2015 Moscow Raceway Race 1

2015 Moscow Raceway Race 1
The Moscow Raceway in its full layout.
Race Information
Date	29 August 2015
No.	190
Event	DTM Moskau 2015
Location	Moscow Raceway Volokolamsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia
Format	40 min + 1 Lap
Lap length	3.932 km (2.440 mi)
Distance	24 laps / 94.368 km (58.637 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Marco Wittmann
Team	BMW Team RMG
Time	41:56.056
Fastest Lap
Driver	Pascal Wehrlein
Team	gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG
Time	1:29.891 on lap 23
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Pascal Wehrlein	Marco Wittmann	Bruno Spengler
Winner Team	gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG
Time	41:56.506
Race Guide
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2015 Spielberg Race 2		2015 Moscow Raceway Race 2

The 2015 Moscow Raceway Race 1, formally known as the DTM Moskau 2015 Race 1, was the eleventh race of the 2015 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, held at the Moscow Raceway in Volokolamsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia on 29 August 2015. The race would see Pascal Wehrlein secure victory with a late move on Marco Wittmann, which left him at the head of the Championship hunt.

Ahead of the race it was revealed that Audi, Timo Scheider and Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich had been penalised for "gamesmanship" at the 2015 Spielberg Race 2. Indeed, after being instructed to hit Robert Wickens into the back of Wehrlein during the second Austrian race, Scheider was banned from the races in Moscow, Audi fined, and Dr. Ullrich suspended from the pitlane until the end of the season. Audi Sport Team Phoenix hence had to find a replacement, and duly fielded Audi's reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi.

Giovinazzi would have a quiet run in qualifying to nineteenth on the grid, as defending Champion Marco Wittmann streaked to pole position. He beat Wehrlein by 0.169s, while Jamie Green secured third for Audi to leave all three manufacturers in the top three positions.

The start of the race would see all three at the head of the grid vie for the lead, although it would ultimately be Wittmann who emerged ahead of Wehrlein and Green through the first corner. However, all three would make an early break from the rest of the field, as slow starts from Mattias Ekström and Tom Blomqvist bunched up the rest of the field.

Indeed, Blomqvist's poor getaway left him vulnerable to attack from behind, with Miguel Molina duly trying an ambitious lunge on the #31 BMW. The inevitable contact would send the #17 Audi spinning, before being collected by an unsighted Christian Vietoris to write off both cars and trigger a Safety Car.

The race resumed on lap seven, with Wittmann, Wehrlein and Green once again breaking clear at the head of the field. Behind, Ekström would attack Timo Glock to reclaim fourth, with the pair squabbling hard throughout the opening stages of the race. Ultimately, however, their fight would end in disaster, as an ambitious lunge from Ekström saw him hit the side of Glock at turn nine and send both sliding into the gravel.

Once again the Safety Car was scrambled onto the circuit, although its intervention was shorter than before and only lasted three laps. The restart was clean with Wittmann again dragging Wehrlein and Green away at the head of the field, with the rest of the drivers making a clean restart.

The order settled, with Wittmann failing to break away from a hard pushing Wehrlein, while Green watched on. With five minutes to go Wehrlein finally forced the issue and slipped his #94 Mercedes past the #1 BMW to claim the lead, before breaking clear in the final minute to leave Wittmann under-fire from Green.

Yet, Green would be unable to find a way past the German racer, and would duly lose third to Spengler on the final tour as Wehrlein swept across the line to claim victory. Behind, Daniel Juncadella beat Edoardo Mortara to fifth, Gary Paffett secured seventh, while Tom Blomqvist led Nico Müller and Mike Rockenfeller across the line to complete the scorers.

Background

"Schieb ihn raus!"

Before the weekend, the focus was on Timo Scheider and Audi, after the German veteran's dubious manoeuvre on Robert Wickens and Pascal Wehrlein at the Red Bull Ring. The DMSB investigated the incident over the break, slapping a charge of 'Gamesmanship' on Scheider, Audi and their boss Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. Scheider received a two race ban (on top of the disqualification issued after the race), Dr. Ullrich banned from the pitlane for the rest of the season, and Audi hit with a €200,000 fine. The radio message by Dr. Ullrich to Scheider was the deciding factor, with the doctor ordering the driver to hit Wickens.

With that, Audi Sport Team Phoenix would have to field a replacement for Scheider at short notice for the race win Moscow, and duly settled in Audi's reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi. A front runner in the supporting FIA Formula 3 European Championship, Giovinazzi would inherit the #10 Audi, although he would pick #93 as his race number.

Championship Complications

The result of the weekend also affected Audi in the Brands/Manufacturers Championship, as they lost all of their points from the second race in Austria. That said, the points for the drivers and teams themselves was not affected, meaning Mattias Ekström remained at the head of the Championship, leading Edoardo Mortara by thirteen points. Wehrlein completed the top three as best of the Mercedes in third, while Bruno Spengler led the BMW charge in seventh.

In the Teams' Championship it was gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG who led the charge arriving in Moscow, with their tally of 150 points beating the best of the Audi Team Abt Sportsline teams by twelve points, with Audi Team Rosberg completing the top three. BMW, however, were not mounting the comeback that their Zandvoort performance showed, with their best team BMW Team RMG down in sixth.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2015 Moscow Raceway Race 1 is displayed below:

2015 Moscow Raceway Race 1 Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Weight
1	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8	1,107.5 kg
2	Gary Paffett	Euronics/BWT Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,125 kg
3	Paul di Resta	Silberpfeil Energy Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,122.5 kg
5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8	1,127.5 kg
6	Robert Wickens	Silberpfeil Energy Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,125 kg
7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team MTEK	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8	1,105 kg
8	Christian Vietoris	gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,125 kg
12	Daniel Juncadella	Petronas Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,125 kg
13	António Félix da Costa	BMW Team Schnitzer	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8	1,107.5 kg
16	Timo Glock	BMW Team MTEK	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8	1,105 kg
17	Miguel Molina	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8	1,125 kg
18	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RBM	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8	1,107.5kg
22	Lucas Auer	Euronics/BWT Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,122.5 kg
27	Adrien Tambay	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8	1,125 kg
31	Tom Blomqvist	BMW Team RBM	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8	1,105 kg
36	Maxime Martin	BMW Team RMG	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8	1,105 kg
48	Edoardo Mortara	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8	1,135 kg
51	Nico Müller	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8	1,127.5 kg
53	Jamie Green	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8	1,130 kg
77	Martin Tomczyk	BMW Team Schnitzer	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8	1,105 kg
84	Maximilian Götz	Petronas Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,120 kg
93	Antonio Giovinazzi	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8	1,137.5 kg
94	Pascal Wehrlein	gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,127.5 kg
99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8	1,135 kg
Source:

Qualifying

A hazy Saturday morning greeted the paddock for qualifying, with cool conditions meaning the circuit was slippery but the engines produced more power to compensate. Regardless, qualifying would be staged late in the morning ahead of the race, with all twenty-four drivers taking to the circuit for a twenty minute session. Each driver would then be allowed to complete as many laps as they liked, with the final order based on each driver's time.

Report

Marco Wittmann ended the session on pole after a superb final lap to beat Pascal Wehrlein and Jamie Green to pole, as all three manufacturers found themselves in the top three. Timo Glock had looked set for pole before the final laps, unable to improve on his earlier time.

The rest of the top ten was headed by Tom Blomqvist, with the rookie taking a career best fifth with his final lap, beating Championship leader Mattias Ekström on the third row. Bruno Spengler claimed seventh having been a strong force in practice, joined by Miguel Molina on row four, with Daniel Juncadella and Nico Müller completing the top ten. With just three and a half tenths of a second separating the top ten drivers, Race One was set to be an exciting one.

A little over a second covered the entire field, although it was Christian Vietoris and Martin Tomczyk who were left to share the back row. Débutante Antonio Giovinazzi fared better than that experienced duo, as he claimed nineteenth, almost seven tenths off Wittmann, and just behind Lucas Auer in eighteenth, another 2015 rookie.

Post Qualifying

The final qualifying result for the 2015 Moscow Raceway Race 1 are outlined below:

2015 Moscow Raceway Race 1 Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	1	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	1:28.810	—	159.346 km/h	1
2nd	94	Pascal Wehrlein	gooix/OT Mercedes-AMG	1:28.979	+0.169s	159.346 km/h	2
3rd	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	1:28.985	+0.175s	159.033 km/h	3
4th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team MTEK	1:29.003	+0.193s	159.001 km/h	4
5th	31	Tom Blomqvist	BMW Team RBM	1:29.066	+0.256s	158.888 km/h	5
6th	5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:29.085	+0.275s	158.855 km/h	6
7th	7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team MTEK	1:29.093	+0.283s	158.840 km/h	7
8th	17	Miguel Molina	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:29.133	+0.323s	158.769 km/h	8
9th	12	Daniel Juncadella	Petronas Mercedes-AMG	1:29.143	+0.333s	158.751 km/h	9
10th	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Rosberg	1:29.147	+0.337s	158.744 km/h	10
11th	27	Adrien Tambay	Audi Team Abt	1:29.184	+0.374s	158.678 km/h	11
12th	48	Edoardo Mortara	Audi Team Abt	1:29.211	+0.401s	158.630 km/h	12
13th	3	Paul di Resta	Silberpfeil Mercedes-AMG	1:29.256	+0.446s	158.550 km/h	13
14th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	1:29.280	+0.470s	158.508 km/h	14
15th	84	Maximilian Götz	Petronas Mercedes-AMG	1:29.297	+0.487s	158.477 km/h	15
16th	36	Maxime Martin	BMW Team RMG	1:29.304	+0.494s	158.465 km/h	16
17th	13	António Félix da Costa	BMW Team Schnitzer	1:29.350	+0.540s	158.383 km/h	17
18th	22	Lucas Auer	ART Grand Prix Mercedes	1:29.401	+0.591s	158.293 km/h	18
19th	93	Antonio Giovinazzi	Audi Team Phoenix	1:29.487	+0.677s	158.141 km/h	19
20th	2	Gary Paffett	ART Grand Prix Mercedes	1:29.519	+0.709s	158.084 km/h	20
21st	18	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RBM	1:29.541	+0.731s	158.046 km/h	21
22nd	6	Robert Wickens	Silberpfeil Mercedes-AMG	1:29.557	+0.747s	158.017 km/h	22
23rd	77	Martin Tomczyk	BMW Team Schnitzer	1:29.766	+0.956s	157.649 km/h	23
24th	8	Christian Vietoris	gooix/OT Mercedes-AMG	1:29.878	+1.068s	157.453 km/h	24
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.

Grid

The starting grid for the 2015 Moscow Raceway Race 1 is outlined below:

		77	Martin Tomczyk	1:29.766			18	Augusto Farfus	1:29.541			93	Antonio Giovinazzi	1:29.487			13	António Félix da Costa	1:29.350			84	Maximilian Götz	1:29.297			3	Paul di Resta	1:29.256			27	Adrien Tambay	1:29.184			12	Daniel Juncadella	1:29.143			7	Bruno Spengler	1:29.093			31	Tom Blomqvist	1:29.066			53	Jamie Green	1:28.985			1	Marco Wittmann	1:28.810
	8	Christian Vietoris		1:29.878		6	Robert Wickens		1:29.557		2	Gary Paffett		1:29.519		22	Lucas Auer		1:29.401		36	Maxime Martin		1:29.304		99	Mike Rockenfeller		1:29.280		48	Edoardo Mortara		1:29.211		51	Nico Müller		1:29.147		17	Miguel Molina		1:29.133		5	Mattias Ekström		1:29.085		16	Timo Glock		1:29.003		94	Pascal Wehrlein		1:28.979

Race

Fortunately for the field, the circuit on Saturday afternoon was bathed in bright warm sunshine, with the race expected to be as close as it had been in qualifying. The Championship battle was set to be tightened in the first race, as Pascal Wehrlein started ahead of Mattias Ekström, although the young German would most likely need to beat defending Champion, and pole sitter Marco Wittmann off the line to maximise his chances.

Report

Jamie Green made a good start from third, but Wehrlein and Wittmann did just enough to keep ahead, leaving Green to weave behind the Mercedes driver into the first turn. They immediately broke away from the rest, as a poor start for Mattias Ekström and Tom Blomqvist bunched the field up, with Blomqvist tumbling down the order as a result. That ultimately led to contact with Miguel Molina through turn one, with the Spaniard thrown into a spin in front of the pack, although he remained untouched as they thundered past.

Or so it seemed, as Christian Vietoris, unsighted having started dead last and then got caught behind debutante Antonio Giovinazzi off the line, slammed into the rear of the Spaniard, putting both out of the race. With debris littering the circuit, and Vietoris' car catching fire immediately after (which the German was able to put out with help from the marshals), the safety car was called, neutralising the race. Unseen by the cameras, Paul di Resta and Mike Rockenfeller had come to blows in a minor incident, which the stewards opted to investigate after the race.

The race restarted on lap seven, with Wittmann hoping to break away from Wehrlein and Green, but to no avail. Further down, Maximilian Götz was battling Augusto Farfus for seventeenth, with the German rookie besting him a little while later, while Ekström began to make his intentions to move past Timo Glock ever clearer. With DRS becoming active on lap ten, and with more than half the 40 minute race left to run, the action was set to intensify.

But, a lap later, and the safety car was back on circuit, after contact between Ekström and Glock put both in the gravel trap at turn nine. The Swede attempted to dive down the inside of the German into the left hander, although his late lunge ultimately carried him into the side of the BMW, spearing both across the gravel on the outside of the track. Significant body damage resulted for both, as they rebounded off the barrier and were left beached in the gravel, with marshals scattering back onto the circuit to remove them.

Just three laps later, however, and the action was back on, with Gotz once again in a battle, this time for sixteenth with Martin Tomczyk. Up ahead of them, Adrien Tambay seemed to be struggling with something on the front of his car, the Frenchman unable to stay on the circuit through the corners. His retirement in the pits coincided with the activation of DRS for a second time, as Wehrlein once again became a thorn in Wittmann's side.

With five minutes to go, and 20 laps completed, Wehrlein lined up a move on Wittmann into the final corner, looking to go around the outside of the final turn. It was an excellent feint, however, as Wehrlein suddenly dived down the inside of the Champion when the latter drifted wide to cover the move. With the lead in his hands, and Ekström now failing to score, Wehrlein was in the lead of the Championship, although Wittmann remained a threat.

With a minute remaining, Wehrlein managed to break away from Wittmann, meaning the latter was denied DRS, to the advantage of Green, who was now the one pestering the BMW. But, he was left frustrated in his attempts to get past on the penultimate lap, as Gary Paffett pulled a clean move on Blomqvist for seventh. As Wittmann and Green battled, an almost unseen Bruno Spengler moved into striking position, only needing a mistake from either one in order to get past.

There was to be one late twist, as Green lost time trying to pass Wittmann, delaying him down the back straight into the final corner. That was the opening that Spengler needed, as he managed to slip past the Brit down the straight, and almost managed to open the door for Daniel Juncadella to get fourth too, although Green slammed it shut in the final corner. But there was no denying Wehrlein, as he calmly took victory from Wittmann, with Spengler third.

Post-Race

Wehrlein's day was made all the more better when Ekström was handed a three place grid penalty for race two after the stewards reviewed his incident with Glock. The Swede was judged to have been 'too optimistic' when trying to pass the German, and was therefore the guilty party for causing the accident that followed.

Result

The final classification of the 2015 Moscow Raceway Race 1 is displayed below:

2015 Moscow Raceway Race 1 Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	94	Pascal Wehrlein	gooix/OT Mercedes-AMG	24	41:56.506	1:29.891	25
2nd	1	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	24	+1.853s	1:30.105	18
3rd	7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team MTEK	24	+2.536s	1:30.095	15
4th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	24	+2.957s	1:30.046	12
5th	12	Daniel Juncadella	Petronas Mercedes-AMG	24	+3.249s	1:30.060	10
6th	48	Edoardo Mortara	Audi Team Abt	24	+4.332s	1:30.243	8
7th	2	Gary Paffett	ART Grand Prix Mercedes	24	+8.867s	1:30.289	6
8th	31	Tom Blomqvist	BMW Team RBM	24	+10.039s	1:30.430	4
9th	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Rosberg	24	+10.350s	1:30.327	2
10th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	24	+11.001s	1:30.580	1
11th	13	António Félix da Costa	BMW Team Schnitzer	24	+11.409s	1:30.498
12th	6	Robert Wickens	Silberpfeil Mercedes-AMG	24	+11.813s	1:30.303
13th	22	Lucas Auer	ART Grand Prix Mercedes	24	+12.234s	1:30.452
14th	3	Paul di Resta	Silberpfeil Mercedes-AMG	24	+12.600s	1:30.215
15th	18	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RBM	24	+15.248s	1:30.471
16th	84	Maximilian Götz	Petronas Mercedes-AMG	24	+15.534s	1:30.540
17th	77	Martin Tomczyk	BMW Team Schnitzer	24	+15.649s	1:30.659
18th	36	Maxime Martin	BMW Team RMG	24	+16.350s	1:30.782
19th	93	Antonio Giovinazzi	Audi Team Phoenix	24	+17.132s	1:30.804
Ret	27	Adrien Tambay	Audi Team Abt	16	Retired	1:31.775
Ret	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team MTEK	10	Collision	1:30.125
Ret*	5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	10	Collision	1:30.403
Ret	17	Miguel Molina	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	0	Collision	—
Ret	8	Christian Vietoris	gooix/OT Mercedes-AMG	0	Collision	—
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
• Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
• * Ekström awarded a three place penalty for causing a collision.

Milestones

• Debut race for Antonio Giovinazzi.
• Third and final DTM victory for Pascal Wehrlein.
  • Also Wehrlein's fifth podium finish.

Standings

Pascal Wehrlein would end the first afternoon in Moscow at the head of the Championship hunt, having climbed up from third with 119 points. Former leader Mattias Ekström was next up in second, now eight off the lead, while Edoardo Mortara had slipped thirteen off the lead in third. Jamie Green was next up having inched towards the 100 point barriers, while Marco Wittmann had shot up to fifth.

In the Teams' Championship it was, unsurprisingly, gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG who still led the charge, and had moved onto 175 points as race eleven came to a conclusion. Audi Team Abt Sportsline were next up in second, 37 off the lead, while Audi Team Rosberg completed the top three on 117. Mercedes, meanwhile, had enhanced their slim lead in the Manufacturers' Championship to nineteen points, with Audi having held station in second ahead of BMW.

2015 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Pascal Wehrlein 119 ▲2 2nd Mattias Ekström 111 ▼1 3rd Edoardo Mortara 106 ▼1 4th Jamie Green 93 ◄0 5th Marco Wittmann 69 ▲4 6th Gary Paffett 67 ▼1 7th Bruno Spengler 67 ▲1 8th Robert Wickens 57 ▼2 9th Christian Vietoris 56 ▼2 10th António Félix da Costa 44 ◄0 11th Augusto Farfus 43 ◄0 12th Mike Rockenfeller 42 ◄0 13th Paul di Resta 40 ◄0 14th Maxime Martin 32 ◄0 15th Miguel Molina 27 ◄0 16th Timo Glock 25 ◄0 17th Nico Müller 24 ◄0 18th Daniel Juncadella 24 ▲2 19th Martin Tomczyk 20 ▼1 20th Timo Scheider 16 ▼1 21st Lucas Auer 10 ◄0 22nd Tom Blomqvist 10 ◄0 23rd Maximilian Götz 6 ◄0 24th Adrien Tambay 3 ◄0 25th Antonio Giovinazzi 0 ◄0

2015 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st gooix/OT Mercedes-AMG 175 ◄0 2nd Audi Team Abt Sportsline 138 ◄0 3rd Audi Team Rosberg 117 ◄0 4th Audi Team Abt 109 ◄0 5th BMW Team RMG 101 ▲1 6th Silberpfeil Mercedes-AMG 97 ▼1 7th BMW Team MTEK 92 ◄0 8th ART Grand Prix Mercedes 77 ◄0 9th BMW Team Schnitzer 64 ◄0 10th Audi Team Phoenix 58 ◄0 11th BMW Team RBM 53 ◄0 12th Petronas Mercedes-AMG 30 ◄0 2015 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Mercedes-AMG 379 ◄0 2nd Audi 360 ◄0 3rd BMW 285 ◄0

References

Videos and Images:

References: