Sachsenring DTM: Ludwig does the double

With tyre problems such a factor in the day's first 30-lapper, the second race was reduced to 24 laps. The Mercedes veteran probably breathed a sigh of relief, since he had actually punctured on the slowdown lap of the first race.

As in race one, Peter Dumbreck finished a deferential second, with Bernd Schneider third - but it took another Opel tyre failure to secure the point-leader's second podium of the day. Opel's Eric Helary had grabbed third at the rolling start and held it until lap 20 when, you guessed it, his car suffered a right front tyre failure, pitching him into one of the Sachsenring's luxurious expanses of gravel.

After that, what had promised to be a close fight between Mercedes and Opel degenerated into something of a Mercedes benefit, with Marcels Fassler and Tiemann taking fourth and fifth.

Best of the Opels was Michael Bartels, who tenaciously held onto sixth, but it was a bad day for Russelheim's title hopes. Its two main men, Manuel Reuter and Jo Winkelhock, could manage only an 11th and a 10th respectively after starting from the back, the consequence of their race one punctures and shunts.



1 Klaus Ludwig, Mercedes, 24 laps
2 Peter Dumbreck, Mercedes, +0.9s
3 Bernd Schneider, Mercedes, +1.9s
4 Marcel Fassler, Mercedes, +9.9s
5 Marcel Tiemann, Mercedes, +18.3s
6 Michael Bartels, Opel, +27.3s
7 Timo Scheider, Opel, +27.8s
8 Darren Turner, Mercedes, +28.3s
9 Thomas Jager, Mercedes, +28.6s
10 Jo Winkelhock, Opel, +29.1s