Lucas Auer sits in second place of the DTM Series championship after a weekend of mixed fortune at the Norisring.
Auer was forced to retire early on from the opening race of the weekend after contact with Robert Wickens on the opening lap.
In Sunday’s race Auer had been running in second place when the safety car was brought out, at the restart Auer dropped down to fourth after attempting to overtake Loic Duval.
A puncture for Bruno Spengler and Duval needing to serve his mandatory pitstop promoted Auer back into second place before the red flag was brought out for the incident between Gary Paffett and Mike Rockenfeller.
Second at the restart once again, Auer came under pressure in the closing stages from Marco Wittmann and Mattias Ekström, as the latter pair battled each other it allowed the Mercedes driver to escape and claim second place – despite suffering a cramp in his foot.
“That was amazing – what a race! Obviously, I’m hoping that Gary and Mike are OK after the accident. Massive congratulations to my team. It was a master performance. On the last ten laps, I got a cramp and had to brake with my right foot. But anyway, I’m happy now. In the last four qualifying sessions, I’ve consistently been among the Top Seven, but I didn’t always have race luck on my side. Now it’s back. That gives me confidence for the next race weekend.”
Auer is just two points behind Ekström in the championship as they head to the fifth round of the season at the Moscow Raceway.
