2016 Hockenheim Finale Race 1

2016 Hockenheim Finale Race 1
Back home: The Hockenheimring
Race Information
Date	15 October 2016
No.	194
Event	DTM Hockenheim Finale 2016
Location	Hockenheimring Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Format	40 min + 1 Lap
Lap length	4.574 km (2.842 mi)
Distance	27 laps / 123.498 km (76.738 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	António Félix da Costa
Team	BMW Team Schnitzer
Time	1:32.344
Fastest Lap
Driver	António Félix da Costa
Team	BMW Team Schnitzer
Time	1:34.500 on lap 5
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Miguel Molina	Marco Wittmann	Edoardo Mortara
Winner Team	Audi Sport Team Abt
Time	43:02.346
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2016 Hungaroring Race 2		2016 Hockenheim Finale Race 2

The 2016 Hockenheim Finale Race 1, otherwise known as the DTM Hockenheim Finale 2016 Race 1, was the seventeenth and penultimate race of the 2016 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany on 15 October 2016. The race would see Miguel Molina secure his third and final DTM victory, as Marco Wittmann inched closer to the title ahead of main rival Edoardo Mortara.

Ahead of the race there were a series of changes, both immediate and for the future, at Audi, with veteran driver Mattias Ekström skipping the race to compete in the WRX Championship. That resulted in Mike Rockenfeller moving from Audi Team Phoenix to fill the Swede's seat at Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, while René Rast took the German's seat at Phoenix. Elsewhere, Timo Scheider would opt to retire from the DTM at the end of the season after Audi opted not to hand him a contract for 2017, while Mortara was to move to Mercedes.

Qualifying had seen the title pretenders get separated on the grid, with Championship leader Wittmann in fourth, while Mortara claimed eighth. At the head of the field, meanwhile, António Félix da Costa scored pole position ahead of Miguel Molina, with Tom Blomqvist in third, while none of the Mercedes made it into the top ten.

The start of the race saw Molina sprint into the lead ahead of da Costa, while Wittmann held station behind Blomqvist. Behind, Mortara would jump past Timo Glock off the grid, although on the run to the hairpin Wittmann was waved through by Blomqvist, while Glock re-passed Mortara.

The race soon settled into a procession, with Molina easing clear in the lead, while da Costa surrendered second to Wittmann at the behest of his team. Behind, Mortara would find himself stuck behind Glock, although Rast was doing an excellent job of working as a rear-gunner for the Italian, blocking any potential lunges from behind.

On lap fifteen Mortara finally got past Glock, a move which seemed to fire up the Italian racer for the rest of the race. With that the #48 Audi began storming up the order, with moves on Augusto Farfus and Mike Rockenfeller on the following laps leaving him on Blomqvist's tail.

Rast would follow the Italian up the field, with Mortara having to wait a couple of laps before managing to get past Blomqvist's #31 BMW. Rockenfeller and Rast duly followed him through, with Mortara sliding into the wake of da Costa with three minutes to go, with Wittmann just a second ahead in second.

With two laps to go Mortara scythed past da Costa at the hairpin, before settling into Wittmann's wake, albeit outside of DRS range. That, ultimately, proved key, for on the final lap Mortara would be too far back to challenge on the final tour.

With that the race was run, with Molina keeping Wittmann at bay to secure victory, while Wittmann was still a second clear of Mortara in second. That meant that the German racer held a seventeen point lead ahead of the Sunday Race, with Mortara the only pretender.

Background

The post-race modifications to the finishing order in the second Hungarian race would have a major impact in the Championship, as it kept a status-quo at the head of the field. Indeed, Marco Wittmann would head into the season finale in Hockenheim with 176 points to his credit, leaving him fourteen ahead of Edoardo Mortara in second. Jamie Green had also remained in the hunt, but was facing a 39 point deficit ahead of the finale, and hence would likely have to win both races to challenge for the crown.

In the Teams' Championship Audi Team Abt Sportsline had established a fair lead at the head of the hunt, having moved 25 points clear atop the pile. BMW Team RMG were their closest challengers in second, while BMW Team RBM occupied third and were still mathematically in the hunt, but would require a lot of results in their favour. Audi, meanwhile, would top the Manufacturers' Championship ahead of the season finale, having secured a 37 point advantage over BMW.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2016 Hockenheim Finale Race 1 is displayed below:

2016 Hockenheim Finale Race 1 Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Weight
2	Gary Paffett	Mercedes DTM Team ART	Mercedes	Mercedes C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,120 kg
3	Paul di Resta	Mercedes DTM Team HWA II	Mercedes	Mercedes C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,120 kg
6	Robert Wickens	Mercedes DTM Team HWA I	Mercedes	Mercedes C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,120 kg
7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team MTEK	BMW	BMW M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8	1,117.5 kg
8	Christian Vietoris	Mercedes DTM Team Mücke BWT	Mercedes	Mercedes C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,120 kg
10	Timo Scheider	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi	Audi RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8	1,125 kg
11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	BMW	BMW M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8	1,117.5 kg
12	Daniel Juncadella	Mercedes DTM Team HWA I	Mercedes	Mercedes C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,120 kg
13	António Félix da Costa	BMW Team Schnitzer	BMW	BMW M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8	1,117.5 kg
16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMG	BMW	BMW M4 DTM	BMW 4.0l V8	1,117.5 kg
17	Miguel Molina	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi	Audi RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8	1,125 kg
18	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team MTEK	BMW	BMW M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8	1,117.5 kg
22	Lucas Auer	Mercedes DTM Team Mücke BWT	Mercedes	Mercedes C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,120 kg
27	Adrien Tambay	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi	Audi RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8	1,125 kg
31	Tom Blomqvist	BMW Team RBM	BMW	BMW M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8	1,117.5 kg
36	Maxime Martin	BMW Team RBM	BMW	BMW M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8	1,117.5 kg
48	Edoardo Mortara	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	Audi RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8	1,125 kg
51	Nico Müller	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi	Audi RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8	1,125 kg
53	Jamie Green	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi	Audi RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8	1,125 kg
72	René Rast	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi	Audi RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8	1,125 kg
84	Maximilian Götz	Mercedes DTM Team HWA II	Mercedes	Mercedes C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,120 kg
88	Felix Rosenqvist	Mercedes DTM Team ART	Mercedes	Mercedes C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8	1,120 kg
99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	Audi RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8	1,125 kg
100	Martin Tomczyk	BMW Team Schnitzer	BMW	BMW M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8	1,117.5 kg
Source:

Qualifying

Results

The final qualifying result for the 2016 Hockenheim Finale Race 1 are outlined below:

2016 Hockenheim Finale Race 1 Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	13	António Félix da Costa	BMW Team Schnitzer	1:32.344	—	178.315 km/h	1
2nd	17	Miguel Molina	Audi Team Abt	1:32.444	+0.100s	178.122 km/h	2
3rd	31	Tom Blomqvist	BMW Team RBM	1:32.508	+0.164s	177.999 km/h	3
4th	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	1:32.512	+0.164s	177.992 km/h	4
5th	36	Maxime Martin	BMW Team RBM	1:32.574	+0.230s	177.872 km/h	5
6th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:32.620	+0.276s	177.784 km/h	6
7th	18	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team MTEK	1:32.631	+0.287s	177.763 km/h	7
8th	48	Edoardo Mortara	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:32.662	+0.318s	177.703 km/h	8
9th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMG	1:32.700	+0.356s	177.631 km/h	9
10th	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	1:32.704	+0.360s	177.623 km/h	10
11th	72	René Rast	Audi Team Phoenix	1:32.726	+0.382s	177.581 km/h	11
12th	3	Paul di Resta	Mercedes Team HWA II	1:32.794	+0.450s	177.451 km/h	12
13th	2	Gary Paffett	Mercedes ART Grand Prix	1:32.884	+0.540s	177.279 km/h	13
14th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	1:32.908	+0.564s	177.233 km/h	14
15th	10	Timo Scheider	Audi Team Phoenix	1:32.918	+0.574s	177.214 km/h	15
16th	84	Maximilian Götz	Mercedes Team HWA II	1:32.922	+0.578s	177.206 km/h	16
17th	8	Christian Vietoris	Mercedes BWT Mücke	1:32.956	+0.612s	177.141 km/h	17
18th	88	Felix Rosenqvist	Mercedes ART Grand Prix	1:33.018	+0.674s	177.023 km/h	18
19th	100	Martin Tomczyk	BMW Team Schnitzer	1:33.149	+0.805s	176.774 km/h	19
20th	7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team MTEK	1:33.168	+0.824s	176.738 km/h	20
21st	6	Robert Wickens	Mercedes Team HWA I	1:33.238	+0.894s	176.606 km/h	21
22nd	27	Adrien Tambay	Audi Team Rosberg	1:33.285	+0.941s	176.517 km/h	22
23rd	12	Daniel Juncadella	Mercedes Team HWA I	1:33.362	+1.018s	176.371 km/h	23
EXC*	22	Lucas Auer	Mercedes BWT Mücke	1:33.254		176.575 km/h	24*
Source:

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

Grid

	Pos.	Pos.
	Driver	Driver
	______________
Row 1	1	______________
	António Félix da Costa	2
	______________	Miguel Molina
Row 2	3	______________
	Tom Blomqvist	4
	______________	Marco Wittmann
Row 3	5	______________
	Maxime Martin	6
	______________	Mike Rockenfeller
Row 4	7	______________
	Augusto Farfus	8
	______________	Edoardo Mortara
Row 5	9	______________
	Timo Glock	10
	______________	Nico Müller
Row 6	11	______________
	René Rast	12
	______________	Paul di Resta
Row 7	13	______________
	Gary Paffett	14
	______________	Jamie Green
Row 8	15	______________
	Timo Scheider	16
	______________	Maximilian Götz
Row 9	17	______________
	Christian Vietoris	18
	______________	Felix Rosenqvist
Row 10	19	______________
	Martin Tomczyk	20
	______________	Bruno Spengler
Row 11	21	______________
	Robert Wickens	22
	______________	Adrien Tambay
Row 12	23	______________
	Daniel Juncadella	24
	______________	Lucas Auer

Race

Results

The final classification of the 2016 Hockenheim Finale Race 1 is displayed below:

2016 Hockenheim Finale Race 1 Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	17	Miguel Molina	Audi Team Abt	27	43:02.346	1:34.544	25
2nd	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	27	+1.661s	1:34.783	18
3rd	48	Edoardo Mortara	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	27	+2.805s	1:34.932	15
4th	13	António Félix da Costa	BMW Team Schnitzer	27	+4.870s	1:34.500	12
5th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	27	+6.064s	1:34.812	10
6th	72	René Rast	Audi Team Phoenix	27	+7.992s	1:34.909	8
7th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMG	27	+11.858s	1:34.796	6
8th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	27	+15.970s	1:34.915	4
9th	31	Tom Blomqvist	BMW Team RBM	27	+17.188s	1:34.859	2
10th	3	Paul di Resta	Mercedes Team HWA II	27	+19.048s	1:35.094	1
11th	18	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team MTEK	27	+21.208s	1:34.968
12th	27	Adrien Tambay	Audi Team Rosberg	27	+21.928s	1:34.924
13th	36	Maxime Martin	BMW Team RBM	27	+22.471s	1:34.872
14th	7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team MTEK	27	+23.233s	1:35.131
15th	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	27	+23.808s	1:35.107
16th	10	Timo Scheider	Audi Team Phoenix	27	+24.288s	1:35.148
17th	84	Maximilian Götz	Mercedes Team HWA II	27	+24.712s	1:35.084
18th	22	Lucas Auer	Mercedes BWT Mücke	27	+24.967s	1:35.119
19th	2	Gary Paffett	Mercedes ART Grand Prix	27	+30.584s	1:35.502
20th	100	Martin Tomczyk	BMW Team Schnitzer	27	+35.904s	1:34.954
21st	12	Daniel Juncadella	Mercedes Team HWA I	27	+37.372s	1:35.466
22nd	8	Christian Vietoris	Mercedes BWT Mücke	27	+43.593s	1:34.885
23rd	6	Robert Wickens	Mercedes Team HWA I	25	+2 Laps	1:35.591
Ret	88	Felix Rosenqvist	Mercedes ART Grand Prix	25	Steering	1:35.182
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
• Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.

Milestones

• Third and final Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship victory for Miguel Molina.
• Maiden points finish for René Rast.
• Second and final fastest lap recorded by António Félix da Costa.

Standings

The results of the penultimate race of the campaign had seen Marco Wittmann inch closer to the title, as second place in the race moved him onto 194 points. That meant he headed into the final race with a seventeen point lead over Edoardo Mortara in second, and hence would claim the crown with fifth or better in the race set to see the German take the crown. Conversely, Mortara would have to either win the race with Wittmann sixth or lower, or finish second with Wittmann failing to score.

In the Teams' Championship Audi Team Abt Sportsline had held their lead, and would head into the final race with a 26 point advantage. They would therefore lift the trophy should BMW Team RMG fail to claim a third and a fourth in the finale, if Abt Sportsline failed to score. Likewise, Audi would hold the initiative in the Manufacturers' Championship heading into the final day, with 61 points in hand over BMW in second.

2016 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Marco Wittmann 194 ◄0 2nd Edoardo Mortara 177 ◄0 3rd Jamie Green 141 ◄0 4th Robert Wickens 122 ◄0 5th Mattias Ekström 107 ◄0 6th Tom Blomqvist 107 ◄0 7th Paul di Resta 101 ◄0 8th Nico Müller 88 ◄0 9th Maxime Martin 82 ◄0 10th Timo Glock 74 ▲2 11th Gary Paffett 73 ▼1 12th Lucas Auer 68 ▼1 13th Miguel Molina 66 ▲3 14th Bruno Spengler 51 ▼1 15th Augusto Farfus 44 ▼1 16th António Félix da Costa 43 ▲2 17th Christian Vietoris 42 ▼2 18th Adrien Tambay 40 ▼1 19th Mike Rockenfeller 31 ◄0 20th Maximilian Götz 17 ◄0 21st Martin Tomczyk 15 ◄0 22nd Timo Scheider 13 ◄0 23rd René Rast 8 ▲3 24th Daniel Juncadella 6 ▼1 25th Felix Rosenqvist 5 ▼1 26th Esteban Ocon 2 ▼1

2016 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi Team Abt Sportsline 294 ◄0 2nd BMW Team RMG 268 ◄0 3rd BMW Team RBM 189 ◄0 4th Audi Team Rosberg 181 ◄0 5th Audi Team Abt 154 ◄0 6th Mercedes Team HWA I 128 ◄0 7th Mercedes Team HWA II 118 ◄0 8th Mercedes BWT Mücke 110 ◄0 9th BMW Team MTEK 95 ◄0 10th Mercedes ART Grand Prix 80 ◄0 11th BMW Team Schnitzer 58 ◄0 12th Audi Team Phoenix 42 ◄0 2016 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi 671 ◄0 2nd BMW 610 ◄0 3rd Mercedes 436 ◄0

References

Videos and Images:

References: