Nurburgring: Albers takes second straight win

It nearly all went wrong for Albers at the start of the race, as he was punted from behind by the fast-starting Audi of Martin Tomczyk. Albers' Mercedes was knocked sideways, but he managed to retain just enough control to emerge from the corner in second position behind Fassler.

Albers then shadowed his AMG team-mate for several laps, before taking the lead easily when Fassler ran wide. Albers immediately pulled away from Fassler, and increased his lead on the final round of compulsory pit stops, eventually finishing 7.9s clear.

Laurent Aiello drove a strong race to take third from 11th on the grid. The reigning champion came under pressure from Bernd Schneider in the race's final stages. The Mercedes ace slipped past Aiello going into turn one on lap 27, but the Audi driver kept his cool and slipped back inside Schneider at the hairpin shortly afterwards.

Peter Dumbreck finished fifth, charging through the field after a clash with Schneider heading into the chicane on the opening lap dropped him down the order. Slick pit-work and some strong lap-times helped the Briton finish best of the Opels, although Alain Menu would probably have finished on the podium until a drive-through penalty for crossing the pit exit line ruined his race.

Gary Paffett's DTM debut was eventful, but regrettably short. Heading into the chicane on the first lap, the Briton hit a tyre barrier lying in the track that Dumbreck had dislodged in his incident with Schneider. The tyres caused considerable damage to the front of Paffett's Mercedes, forcing him out of the race.

Christijan Albers Mercedes 41 laps
Marcel Fassler Mercedes +7.9s
Laurent Aiello Audi +12.6s
Bernd Schneider Mercedes +15.4s
Peter Dumbreck Opel +19.2s
Alain Menu Opel +34.6s
Mattias Ekstrom Audi +36.4s
Christian Abt Audi +37.3s
Manuel Reuter Opel +42.5s
Joachim Winkelhock Opel +45.7s