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Kristensen's first win

Tom Kristensen broke his duck in the DTM by winning round seven at Oschersleben today (Sunday). He overcame polesitter and Audi team-mate Martin Tomczyk in the second round of mandatory pitstops to record his first victory in the German-based series

Tomczyk got a great start from pole to lead Kristensen and the Mercedes of Gary Paffett, Christijan Albers (a lightning start from sixth) and Bernd Schneider. Points leader Mattias Ekstrom ran sixth, as fifth place starter Manuel Reuter dropped back to seventh. Ekstrom attacked Schneider, pulling off a smart move at Turn 2, but taking a hit that damaged his rear diffusor slightly.

The next major incident of the race came straight after the first round of pitstops, as Schneider not only clipped the white line on the exit but also collected Opel's Peter Dumbreck, spinning them both off.

Albers lost his fourth place when he too clipped the white line on the pit exit, which dropped him out of the points. Tomczyk's first major hurdle was passing Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Opel, which was on a long first run. He had to force his way past at Turn 1, despite a little contact, while Kristensen dived past at Turn 2. Paffett, who caught them up by this stage, then lost out big time as an attack at the following triple apex turn saw more contact with Frentzen and delayed them both. Paffett then opted for an early second stop, as title rival Ekstrom was closing in.

The second pitstops decided the race at the front, however. Kristensen came in a lap earlier than Tomczyk, and set his fastest lap on the next tour. Tomczyk's stop was slow (6.4secs) due to a sticking front wheel nut, and that was all Kristensen needed to get ahead and keep Tomczyk at bay to notch his first win in the series.

"I knew it would be hard when I came to the DTM, so I am proud to have won my seventh race," said Kristensen. "I didn't win this race by chance. We decided to stop early and did my fastest lap straight after. After that, the car was good and I just tried to keep cool and bring it home."

Third place was fought out between Paffett and Reuter, who came back well from his poor start. He hounded the Briton, who was struggling with his tyres and locked up at Turn 1 and went across the gravel. He tried to stay ahead but two bouts of contact with Reuter sent him off the track even further.

He rejoined and, most importantly, kept Ekstrom at bay behind him to take fourth. Laurent Aiello's Opel chased Ekstrom home, with the Vectras of Timo Scheider and Marcel Fassler rounding out the point scorers.

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