A1-Ring race 1: Sixth win for Paffett

Paffett made a great start from pole, while fellow front row man Bernhard Auinger stalled, but third placed Norbert Siedler made a stellar start and grabbed the lead at Turn 1. Paffett got a better exit, however, and was ahead by the time they reached the second corner.

Siedler attempted to fight back, but his efforts to do so cost him time and allowed Timo Glock, who started fifth, to close in. As Paffett made his escape, Glock passed Siedler, while fourth placed Frank Diefenbacher simultaneously lost places to Jeffrey van Hooydonk and Markus Winkelhock.

Siedler soon got back on terms with Glock and got a run on him at the high-speed Rindt Kurve. Glock tried to cover, but left his turn-in too late and he bounced through the gravel, eventually spinning back on to the edge of the track at the following corner. Siedler had a moment of his own, allowing the van Hooydonk-led train, in which Diefenbacher had scrambled past Winkelhock, to close right on to his tail.

Van Hooydonk got it wrong at Remus Kurve, however, and clanged into Diefenbacher. The latter repaid the compliment, in altogether more serious fashion, at the first corner on the next lap and both took to the gravel and lost a lot of time.

Through the carnage came Paffett's Rosberg team-mate Kimmo Liimatainen, who swerved around Winkehock as van Hooydonk and Diefenbacher collided to grab third - from 13th on the grid! Winkelhock got the better of a fraught duel with Toyota F1 tester Ryan Briscoe for fourth, while Kousuke Matsuura salvaged a point from a tough race despite clashing with Robert Doornbos, which cost his front-left wing and sent Doornbos out of the race.

Paffett, meanwhile, cruised to a 14sec win over Siedler, virtually assuring him of the title should tomorrow's race go as well.


1 Gary Paffett, Rosberg Dallara-Opel, 19 laps
2 Norbert Siedler, Swiss Tony Racing Team Dallara-Opel, +14.0s
3 Kimmo Liimatainen, Rosberg Dallara-Opel, +18.4s
4 Markus Winkelhock, Mucke Dallara-Mercedes, +19.5s
5 Ryan Briscoe, PREMA Dallara-Opel, +20.4s
6 Kousuke Matsuura, PREMA Dallara-Opel, +24.7s