Wittmann capitalises on mistakes for third win

marcowittmann

The BMW driver had qualified third on the grid, but mistakes by his rivals, including pole-sitter Robert Wickens, opened the door for Wittmann to pick up his third race win of the season.

Jamie Green of Audi started strongly and unexpectedly found himself at the front of the field after 24 laps.

However, his decision to stay on the option tyre a lap longer than his rivals proved costly as he was summoned to the pits for exceeding the time limit on the softer tyre.

Mercedes' Wickens, meanwhile, may have harboured hopes of picking up a second win of the campaign after coming out on top in a thrilling qualifying session, but his weekend unravelled in Sunday's race.

An unsafe release earned the Canadian a drive-through penalty and, after ignoring calls to come into the pits to serve his punishment, Wickens - who had since taken the lead - retired from the race six laps later.

That incident left four BMWs at the front of the pack, allowing the manufacturer to take full control of the race, with Wittmann the main beneficiary as he crossed the line first to extend his championship lead over Mattias Ekstrom to 39 points.

Augusto Farfus and Timo Glock completed the podium, while Martin Tomczyk rounded off the leading BMW quartet.

Timo Scheider (Audi) finished fifth having started the race in 15th, while Adrien Tambay (Audi) pulled off a similar feat, climbing to sixth from 20th.

Ekstrom (Audi) finished seventh having been allowed to pass Green in the closing stages.

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