The race made for both beaming winners and frustrated, defeated fighters – both coming from the Audi camp. In the closing stages of the race, Mattias Ekström did not only battle his way up to the very front of the field but with his unique approach, he also once again captured the hearts of the DTM enthusiasts. On the other hand, Mike Rockenfeller had to cope with a major setback. For quite a while, he seemed to be on the way to a superior win but in the end, he had to settle for finishing 15th. The two podiums of BMW drivers Marco Wittmann and Martin Tomczyk represented the topping on a great day of motor racing. DTM.com compiled the Zandvoort tops and flops.

Man of the race: Mattias Ekström dominated the closing stages of the Zandvoort round in distinctive style. With his RS 5 DTM, the Swedish Audi driver pushed at the dune circuit to the max and drove in a way that thrilled everybody. He was one of the few drivers who started into the race on the standard tyres and contested the second half on the options. And he knew how to squeeze the maximum out of them. While other drivers who had opted for the same strategy failed to gain a lot of ground, Ekström battled his way up from the upper midfield to the very top and gave Audi their first win in the 2014 season.

The resurrection: At Zandvoort, Martin Tomczyk finally celebrated his podium comeback. By finishing sixth in the qualifying session he demonstrated as early as on Saturday that he should be kept an eye on. In the race, he gained another three positions and was back on the podium – for the first time since 19th August, 2012, in the DTM race at the Nürburgring.

The fighter: Edoardo Mortara displayed a lot of fighting spirit, in the race. After the qualifying session, the scrutineers detected irregularities on his Audi RS 5 DTM, his great third grid position was disallowed and he had to start into the race from the very end of the grid. Over the course of the race, however, he gained amazing 19 positions to finish fourth, in the end.

Good debut: On the Zandvoort weekend, Christian Vietoris’ DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé for the first time was equipped with the new aero kit that was conceded to Mercedes-Bent following their poor start into the season and that now is finalised by the homologation of the car. In the qualifying session, the performance of the 25-year old and his vehicle wasn’t too impressive and they had to settle for 17th position on the grid. In the race, however, Vietoris really went for it, pushed to the max and finished fifth.

Unlucky fellow of the race: There really was no reason to envy Mike Rockenfeller, at Zandvoort. The 2013 DTM Champion drove a great race and together with Marco Wittmann, he entertained the crowds with an enthralling battle for the lead. And the Phoenix Team’s strategy arguably also would have worked but then, four safety-car periods proved to be spanners in the works of the Meuspath based squad. At the point in time of the first safety car period, nearly all the top drivers had already pitted while Rockenfeller was on the way to extending his lead on his first set of tyres. Now however, the competition was right behind him – and that was that. In the end, he had to settle for finishing 15th.