l  Gary Paffett (EURONICS Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) improves by 20 positions to finish on the podium
l  Third podium for Mercedes-AMG DTM Team on opening weekend of season at Hockenheim
l  Robert Wickens (SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) and Pascal Wehrlein (gooix Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) among the Top 8
l Gary Paffett: "It's great to be back on the podium after this tricky opening weekend."

Hockenheim, Germany - Thrilling charge in the second DTM race of the season at Hockenheim: Gary Paffett (EURONICS Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) moved 20 places up the field during the one-hour race to secure the 33rd podium of his DTM career. The 2005 champion had qualified eighth but was relegated to P23 for a rule violation. From there, he went on a spectacular charge, gaining 20 places in the tricky weather conditions, helped in part by coming in early to change to wet weather tyres.

After the double podium secured by Pascal Wehrlein (gooix Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) and Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) in the first race on Saturday, the Mercedes-AMG DTM Team claimed a third Top Three finish of the weekend. No fewer than 75,000 fans came through the gates this weekend to watch the first two rounds of the 2015 DTM campaign.

Robert Wickens (SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) and Wehrlein placed seventh and eighth respectively in a thrilling rain-affected race to finish in the top eight. Christian Vietoris (Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) came home in eleventh place. Daniel Juncadella (PETRONAS Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) crossed the finish line in P15, while Maximilian Götz (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) took the chequered flag in P16. Paul Di Resta was 22nd in this second race of the season. Austrian driver Lucas Auer (BWT Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) was unable to take part in the second race after skidding off track on the way to the starting grid.

The next race: DTM moves on from Hockenheim to the Lausitzring for the second race weekend of the season (May 29th-30th). As is usual this season, two races will again be staged at the 3.478 km Lausitzring.

Comments after the Race  

Ulrich Fritz, Head of Mercedes DTM:

"What an incredible race by Gary. It's a mega achievement to start from P23 and finish on the podium. Plus, we also have Robert and Pascal in the Top Ten today, despite not managing qualifying as well as we might have done. All in all, we can really talk about having made a good start to the season, and that makes me especially pleased for the whole team who worked so hard during the winter."  

Robert Wickens (26, Canada):
P7
Car number: 6
Team: SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG (HWA)
Car: SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

"As a team, I think we have to be happy with the weekend overall. My day yesterday was a bit of a nightmare with the engine problem in practice and no dry running before qualifying. But, to at least come away from the weekend with some points is a positive - even if it wasn't as many as I wanted. The start today was great and I managed to get up to P6, so I was happy with that. But we weren't expecting quite so much rain and struggled for performance in the middle of the race with tyre pressures that weren't quite right. Still, Gary proved what our car is capable of in these kind of conditions so that's a positive looking ahead to the coming races."  

Gary Paffett (34, England):
P3
Car number: 2
Team: EURONICS/BWT Mercedes-AMG (ART Grand Prix)
Car: EURONICS Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

"What a race that was! The weekend was a roller-coaster. Obviously I was feeling disappointed after the first race yesterday and the second qualifying session today. We had a really good car this weekend that was unbelievably fast in the rain. In these conditions, it's very easy to make mistakes. But the team did a fantastic job, and the race went perfectly for me. After this difficult opening weekend, it's great to be back on the podium. The switch to rain tyres worked beautifully, and our strategy paid off in the end. I've never before been so happy about a third place as I am today. A big thank you to my team. The crew did a great job and have thoroughly deserved this result. Thanks, guys!"  

Pascal Wehrlein (20, Germany):
P8
Car number: 94
Team: gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG (HWA)
Car: gooix Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

"I'm leaving Hockenheim with mixed feelings. The second qualifying session went very badly, unfortunately. Our car was very strong, but we got the timing wrong, so I had to start from 15th position. The race was hard-fought. I had plenty of scraps and moved forwards to take eighth place, proving this weekend that I am one of the fastest both in the dry and the wet. Many thanks to the team for giving me such a great car."