Audi accepts Tomczyk's exclusion

The Abt Sportsline driver finished second from ninth on the grid, but he was excluded on Sunday evening, due to what Audi has described as a "formal mistake" with his tyres.

"This did not give Martin any advantage, but the rules prescribe an exclusion in this case," said Audi Sport boss Wolfgang Ullrich. "Principally, it was a great race for Audi, and we could have been very pleased with the original result.

"Our cars were very fast and our drivers strong. It could have been a 1-2-3 for Audi, but the problem with Oliver [Jarvis]'s car, and the mishap in Martin's team prevented our possible result."

Tomczyk, who retired from the season opener at Hockenheim last month with a puncture while he was leading, added: "I didn't think that I'd be able to advance to second after starting ninth. That makes the disqualification even more frustrating."