Albers scores Estoril DTM win

Ekstrom (Audi) made a perfect start from pole position to lead Paffett (Mercedes). Tom Kristensen (Audi) passed Opel's Timo Scheider for third at the first corner, but was shuffled wide on the exit and dropped to fifth, behind Albers, who started sixth.

Paffett was right on Ekstrom's tail when Mattias made his first pitstop. Paffett pitted a lap later, and rejoined just ahead of Ekstrom, who had been held up by a year-old Mercedes on his out lap. Ekstrom went immediately on the attack, and muscled his way past Paffett to retake the lead at Turn 3. All this allowed Albers to close right up.

Ekstrom once again got bottled up behind a year-old Merc, that of Stefan Mucke, who slowed him at the final corner before diving off into the pits. Paffett was now right on Ekstrom's tail, but Albers had been able to carry more speed onto the straight than both of them.

As Ekstrom defended from Paffett at Turn 1, Albers ambushed them by lunging to the outside and braking on the clean part of the track. Thanks to his extra momentum, he passed them both in a quite brilliant move, although Ekstrom was reasonably polite on the exit to give him racing room.

Paffett went straight on at Turn 1, his left-front tyre having come off its rim. The Hockenheim winner would finish a dejected 13th after making an extra pitstop.

Albers managed to establish a 1sec lead over Ekstrom when Mattias dived for the pits for his second stop. Albers responded by pitting on the next lap, but Ekstrom was right with him when he rejoined. Ekstrom attacked at Turn 3, and then again at Turn 4, where contact was made. They were side-by-side on the following straight, but at the right-hand kink that followed, Albers edged Ekstrom on to the grass and showed no sign of letting him back on to the track.

Forced to lift, Ekstrom had to concede the place. He spent the rest of the race glued to the rear of Albers' car, but despite a last lap shove at the chicane, he couldn't get past.

Scheider looked set for third when his throttle jammed open, fortunately at a relatively slow part of the track. He rejoined in sixth, promoting Martin Tomczyk (Audi) to third, ahead of Tom Kristensen (Audi) and a surprisingly low-key Bernd Schneider (Mercedes). Jean Alesi finished seventh, ahead of Laurent Aiello (Opel), who survived a Turn 2 spin.