yr	Time
1	10	Salzgitter AMG Mercedes - Gary Paffett (GBR)	Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Klasse - 09	1:05:53.688
2	5	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline - Mattias Ekstr๖m (SWE)	Red Bull Audi A4 DTM - 09	1:05:54.119
3	15	Audi Sport Team Phoenix - Oliver Jarvis (GBR)	Audi Cup A4 DTM - 08	1:05:58.923
4	6	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline - Martin Tomczyk (GER)	Red Bull Cola Audi A4 DTM - 09	1:06:03.672
5	9	Mercedes-Benz Financial AMG - Bruno Spengler (CAN)	AMG Mercedes C-Klasse - 09	1:06:06.041
6	3	AMG Mercedes - Paul Di Resta (GBR)	AMG Mercedes C-Klasse -09	1:06:07.007
7	16	GQ AMG Mercedes - Maro Engel (GER)	GQ AMG Mercedes C-Klasse - 08	1:06:07.343
8	2	Audi Sport Team Abt - Tom Kristensen (DEN)	100 Jahre Audi - A4 DTM - 09	1:06:20.297
9	7	Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes - Jamie Green (GBR)	Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Klasse - 08	1:06:21.466
10	4	Trilux AMG Mercedes - Ralf Schumacher (GER)	Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Klasse - 09	1:06:33.796

Driver's Championship after 4 rounds
Pos.	Driver - Nationality	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Gary Paffett / GBR	-	10	4	10	24
2	Mattias Ekstr๖m / SWE	2	6	6	8	22
3	Bruno Spengler / CAN	-	8	8	4	20
4	Timo Scheider / GER	8	4	5	-	17
5	Jamie Green / GBR	1	3	10	-	14
6	Paul Di Resta / GBR	4	5	2	3	14
7	Tom Kristensen / DEN	10	-	1	1	12
8	Oliver Jarvis / GBR	6	-	-	6	12
9	Maro Engel / GER	3	1	-	2	6
10	Martin Tomczyk / GER	-	-	-	5	5
11	Markus Winkelhock / GER	5	-	-	-	5
12	Ralf Schumacher / GER	-	-	3	-	3
13	Mike Rockenfeller / GER	-	2	-	-	2

Team Championship after 4 rounds
Pos.	Team	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Salzgitter / Mercedes-Benz Financial AMG	-	18	12	14	30
2	Audi Sport Team Abt	18	4	6	1	28
3	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	2	6	6	13	14
4	Trilux AMG Mercedes	4	5	5	3	14
5	TV Spielfim / Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes	1	3	10	-	14
6	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	6	-	-	6	7
7	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	5	2	-	-	6
8	GQ / stern AMG Mercedes	3	1	-	2	4