The driver from Mönchengladbach thrilled the Chinese fans by averting crashing into the safety barrier thanks to a masterful manoeuvre.
"It was a brilliant event in an impressive city," said Heinz-Harald. "I could actually have driven even faster, but I had sadly picked up too much dirt, which blocked the radiator. I’m pretty satisfied with the result."
A manhole cover came unstuck in the start phase of the first of the originally planned two races of 30 minutes each. Bernd Mayländer in an AMG-Mercedes CLK was unable to steer clear of a collision and rammed into the obstacle. As a result, the race was interrupted and the manhole covers were welded firm for safety reasons. The first race was therefore cancelled due to time constraints.
"It was really worth it in the end," summed up Mercedes motorsport director, Norbert Haug. "We’re immensely pleased with this double win at the Chinese premiere. Our teams and drivers worked brilliantly under the most difficult of conditions."
"Shanghai created a fantastic stage for the DTM in no time, but the race was of course not to our taste," added Audi’s motorsport director, Wolfgang Ullrich. "We lost our three fastest cars in the first lap, which had started very well and were in good positions. So we couldn’t really do anything in the end. Mattias once again made the most of the situation and battled his way forward into third place."
