Pepper takes maiden DTM win after Spa 24 Hours triumph

Jordan Pepper’s impressive form shows no signs of slowing down, with the 28-year-old South African taking his maiden DTM victory at the Norisring, one week on from his Spa 24 Hours success.

Pepper dominated the race from pole position with his Grasser-entered Lamborghini, describing the contest as “the longest 55 minutes of my life”.

Pepper’s victory seemed at risk at only one moment in the race, as he lost almost 10 seconds in the pits due to a rear-right tyre problem, but he had built enough of a lead during the first half to stay ahead.

Manthey Porsche driver Thomas Preining was three seconds behind under the chequered flag, with Maro Engel making up the podium despite contact with last year’s Norisring race winner Nicki Thiim on the opening lap – Thiim spun but Engel escaped sanction with stewards deeming it a racing incident. The Dane finished dead last in 20th.

Thierry Vermeulen was fourth ahead of fellow Ferrari driver Jack Aitken, with Mercedes duo Lucas Auer and Jules Gounon next up. Arjun Maini (Ford), Ricardo Feller (Audi) and Rene Rast (BMW), who made an impressive recovery from 17th on the grid, completed the top 10.

Things went less smoothly for McLaren racer Timo Glock, who again reported a loss of power after a similar mishap in qualifying, while reigning DTM champion Mirko Bortolotti also found himself powerless against the competition. “They’re destroying me out there,” he complained to the Abt Lamborghini squad on the radio.

Bortolotti had a heated battle with Marco Wittmann, featuring several touches, which led to a warning for the BMW driver. Both of them finished outside the top 15.

Meanwhile, Aston Martin had cause to celebrate with Gilles Magnus scoring the brand’s first points of the season in 12th – his first career points in the DTM.

Team-mate Nicolas Baert seemed like he might collect an even bigger haul, starting from sixth and holding on to 10th until his pitstop, but he locked up on cold tyres and got a penalty lap for speeding in the pitlane.

Baert then collided with Luca Engstler at high speed, sending the Lamborghini into the barriers, which resulted in three additional penalty laps for the Aston pilot. He then ended up retiring from the race.

Finally, HRT Ford driver Fabio Scherer failed to start the race due to a heavy crash in qualifying, which meant his car could not be repaired in time.

Auer has retained the lead of the championship, with Pepper now just six points away thanks to his maiden win. Engel is third in the standings.

The second race of the Norisring round will start at 1:30pm local time on Sunday.

Race result