2018 Hockenheim Opening Race 1

2018 Hockenheim Opening Race 1
The Hockenheimring in 2018.
Race Information
Date	5 May 2018
No.	214
Event	DTM Hockenheim Opening 2018
Location	Hockenheimring Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Format	55 min + 1 Lap
Lap length	4.574 km (2.842 mi)
Distance	36 laps / 164.664 km (102.317 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Gary Paffett
Team	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Petronas
Time	1:32.264
Fastest Lap
Driver	Daniel Juncadella
Team	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Remus
Time	1:34.181 on lap 25
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Gary Paffett	Lucas Auer	Timo Glock
Winner Team	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Petronas
Time	58:03.639
Race Guide
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2017 Hockenheim Finale Race 2		2018 Hockenheim Opening Race 2

The 2018 Hockenheim Opening Race 1, otherwise known as the DTM Hockenheim Opening 2018, was the opening round of the 2018 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany on 5 May 2018. The race would see Gary Paffett secure his first victory since 2013, in a race dominated by Mercedes.

René Rast would start the season as the reigning Champion, with Audi as the reigning Manufacturers Champions and Audi Sport Team Rosberg as the Teams' Champions. However, there had been some significant changes to Audi's driver lineup, as lead driver Mattias Ekström formally retired, with his seat being taken by Robin Frijns.

However, Ekström would race in the 2018 season opener, being entered as a "wildcard" entry for Audi to celebrate his DTM career. Elsewhere, 2015 Champion Pascal Wehrlein would return to the series for Mercedes after losing his Formula One seat, while Philipp Eng and Joel Eriksson were hired by BMW to replace Maxime Martin and Tom Blomqvist.

Qualifying for the opening race of the season would see Paffett secure pole position, although his effort was over a second slower than 2017 due to the new standardised aero rules. Marco Wittmann led the counter-charge from second ahead of Timo Glock, while Rast was the best of the Audi drivers in ninth.

The start of the race would see Paffett launch clear of Wittmann to secure the lead, while Glock fended off the attentions of Lucas Auer. The rest of the field made it through the first corner without issue, although there were a couple of near-misses at the back as Eng was slow to get away.

The early laps would see Auer provide the most entertainment, passing Glock and Wittmann in short order before challenging Paffett for the lead. He duly slid past his teammate at the hairpin on lap four, a move mirrored by Glock on Wittmann, while Wehrlein closed in on the BMWs in fifth.

Jamie Green would kick off the pitstop phase on lap six, while Wehrlein dragged Edoardo Mortara past Wittmann on lap ten, prompting Wittmann to stop with stablemate Glock. Wehrlein stopped two laps later and rejoined back behind Wittmann and a charging Mike Rockenfeller, while Paffett pitted from second and rejoined safely ahead of Glock.

Auer, meanwhile, would suffer a slow stop a lap after Paffett, and would duly slip behind the Brit during his outlap with cold tyres. Glock also attacked the Austrian but could not force his way through, as up front Rast and Daniel Juncadella stopped and rejoined side-by-side out of the pits, earning both a trip to the stewards after the race.

With that the race was run, with Paffett easing ahead of Auer to secure his 21st victory in the DTM, with Auer and Glock completing the top three. Mortara was next up having jumped Wehrlein, while Bruno Spengler fought off Paul di Resta and Juncadella for sixth, with Rast and Loïc Duval completing the scorers.

Background

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2018 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 is displayed below:

2018 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine
2	Gary Paffett	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Petronas	Mercedes	AMG C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
3	Paul di Resta	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Remus	Mercedes	AMG C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
4	Robin Frijns	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8
5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi	RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8
7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team RBM	BMW	M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8
11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	BMW	M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8
15	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RMG	BMW	M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8
16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMR	BMW	M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8
22	Lucas Auer	Silberpfeil Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport	Mercedes	AMG C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
23	Daniel Juncadella	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Remus	Mercedes	AMG C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RMR	BMW	M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8
28	Loïc Duval	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi	RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8
33	René Rast	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi	RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8
47	Joel Eriksson	BMW Team RBM	BMW	M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8
48	Edoardo Mortara	Silberpfeil Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport	Mercedes	AMG C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
51	Nico Müller	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8
53	Jamie Green	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi	RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8
94	Pascal Wehrlein	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Petronas	Mercedes	AMG C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi	RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8
Source:

Qualifying

Results

The final qualifying result for the 2018 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 are outlined below:

2018 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	2	Gary Paffett	Mercedes-AMG Petronas	1:32.264	—	178.470 km/h	1
2nd	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	1:32.463	+0.199s	178.086 km/h	2
3rd	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMR	1:32.468	+0.204s	178.076 km/h	3
4th	22	Lucas Auer	Mercedes-AMG Silberpfeil	1:32.484	+0.220s	178.045 km/h	4
5th	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Mercedes-AMG Petronas	1:32.486	+0.222s	178.042 km/h	5
6th	15	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RMG	1:32.683	+0.419s	177.663 km/h	6
7th	48	Edoardo Mortara	Mercedes-AMG Silberpfeil	1:32.719	+0.455s	177.594 km/h	7
8th	7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team RBM	1:32.776	+0.512s	177.485 km/h	8
9th	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	1:32.780	+0.516s	177.477 km/h	9
10th	47	Joel Eriksson	BMW Team RBM	1:32.794	+0.530s	177.451 km/h	10
11th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	1:32.811	+0.547s	177.418 km/h	11
12th	3	Paul di Resta	Mercedes-AMG Remus	1:32.841	+0.577s	177.361 km/h	12
13th	23	Daniel Juncadella	Mercedes-AMG Remus	1:32.889	+0.625s	177.269 km/h	13
14th	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:32.986	+0.722s	177.084 km/h	14
15th	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RMR	1:32.990	+0.726s	177.077 km/h	15
16th	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	1:33.036	+0.772s	176.989 km/h	16
17th	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:33.094	+0.830s	176.879 km/h	17
18th	5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt	1:33.174	+0.910s	176.727 km/h	18
19th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	1:33.250	+0.986s	176.583 km/h	19
Source:

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

Grid

	Pos.	Pos.
	Driver	Driver
	______________
Row 1	1	______________
	Gary Paffett	2
	______________	Marco Wittmann
Row 2	3	______________
	Timo Glock	4
	______________	Lucas Auer
Row 3	5	______________
	Pascal Wehrlein	6
	______________	Augusto Farfus
Row 4	7	______________
	Edoardo Mortara	8
	______________	Bruno Spengler
Row 5	9	______________
	René Rast	10
	______________	Joel Eriksson
Row 6	11	______________
	Mike Rockenfeller	12
	______________	Paul di Resta
Row 7	13	______________
	Daniel Juncadella	14
	______________	Nico Müller
Row 8	15	______________
	Philipp Eng	16
	______________	Loïc Duval
Row 9	17	______________
	Robin Frijns	18
	______________	Mattias Ekström
Row 10	19	______________
	Jamie Green	20
	______________

Race

Results

The final classification of the 2018 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 is displayed below:

2018 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	2	Gary Paffett	Mercedes-AMG Petronas	36	58:03.639	1:35.022	253
2nd	22	Lucas Auer	Mercedes-AMG Silberpfeil	36	+1.449s	1:34.689	18
3rd	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMR	36	+6.514s	1:34.741	151
4th	48	Edoardo Mortara	Mercedes-AMG Silberpfeil	36	+8.198s	1:35.125	12
5th	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Mercedes-AMG Petronas	36	+11.391s	1:34.838	10
6th	7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team RBM	36	+15.758s	1:35.418	8
7th	3	Paul di Resta	Mercedes-AMG Remus	36	+16.600s	1:35.285	6
8th	23	Daniel Juncadella	Mercedes-AMG Remus	36	+16.969s	1:34.181	4
9th	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	36	+18.268s	1:34.902	2
10th	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	36	+19.646s	1:34.944	1
11th	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	36	+20.740s	1:35.114	2
12th	47	Joel Eriksson	BMW Team RBM	36	+21.294s	1:34.772
13th	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	36	+22.421s	1:35.183
14th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	36	+23.987s	1:35.472
15th	15	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RMG	36	+28.724s	1:34.615
16th	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RMR	36	+29.486s	1:35.003
17th	5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt	36	+30.649s	1:35.391
18th	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	36	+31.660s	1:35.564
19th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	36	+44.973s	1:35.684
Source:

• ³ Indicates a driver was awarded points for qualifying in the top three.
• Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
• Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.

Milestones

• Pascal Wehrlein made his first start since the 2015 Hockenheim Finale Race 2.
• Daniel Juncadella made his first start since the 2016 Hockenheim Finale Race 2.
• Debut race for Philipp Eng, Joel Eriksson and Robin Frijns.
• Gary Paffett secured his 21st career victory.
  • This was also his first win since the 2013 Lausitzring Race.

Standings

Victory for Gary Paffett had moved him to the top of the Championship after the opening battle of the season, the Brit having established a ten point lead with the bonus points for pole. Lucas Auer was his closest challenger in second ahead of Timo Glock, two points splitting them, while Edoardo Mortara and Pascal Wehrlein completed the top five. Bruno Spengler, Paul di Resta, Daniel Juncadella, René Rast, Marco Wittmann and Loïc Duval had also scored in race one of the campaign.

In the Teams' Championship it was Mercedes-AMG Petronas who led the charge after the first race of the season, having claimed 38 points on the opening day. Mercedes-AMG Silberpfeil were next up in second, while BMW Team RMR were in third on 16. Elsewhere, Mercedes led the charge in the Manufacturers' Championship having dominated the opening day, opening out an early lead of 52 points over BMW in second.

2018 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Gary Paffett 28 ◄0 2nd Lucas Auer 18 ◄0 3rd Timo Glock 16 ◄0 4th Edoardo Mortara 12 ◄0 5th Pascal Wehrlein 10 ◄0 6th Bruno Spengler 8 ◄0 7th Paul di Resta 6 ◄0 8th Daniel Juncadella 4 ◄0 9th René Rast 2 ◄0 10th Marco Wittmann 2 ◄0 11th Loïc Duval 1 ◄0

2018 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Mercedes-AMG Petronas 38 ◄0 2nd Mercedes-AMG Silberpfeil 30 ◄0 3rd BMW Team RMR 16 ◄0 4th Mercedes-AMG Remus 10 ◄0 5th BMW Team RBM 8 ◄0 6th Audi Team Rosberg 2 ◄0 7th BMW Team RMG 2 ◄0 8th Audi Team Phoenix 1 ◄0 9th Audi Team Abt Sportsline 0 ◄0 2018 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Mercedes 78 ◄0 2nd BMW 26 ◄0 3rd Audi 3 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers are shown.

References

Images and Videos:

References: