Paul di Resta claimed victory for Mercedes in DTM's first ever night race, taking place at the Misano circuit.
"It was a perfect day, even though the race was difficult," said the Scot who took his third win of the season and reduced the championship gap down to just one point.
Audi driver Robin Frijns also celebrated his first podium finish as he secured second place with Edoardo Mortara completing the podium.
"Already at Brands Hatch I was fast, but unfortunately I did not score," said Frijns. "The race today was a lot of fun. Especially the last lap was sensational."
Philipp Eng had almost caused a slight sensation, having started from 18th on the grid, the Austrian temporarily had worked his way up to first place, but eventually finished eighth with his BMW M4 DTM.
“I had hoped for that first win for me and my team so much. The race was thrilling. There was some contact back and forth and at the end, my car wasn’t in a perfect condition anymore.”
The race had two Safety Car phases and the subsequent restarts added to the excitement. The first one from lap nine to 12 followed after contact between the two Mercedes-AMG drivers Mortara and Paffett that led to the early retirement for the leader in the drivers’ standings. On lap 14, the safety car came out for another three laps.
DTM guest driver Alessandro Zanardi drove a good race. With his BMW M4 DTM, the multiple Paralympics gold medallist took the flag in 13th place: “I am super happy,” said the Italian, who raced without his prosthetic legs in a specially developed race car. "For me, there are many reasons to smile. And I have learned a lot of things that I want to use in the second race tomorrow."
In the DTM drivers’ standings after 13 of this season’s 20 races, three times’ season winner Paffett remains in the lead. With 177 points, he is only one point ahead of Di Resta (176). Mortara (118) is third from Marco Wittmann (112) as the best-placed BMW driver. Lucas Auer (Mercedes-AMG, 110) and Timo Glock (BMW, 107) are fifth and sixth respectively.
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