Gary Paffett and Mercedes uncompromising at Zandvoort

BMW scored a hat-trick in Race 1 at Zandvoort in 2017, Mercedes leaves this first Dutch confrontation with a quadruple, led by championship leader Gary Paffett.

Author of the pole in the morning, the Briton controlled his teammate Pascal Wehrlein throughout the first stint, before the sequence of passage through the pits offered a respite to the first leader of the race, returning to the pitlane after his rival German.

The only driver not to have stopped, René Rast (Audi), reigning champion, led the second part of the event, but had to face a safety car deployed after Nico Müller went off the track, victim of an accident. a puncture.

And that´s the reason for the safety car which is still out on the track. A drop of tire pressure in the left front tire caused the @nico_mueller crash #weloveDTM #DTMZandvoort #FeelTheRoar pic.twitter.com/FPNG4dHv6d

— DTM (@DTM) July 14, 2018

After a long period under Safety-Car, the peloton was released and Rast had to observe his regulatory stop, leaving Paffett in control of the race ahead of Paul di Resta and Pascal Wehrlein, who was surprised by Lucas Auer to gain third place. . 

The positions will remain identical until the finish, with a third success in 2018 for Paffett (his 23rd in DTM) which consolidates his leadership position in the championship, his closest pursuer in the standings, Edoardo Mortara (Mercedes) only finishing 13th. .

On home soil, Robin Frijns is the best Audi representative in 5th place ahead of the BMWs of Timo Glock, Marco Wittmann, Augusto Farfus, Joel Eriksson and the Audi of Jamie Green who complete the top 10. Loïc duval (Audi) fails in 11th position.

Ranking Race 1