DTM: Rockenfeller wins race 2 in Moscow
Mike Rockenfeller was the winner of DTM race 2 in Moscow. Former champion clinched his first victory this season driving confidently from start to finish, bringing seventh win to Audi in 12 races in 2015.
Mike Rockenfeller was on pole, followed by two BMWs driven by Bruno Spengler and Maxime Martin, while behind them were three Audis with Jamie Green, Mattias Ekstrom and Nico Muller in the cockpits. Spengler started well and almost overtook Rockenfeller, but Green sneaked to third, and Gary Paffett to sixth position, behind Mattias Ekstrom.
Pascal Wehrlein, championship leader and winner of Saturday’s race, was far from top at 12th place, creating a chance for Ekstrom and Green, and also for Edoardo Mortara who was battling with Wehrlein to move into top 10.
When the mandatory pit-stop was completed, Rockenfeller was still on top, followed by Spengler and Martin who were around five seconds behind. Mattias Ekstrom moved up to fourth, pushing Green to fifth, while Paffett was still in sixth position.
With 20 minutes to go, Rockenfeller had a comfortable lead and the battle for third was much more interesting as three drivers were all in one second. In the middle of the grid, Wehrlein moved to 10th while Mortara was 8th, so it was obvious that there will be another shuffle in the championship standings, especially when Ekstrom overtook Martin to take the third place.
In the last couple of minutes, nobody wanted to risk too much, so “Rocki” passed first through finish line without pressure, followed by Spengler and Ekstrom who is again on top of the championship, with six races remaining. In the last corner Green tried to overtake Martin, but his attempt was overambitious, so the BMW driver finished fourth and Green fifth.
