Hockenheim DTM: Mortara triumphs in season-opening crashfest

Second on the grid, the Italian had a better getaway than fellow front-row starter Nico Muller and took the lead.

Behind the duo, Robert Wickens was passed by Jamie Green but the Mercedes driver fought back on the main straight.

Green then came under massive pressure from several drivers and was eventually forced wide at T11, dropping out of the top 10.

Another incident, which saw both Daniel Juncadella and Timo Glock trapped in the gravel at the same corner, triggered the Slow Zone on lap 3 - and the SZ was needed again when Maximilian Gotz then spun out while trying to avoid Augusto Farfus.

The start of the race saw several other casualties, including Timo Scheider, whose car got damaged on the opening lap, and Adrien Tambay, who sent Tom Blomqvist into a spin and retired on Lap 2.

Meanwhile, DTM debutant Esteban Ocon and Mike Rockenfeller both retired in the pits, the German making contact with Spengler while entering the Slow Zone and breaking his suspension.

Avoiding all the action, Mortara maintained a lead of two seconds out front, with Wickens overtaking Muller for second.

However, the Canadian failed to make up much ground in the fight for victory, allowing Mortara to cruise to the finish.

Polesitter Muller had to settle for third, which still meant he claimed his maiden podium in the series.

Christian Vietoris passed stable-mate Paul di Resta for fourth, with Bruno Spengler the top BMW driver in sixth.

Antonio Felix da Costa inherited seventh after Martin Tomczyk lost pace due to car problems and Mattias Ekstrom forced Gary Paffett off track at the hairpin.

The duo made contact once again two laps later and the Briton was then slightly nudged by Lucas Auer as well, the Austrian damaging his own car in the process.

Maxime Martin got ahead of Ekstrom to secure eighth with Miguel Molina taking the final point-scoring position after a move on Paffett.

Full results

Pos.	Driver	Car	Gap
1	Edoardo Mortara	Audi	42m11.606s
2	Robert Wickens	Mercedes	1.657s
3	Nico Muller	Audi	4.454s
4	Paul Di Resta	Mercedes	8.818s
5	Christian Vietoris	Mercedes	10.192s
6	Bruno Spengler	BMW	20.097s
7	Antonio Felix da Costa	BMW	30.882s
8	Maxime Martin	BMW	41.360s
9	Mattias Ekstrom	Audi	46.455s
10	Miguel Molina	Audi	47.198s
11	Gary Paffett	Mercedes	52.832s
12	Martin Tomczyk	BMW	55.137s
13	Tom Blomqvist	BMW	55.530
14	Augusto Farfus	BMW	1m08.466s
15	Jamie Green	Audi	1m09.184s
16	Marco Wittmann	BMW	1m10.496s
17	Lucas Auer	Mercedes	+5 Laps
Ret	Maximilian Gotz	Mercedes
Ret	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi
Ret	Esteban Ocon	Mercedes
Ret	Timo Glock	BMW
Ret	Daniel Juncadella	Mercedes
Ret	Adrien Tambay	Audi
Ret	Timo Scheider	Audi