The FINANCIAL — Brands Hatch, Sep 04, 2011 — Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished in P4 as best-placed Mercedes-Benz driver at the seventh race of the season in Brands Hatch.
Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) scored points with P5 and P7. Eighth-placed Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) secured the final point at his 70th DTM race. Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class) also finished in the Top 10. David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class), Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class), Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished in positions twelve to fifteen.
A total of 21,000 spectators visited Brands Hatch across the DTM race weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday).
Race summary
The start: The race begins in wet conditions. Because of the rain, the drivers complete two parade laps and the race distance is reduced by one lap to 97 laps. Gary Paffett finishes lap one in fifth place, while Ralf Schumacher maintains P6. Christian Vietoris moves up one place and is tenth. David Coulthard moved up three places to 13th.
Lap 4: Bruno Spengler overtakes Miguel Molina (Audi) and moves into eighth position. Vietoris also passes Molina to take ninth place.
Lap 10: Coulthard now in P11.
Lap 12: Spengler overtakes Jamie Green and is seventh.
Lap 16: Vietoris moves up into P9.
Lap 24: The pit stop window is now open, and both Green and Coulthard come in to make their first stops.
Lap 26 : Maro Engel makes his first mandatory pit stop.
Lap 32: Vietoris pits for the first time.
Lap 36: Susie Stoddart comes in for her first pit stop and draws up in front of her crew.
Lap 43: Schumacher makes his first pit stop lying in sixth place.
Lap 45: The rain is now falling heavier again. Paffett, currently in P4, comes in to make his first mandatory pit stop, and reemerges ahead of Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) and Schumacher.
Lap 46: Schumacher overtakes Rockenfeller. Green pits for the second time.
Lap 56: Third-placed Spengler comes into the pit lane to make his first mandatory pit stop.
Lap 70: Paffett, Schumacher and Coulthard come in for a second set of fresh tyres.
Lap 71: Spengler comes in for his second and final mandatory pit stop.
Lap 85: Green gets the better of Oliver Jarvis (Audi), moving up into eighth position.
Final lap: After 88 laps and a total distance of 169.752 km, Gary Paffett comes home as the best-placed Mercedes-Benz driver in P4 at the seventh race of the season in Brands Hatch. Owing to heavy rain, the race ran to the 70-minute time limit rather than the full planned distance. Ralf Schumacher gained one position from sixth on the grid to finish in fifth place. David Coulthard gains four places in the course of the race to finish twelfth.
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