Gary Paffett and Mercedes at the party

Gary Paffett, author of four successes last year, is already back on the top step of the podium. The opening race of the DTM is even a triumph for Mercedes since the Class Cs achieved a formidable quadruplet thanks to Bruno Spengler, Jamie Green and Paul di Resta.

Gary Paffett managed the race perfectly, even if the Briton, who started from pole, had to hand over control to Martin Tomczyk (Audi) in the first laps. Alexandre Prémat also took advantage of the start of the race to stand out, climbing to 4th place, before suffering from a lack of balance.

After the first pit stops, Gary Paffett returned to the lead of the race, ahead of Mattias Ekström, the only Audi driver among the top five. Alex Prémat, starting at the back, must then work to grab positions, overtaking David Coulthard (Mercedes) and Susie Stoddart (Mercedes).

The Mercedes managed the second pit window perfectly and Gary Paffett took the lead again, ahead of three other Class Cs, with Jamie Green taking second place ahead of Bruno Spengler and Paul di Resta. But the Canadian, third, passes Jamie Green and inherits second place.

The positions no longer change and Gary Paffett wins the first race of the year. Long in the fight for the title last year, the Briton, test driver for the F1 McLaren, takes on the role of DTM leader. This Hockenheim race was also a failure for Audi and for the German drivers since, in both cases, it was necessary to go up to fifth place to find their first common representative, Mike Rockenfeller.