The DTM Series returned to the action at the weekend at Brands Hatch.
Last racing round the Kentish track in 2013, it marked the long awaited return of the DTM to British soil.
It marked the debut of the full Grand Prix circuit, with the series previously using the much shorter Indy layout.
Dani Juncadella and Mercedes team-mate Paul di Resta were victorious with the former claiming his first win in the series.
Gary Paffett heads the championship standings by 29 points over di Resta.
BMW‘s Marco Wittmann is third, some 67 points behind Paffett.
A new challenge
Arriving at Brands Hatch, the drivers were faced with challenges they have not experienced before.
Due to a quirk of the track, no running was allowed to take place on Friday meaning the drivers had to get to grips with the circuit on Saturday.
With two short practice sessions ahead of qualifying the drivers did not have much time to adapt set-up to get the most out of their cars.
As a result, on Saturday it was agreed amongst drivers that those who had raced on the Grand Prix circuit before had an advantage over the others.
Following qualifying, Lucas Auer was physically shaking from driving the circuit because of the actual challenge it posed.
At the start of both races, the two pole sitters struggled off the line due to the nature of the grid layout.
With all these new challenges thrown at the drivers it meant for some thrilling racing with the drivers embracing the unknown.
Juncadella a DTM winner for the first time
At the sixty-seventh time of asking Juncadella finally stood on the top step of the podium.
The Spaniard had started from the second pole of his career but had a slow getaway from the grid which cost him positions.
Using strategy to his advantage, Juncadella pitted at the optimum time to regain the positions he had lost at the start.
Once all stops had been served the Mercedes driver stamped his authority on the race to win by almost eighth seconds ahead of BMW’s Augusto Farfus.
Arriving at Brands Hatch, Juncadella only had 27 points to his name put with pole and the race win he picked up 28 points in just one day.
Paffett continues his charge
After the sixth round of the year, Paffett remains on top of the championship standings.
The Briton gained 29 points at his home round to put himself on 177 points.
Paffett started from pole position for the fourth time this year on Sunday to put himself in a strong position for the race.
Country-man and team-mate di Resta is second, despite not scoring any points on Saturday with 148 points.
BMW’s Wittmann is in third on 110 points, level with Auer.
Edoardo Mortara is fifth with 101 points to his name, as does longtime championship leader Timo Glock who feels the title is now an unrealistic aim.
The DTM returns to action on 24-26 August at Misano.
