Heiko Hammel wins wet Race 1 from pole position
Heiko Hammel won the first race of the Deutscher Tourenwagen Cup at Oschersleben. The Ford driver came home ahead of Alexander Rambow’s Kia Pro Cee’d GT/R, while Milenko Vukovic finished third in the Audi A3.
Drama began even before the start as title contender Fredrik Lestrup failed to start, leaving Hammel alone on the front row. The German took the opportunity, as behind him the battle raged on until Thomas Winkelhock beached his Kia in the gravel, triggering a Safety Car period.
When the race restarted, Vukovic tried to attack Rambow, but gave up on it as he began to lose grip, in a bid to take the points for third place home.
In the P2 class Thomas Fulsche won the race after pole sitter Pavel Lefterov made a mistake at the start. His recovery took him no further than second, despite a close fight with Fulsche after the safety car period.
Dirk Lauth took the honours in the P1 class, the German leading a Mini 1-2 ahead of Victoria Fross, with Ford’s Ralf Glatzel third in the Ford Fiesta. Despite having conquered pole position after a penalty for an underweight car for Dominique Shaak, Glatzel had to settle for third.
