DTM: Two men. Two races. One title

The DTM championship fight has simmered until now, but after Barcelona it is well and truly on heading into the penultimate round. A title showdown with two races to go may sound a little odd, but Le Mans this weekend could prove to the most important race of the season.

Why? Because a good result for long-time championship leader Timo Scheider could seal the crown for the German, who slaved away in the series for more than 70 races before his maiden success earlier this year.

But, as the last two races have shown, Mercedes' Paul di Resta is snapping at the heels of the German and he needs to make a dent into that championship lead to set the series up for a proper showdown at Hockenheim two weeks later.

The contenders

It's hard to believe that the 2008-spec Timo Scheider is the same man that raced in the DTM for so many years with such moderate success before this season. The German has been on the pace at every track - and more often than not he's been the fastest Audi driver.

Timo Scheider, Abt Audi © XPB

He's proved unflappable too in most situations. When Tom Kristensen jumped the start alongside him on the front row at Oschersleben, he didn't react - he just waited for the lights and drove on to take his first win. Then, at Brands Hatch in August, he spent the entire race with di Resta all over his rear end, but didn't make a single mistake.

Unfortunately, in between those races was a jump start of his own at Mugello - crucially from pole position. It's the only blot on his copy book this season, though.

Scheider is the man in control of this title fight at the moment, but he has more to lose. Di Resta knew that when he dived inside the German for the lead at Barcelona, but Scheider knew it too, and gave him the place.

"I'm the guy that has to survive," he says. "We still have to attack and I will keep fighting, but it's different for me than it is for Paul."

Two more repeats of the Spanish result will do Scheider just fine.

So, on to di Resta. Last year's rookie sensation has lived up to the hype since getting a top car for this year. There have been two wins - one a dominant display at Lausitz, the other coming after his impressive pass on Scheider at Barcelona.

But for the HWA driver, it could have been so much more. He has been plagued by pit lane problems, most notably at Hockenheim and Nurburgring - with the latter probably costing him victory. He keeps coming back, though, and it should be no surprise that he's the only Mercedes left standing as the season reaches crunch time. Not that he's asking for any help from his teammates.

"I just have to do my own race and make sure I'm doing the best I can," he says. "We won't be gearing things towards me in the team. Everyone will do their own jobs over the weekend, then maybe if they can help me in some way they will, but we don't have a game-plan in that respect."

Mercedes have made it clear that they won't be imposing any team orders. It might not be so clear cut at the other end of the pitlane though, where Mattias Ekstrom is determined to make sure the man who takes the title from him is not driving a C-Class.

Ekstrom and Jamie Green effectively lost their shots at the title when they drove into each other on the final lap at Barcelona. Both were punished for their parts in the tangle, which was a pretty symbolic representation of their title hopes shattering.

The reigning champion remains determined, though, even if he can't win a third title now.

"I am still defending my title because I want to make sure that Audi wins it again," he says. "I will do all I can to make sure that Timo wins the championship. We all have a clear role to make sure that Audi defends the crown."

Ominous words for Mercedes, although Bernd Schneider and Bruno Spengler have admitted that they will help di Resta if they can. That's what he needs, because beating Scheider in a straight fight is just not enough.

Paul di Resta, HWA Mercedes-Benz © XPB

Any Audis that are in Scheider's way will not be there for long in these final two races, so even if di Resta continues to reach that "different level" that Scheider has referred to on occasion this season, the Scot needs his teammates to run a rear-guard action.

Friendly fire

So far, the top two haven't fallen out this season - even after a bit of paint-swapping last time out (fortunately both are black cars), there was no ill-feeling between them. Scheider congratulated di Resta on his ballsy move and his rival sent some gratitude back the other way. It was all a far cry from the Ekstrom-Green spat, a fact not lost on Scheider.

"If we had had situations like Green and Mattias, then the last two races could be difficult," says the championship leader. "But I'm happy to fight with Paul. He was fair when he was chasing me at Brands (when he didn't try a move) and he was fair when he passed me here. Sure, we touched, but that's touring car racing."

Di Resta agrees that so far things have been fair, and there appears to be a genuine respect between the two.

"At Barcelona we didn't bang into each other, it was more of a rub," says the 22-year-old. "At no point did one of us force the other into a slide. We gave each other room, which is how it should be."

But the bad blood that is always lingering somewhere in the Mercedes/Audi rivalry won't need much to rear its ugly head again. With teammates likely to play such a pivotal role in deciding the title, it is more likely that an incident involving one of the title protagonists and his rival's teammates will cause the sparks. There are plenty of other drivers out there that have nothing to lose.