Hakkinen Takes Maiden DTM Win
Mika Hakkinen has taken his maiden DTM victory at Spa-Francorchamps, the twice-Formula One World Champion taking the win in only his third DTM race
Hakkinen has only ever won one Grand Prix at the Belgian track, in 2000, but it was considered one of his best Formula One wins ever.
In the race today, rival Mattias Ekstrom pulled from the start and pulled out a big lead with his Audi, but a slower first pitstop for the reigning Champion allowed Hakkinen to move ahead in his Mercedes.
But the Finn had more pace on new tyres and pulled out a comfortable lead. The win was assured when Ekstrom pitted for his second stop early. Hakkinen reacted and pitted on the next lap to ensure track position.
Tom Kristensen finished third, Jean Alesi finished fourth, and Opel scored their first points of the season with Marcel Fassler in fifth and Laurent Aiello in seventh.
Aiello's drive had not been without drama. He and Bernd Schneider were involved in a collision on the penultimate lap at Eau Rouge, putting Schneider into the tyre barriers at high speed. The car was heavily damaged in the accident but Schneider walked away unharmed.
Gary Paffett retained the Championship lead after securing one point with eighth place. Paffett had a drive-through penalty for spinning Pierre Kaffer round on the first lap.
Jamie Green and Allan McNish both separately retired at Les Combes with punctures.
2005 DTM Round 3 - Spa Francorchamps Results:
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Mika Hakkinen Sport Edition AMG-Mercedes 54:34.544 2. Mattias Ekstrom Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline + 4.258 3. Tom Kristensen Audi Sport Team Abt + 5.976 4. Jean Alesi AMG-Mercedes + 10.088 5. Marcel Fassler GMAC Team OPC + 27.801 6. Martin Tomczyk Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline + 28.001 7. Laurent Aiello Team OPC + 33.516 8. Gary Paffett DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG + 40.407 9. A. Margaritis Mucke Motorsport + 50.255 10. Christian Abt Audi Sport Team Joest Racing + 50.856 11. Frank Stippler Audi Sport Team Joest + 51.402 12. Stefan Mucke Mucke Motorsport + 55.593 13. Rinaldo Capello Audi Sport Team Joest + 55.961 14. Pierre Kaffer Audi Sport Team Joest Racing + 56.711 15. H.H. Frentzen Stern Team OPC +1:28.708 16. Manuel Reuter Team OPC + 1 lap 17. Bernd Schneider Vodafone AMG-Mercedes + 2 laps 18. Allan McNish Audi Sport Team Abt + 3 laps 19. Jamie Green Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes + 4 laps 20. Bruno Spengler Junge Gebrauchte von Mercedes + 12 laps
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