Slideshow for Audi

Saturday afternoon and Martin Tomczyk was a desperate man.

A set-up howler from the Phoenix Audi squad had left him unable to squeeze any speed out of his old - spec A4 during qualifying and limited the championship leader to 14th on the grid at Oschersleben.

A few metres down the paddock in Mercedes hospitality and Bruno Spengler was a relieved man. Like his HWA team-mate Gary Paffett, the Canadian had suffered a sizeable misfire during qualifying. Unlike Paffett though, whose ignition - induced problem had left him unable to set a time and consigned him to the back row, Spengler s cleared.

In fact, following frenzied shouts of power, no power,”to his pit crew over the radio, the problem rectified itself to the extent that he was able to set a blistering fastest time in Q3 and then miss out on pole position to Abt Audi driver Miguel Molina by just 0.001s —the smallest time gap possible in the series.

in a bit of a desperate situation,”Tomczyk said. changed the set-up between practice and qualifying and it was horrible. Ione point ahead of him [Spengler] in the championship today, tomorrow I donknow how many I will be behind. They say there might be some rain. Ipraying for it. Itmy only hope.”

The German must have spent all night kneeling beside his bed, because around two hours before the racescheduled start, the rain began to fall. By the time the race got underway, it was heavy enough to warrant rain tyres and full wet set-ups for everyone.

And didnTomczyk revel in it? After taking pole at Spielberg in such conditions and then winning last time out at Brands Hatch, he Mattias Ekstrom won and Martin Tomczyk extended his points advantage in the Oschersleben rain appears to be as close as any in the DTM to achieving ’status. After ending the opening lap in sixth place, he seemed even nearer.

And still he climbed, inheriting fifth when Oliver Jarvis went through the Turn 7 gravel, pressuring Ralf Schumacher to spin his Mercedes out of fourth at Turn 1 and then closing onto the tail of Rosberg Audi driver Edoardo Mortara, who would surely be asked to give way sooner rather than later.

All the while though, Spengler was ahead, even if he had lost the lead to the Abt Audi of Mattias Ekstrom —who would go on to win by an astonishing 42 seconds. And this meant the Canadian would retake the championship initiative away from Tomczyk, who arrived at Oschersleben with a one - point advantage.

And then the tide suddenly began to turn. Following his first pitstop on lap 28, Spengler \s car began ’mysteriously at the front end, prompting him to hurriedly request another set of tyres immediately.

The Canadian pitted again on lap 30, only for the HWA crew to spend 20s trying to remove his front - right tyre. The delay dropped him to nth and effectively ruined his race.

But why had it happened? Mercedes had not got to the root of the problem as the trucks began to leave the paddock that evening, although a broken damper —probably caused by excessive use of the kerbs at the chicane —was later confirmed as the culprit.

"It was just bad luck —nothing you can do,”said Spengler, who had not used the kerbs any harder than the 17 other drivers. wasnas driveable as at the start.”

Spengler decided to keep going in the hope of salvaging a point, but was 3s per lap off the pace, and after climbing to ninth due to others’stops, he parked with two laps to go after radioing in that his brake pedal had gone long.

All of which left Tomczyk in second place —which he had earlier lost to Mortara after locking up and going straight on at Turn 1 at the same moment Spengler was having his wheel issue in the pits, and then subsequently gained back. He did it with a significant aerodynamic penalty too —the Germanbonnet having flown off on the start/finish straight at one - third distance.

His post - race demeanour was not that of a man whoturned in an excellent drive though; more of someone whoescaped jail.

need a lot of luck and I had it,”he said in the knowledge that victory at Valencia in a fortnight will make him champion. with the bonnet gone and the lack of front aero, it was okay. I was lucky today.”

Spengler was not, and must now finish two places ahead of Tomczyk at Valencia to keep his title hopes alive for Hockenheim.

A tall task for the only Mercedes driver to have won or taken a pole in 2011. He let a 17 - point advantage over Paul di Resta slip this time last year. Surely lightning canstrike twice? ?

THE 16TH DTM VICTORY OF MATTIAS

Ekstromcareer was also one of the most straightforward. The Swede even admitted to feeling bored behind the wheel during a race he won by a staggering 42 seconds - the biggest winning margin since 1985.

He casually avoided the first - corner carnage caused when first - time polesitter Miguel Molina locked his rear wheels and slid off at Turn 1, spinning his and Ekstromteam-mate Timo Scheider into a spin as he rejoined and sending the pack scattering.

Bruno Spengler was still a barrier between the Abt Audi man and first place, but he easily passed the Canadian at Turn 3 early on: not the greatest pass of my career,”he said. just seemed to park when I got close to him. It was like he let me by.”Ekstrom has now taken 28 points from a possible 30 since the middle of the year: I was even quicker than this at the start of the year too,”he said. I hadnhad my happenings in Zandvoort, my aquaplaning in the pits in Austria or finished seventh when I could have won at Norisring...”

Spengler hitting trouble promoted Martin Tomczyk and Edoardo Mortara to the podium for the Phoenix and Rosberg squads.

After being spun by Molina at Turn 1 (and then tapping back - of - the - grid starter Gary Paffett into a 360 halfway round the opening lap) Timo Scheider drove brilliantly.

However, after making it up to fifth, he was ordered to park by the Abt squad after a stone holed his radiator and sent his engine temperature sky-high. With each two - car team limited to three engines per season (Scheider is twinned with Oliver jarvis), a blow-up could have been very costly.

His retirement was good news for HWAPaffett - who thought second was on had it not been for that first - lap spin. He climbed to an excellent P4 ahead of Christian Vietoris, who grabbed a career - best fifth after starting from the back row in his Persson Merc.

Mike Rockenfeller (Abt), Maro Engel (Mucke Merc) and Molina completed the points, the Spaniard having run third until the pitstops but later going off at Turn 7 and dropping time.

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