"I had a very good start and had to take a certain amount of risk in order to advance - that’s why I chose the line on the outside," Dumbreck revealed, "I then held off a bit during the first lap so that there wasn’t too much pressure on the tyres and the brakes, but our speed - particularly on new tyres - was absolutely okay.“
A number of drivers featured in the points only to lose out when the final reckoning came around.
Stefan Mücke's Mercedes CLK was in the points for about two thirds of the race but, from lap ten, had suffered gearbox problems and, by lap 65, had only sixth gear left.
Timo Scheider had even worse luck, losing out on another points finish when a defective propshaft ended a race he had started in fifth position. Audi's Christian Abt was running in the points until a similar failure forced him to retire shortly before the end.
Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela finished the race in positions nine and eleven but, elsewhere there was less fortune for series newcomers. Heinz-Harald Frentzen crashed out of the race on lap six after losing control when his wheels locked up under braking. To make matters worse, the German took Opel team-mate Marcel Fässler with him. Laurent Aiello was forced to retire from the race with a driveshaft problem, while Mercedes' 'lesser lights' also ran into trouble.
Halfway through the championship, Albers now heads the overall standings on 42 points, three ahead of Ekström. Paffett has caught back up with the front of the field after a string of disappointments, and now lies on 25 points.
