Maro Engel claimed his maiden victory in the DTM Series at the Moscow Raceway on Sunday.
It was the 52nd time of asking for the Mercedes driver who claimed victory on Sunday in a chaotic race.
Engel had qualified in 18th, and last place, but was promoted one place after Tom Blomqvist was disqualified and sent to the back of the grid.
Opting to stop early Engel was part of the leading quartet of those who had served their mandatory pitstop, when the safety car was deployed. Having been held up by Nico Muller, Engel was able to get by Marco Wittmann to make himself the de facto race leader when racing resumed.
“That was an incredible race. I had to stay patient behind Nico Müller and look after my tyres. But my car today was mega.”
Audi had used Muller to hold up the pack so that team-mate Mattias Ekström could catch and pass them. This plan worked, with the Audi-man crossing the line just 0.376 seconds behind Engel.
“At the end of the race, I saw Mattias getting close, but I didn’t know it was the last lap. Fortunately, the race came to an end at this moment. Those were definitely the longest five or six laps of my life.”
