DTM: Shanghai

[Plex]

Di Resta takes pole in Shanghai chaos

DTM title chasers Paul di Resta and Gary Paffett will share the front row in Shanghai after a chaotic qualifying session, while championship leader Bruno Spengler crashed and will start 17th.

Di Resta earned pole with his time from Q3, after Jamie Green crashed at Turn 1 on his Q4 flying lap, which brought out the red flags.

Officials then decided to use the Q3 times to set the order for the top four, which means that Paffett will join di Resta on the all-Mercedes front row.

Only three drivers were set to take part in Q4 anyway, as reigning champion Timo Scheider destroyed his Audi in the dying moments of Q3 by crashing at the final corner.

Scheider, who was fourth-fastest, emerged from the wreckage unscathed. Behind him, Martin Tomczyk did an incredible job to get on the brakes and somehow avoid his crashing team-mate.

While there was drama throughout the session with all four segments featuring red flags - the most important of all the crashes was that of Spengler.

The Canadian appeared to be back on the pace in Q1 following his accident which cost him some crucial track time in free practice. He was running fifth with four minutes to go, when he ran wide at Turn 2 and hit the wall.

The Mercedes driver made it back to the pits as the session was red-flagged, and his mechanics started frantically trying to repair the smashed front end of his C-class as all drivers were allowed to progress to Q2.

Spengler then thought his day was done and got out of his car when Q2 was also red-flagged after Darryl O'Young crashed at Turn 6.

But race officials then confirmed that all drivers would be allowed to take part in Q3 as well, and Spengler eventually took to the track with just four minutes remaining.

His early laps were tentative, and he started what would have been his first proper flying lap with 11 seconds on the clock. His first sector was solid, but the red flags then came out for Scheider's crash.

Of those to miss the cut for Q4, Markus Winkelhock was the fastest, meaning he will start fifth on the grid for Rosberg Audi.

Next up was David Coulthard (Mucke Mercedes), who will finish his first DTM season with his best grid position of the year in sixth.

The top 10 was completed by Abt Sportsline-run Audis, with the 2008 car of Miguel Molina heading the '09 machines of Tomczyk, Mattias Ekstrom and Oliver Jarvis.

Pos Driver Car Time Gap
1. Paul di Resta Mercedes 58.937s
2. Gary Paffett Mercedes 59.045s + 0.108s
3. Jamie Green Mercedes 59.218s + 0.281s
4. Timo Scheider Audi 59.277s + 0.340s
5. Markus Winkelhock Audi 59.301s + 0.364s
6. David Coulthard Mercedes 59.322s + 0.385s
7. Miguel Molina Audi 59.431s + 0.494s
8. Martin Tomczyk Audi 59.483s + 0.546s
9. Mattias Ekstrom Audi 59.522s + 0.585s
10. Oliver Jarvis Audi 59.573s + 0.636s
11. Ralf Schumacher Mercedes 59.678s + 0.741s
12. Susie Stoddart Mercedes 59.750s + 0.813s
13. Mike Rockenfeller Audi 59.763s + 0.826s
14. Katherine Legge Audi 1m00.084s + 1.147s
15. Maro Engel Mercedes 1m00.114s + 1.177s
16. Cong Fu Cheng Mercedes 1m00.381s + 1.444s
17. Bruno Spengler Mercedes 1m01.010s + 2.073s
18. Darryl O'Young Audi

Autosport

[Plex]

Di Resta takes title, Paffett wins race

Gary Paffett won the DTM season finale in Shanghai on Sunday, while Paul di Resta sealed the title with second place.

Paffett took the lead from his Mercedes team-mate at the first round of stops, where di Resta was delayed by a slow change of his right rear wheel.

Di Resta then started to come under pressure from the Audis of Timo Scheider and Martin Tomczyk in the closing stages, but his title was secured when a clash between Mike Rockenfeller and Susie Stoddart brought the red flags out with six minutes of the race remaining.

Behind Tomczyk, Miguel Molina got himself up to fifth by leaving both of his stops until very late in the race.

Jamie Green was next up, having run third for much of the race. But the Briton lost out to Tomczyk when the German passed him shortly after both had made their second stops, and their scrap enabled Scheider to make his stop and emerge in a clear third.

Markus Winkelhock took seventh, while David Coulthard finished his first DTM season by scoring his first point.

The Scot had run sixth in the early stages, but he was held up by the lapped car of Bruno Spengler in the middle of the race, and then stalled at his second pitstop.

He was running 10th once everybody had completed their second stops. That became ninth when Oliver Jarvis ran over some debris at Turn 3, and Coulthard then pinched eighth from former champion Mattias Ekstrom three laps before the race was stopped.

Spengler, who came into this race as the championship leader, came home 13th.

The Canadian started from the back after crashing in qualifying, and he then tried a radical strategy by making both of his mandatory stops early. It did not pay off, and he slipped behind di Resta and race winner Paffett in the championship standings.

Pos Driver Car Time/Gap
1. Gary Paffett Mercedes 51m57.657s
2. Paul di Resta Mercedes + 3.751s
3. Timo Scheider Audi + 4.212s
4. Martin Tomczyk Audi + 5.341s
5. Miguel Molina Audi + 16.306s
6. Jamie Green Mercedes + 18.152s
7. Markus Winkelhock Audi + 19.469s
8. David Coulthard Mercedes + 21.835s
9. Mattias Ekstrom Audi + 23.554s
10. Ralf Schumacher Mercedes + 24.182s
11. Susie Stoddart Mercedes + 35.086s
12. Mike Rockenfeller Audi + 35.319s
13. Bruno Spengler Mercedes + 36.120s
14. Katherine Legge Audi + 39.710s
15. Cong Fu Cheng Mercedes + 47.386s
16. Maro Engel Mercedes + 1 lap
17. Oliver Jarvis Audi + 2 laps

Autosport