Bruno Spengler has claimed his first ever
DTM title after beating long term championship leader Gary Paffett at Hockenheim, giving BMW a dream comeback following a 20-year absence.
After making a faultless start from third position on the grid, coupled with a sluggish start from Paffett, Spengler eased into the lead at the expense of BMW team-mate Augusto Farfus. Paffett meanwhile, who dropped to fourth, was forced to scrap for position.
The order eventually settled with the BMW duo leading the opening stint with Paffett always lurking behind in third.
The Brit then fought his way into second after exiting the pits marginally ahead of Farfus in a volcanic pit battle.
Once in clear air Paffett then set about hunting down race leader Spengler, which led to an enthrallingly tense last third of the race.
Spengler, however, refused to buckle and took BMW's first title in over 20-years by a mere four points as the Mercedes man took his machine and the track limits right to the very extreme.
Farfus' heart rate was no doubt lower than his two rivals in front on his way to a very comfortable third place.
Behind, Jamie Green posted a great drive from tenth to fourth, although sadly never really featuring in the championship battle.
Fifth went to Dirk Werner, again delivering another consistent drive for BMW with Edoardo Mortara in P6 as the top finishing Audi.
Britain's Andy Priaulx enjoyed a far more satisfying race in seventh followed closely by BMW team-mate Joey Hand.
Ralf Schumacher and Christian Vietoris completed the points paying positions in ninth and tenth respectively.
In his last
DTM race, David Coulthard had his race cut short thanks to damaged sustained from contact in which the Scot was sent into a spin courtesy of former double champion, Timo Scheider. Scheider was later hit with a drive-through penalty for his actions.
by Simon Evans