Abt Audi driver Nico Muller held off BMW’s Tom Blomqvist to win the second DTM race of the weekend at the Norisring street circuit.
Having started from third on the grid, Muller passed former Formula 1 driver Paul di Resta on the opening lap and kept within a second of polesitter Blomqvist through the opening part of the race.
Muller stayed out until the end of the pitstop window before changing tyres, with some quick in-laps helping him return to the track ahead of Blomqvist and into the net lead of the race.
Once the final drivers to pit had done so, Muller soon established a comfortable advantage over the chasing BMW, only for it to be wiped out by a late safety car for debris following several on-track incidents.
Muller got a good jump on Blomqvist and crossed the line to claim his first win in the DTM and become the seventh different winner of 2016, as well as giving Audi its second victory of the weekend at the Norisring.
Maxime Martin came from sixth to third after a feisty performance, completing the podium.
Di Resta took the chequered flag fourth, ahead of Lucas Auer and Marco Wittmann.
Bruno Spengler and race one winner Edoardo Morta were next up, with Timo Glock and Martin Tomczyk coming from the back of the grid and benefiting from incidents up ahead to finish ninth and 10th.
Robert Wickens bounced back from a puncture to finish 11th, with Maximilian Gotz and Esteban Ocon next up.
Christian Vietoris dropped back to 15th thanks to a drive-through penalty for contact with Antonio Felix da Costa, while Timo Scheider and Mike Rockenfeller lost ground following contact late in the race and trailed the field home.
Da Costa and Daniel Juncadella collided at Turn 2 in the closing stages, with both drivers retiring due to damage, as did Adrien Tambay, Gary Paffett and Jamie Green.
Mattias Ekstrom was quickest in qualifying but a three-place grid penalty for a crash in race one meant he lined up fourth.
His race only lasted one lap before he retired following contact with di Resta.
RESULTS – 72 LAPS:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nico Muller | Abt | Audi | 1h01m03.139s |
| 2 | Tom Blomqvist | RBM | BMW | 0.670s |
| 3 | Maxime Martin | RBM | BMW | 1.543s |
| 4 | Paul Di Resta | HWA | Mercedes | 4.701s |
| 5 | Lucas Auer | Mucke | Mercedes | 4.950s |
| 6 | Marco Wittmann | RMG | BMW | 5.197s |
| 7 | Bruno Spengler | MTEK | BMW | 5.907s |
| 8 | Edoardo Mortara | Abt | Audi | 6.228s |
| 9 | Timo Glock | RMG | BMW | 6.981s |
| 10 | Martin Tomczyk | Schnitzer | BMW | 7.224s |
| 11 | Robert Wickens | HWA | Mercedes | 10.510s |
| 12 | Maximilian Gotz | HWA | Mercedes | 10.906s |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | ART | Mercedes | 11.543s |
| 14 | Miguel Molina | Abt | Audi | 13.013s |
| 15 | Christian Vietoris | Mucke | Mercedes | 14.094s |
| 16 | Timo Scheider | Phoenix | Audi | 20.885s |
| 17 | Jamie Green | Rosberg | Audi | 14 Laps |
| – | Mike Rockenfeller | Phoenix | Audi | Disqualified |
| – | Adrien Tambay | Rosberg | Audi | Disqualified |
| – | Daniel Juncadella | HWA | Mercedes | Disqualified |
| – | Antonio Felix da Costa | Schnitzer | BMW | Disqualified |
| – | Gary Paffett | ART | Mercedes | Disqualified |
| – | Mattias Ekstrom | Abt | Audi | Retirement |
| – | Augusto Farfus | MTEK | BMW | Retirement |
