Ekstrom Wins Valencia Race, Tomczyk Disqualified

Audi could have walked away from Valencia this weekend with their first 1-2 finish this season, as a commanding performance from Mattias Ekstrom and a flawless pit strategy from Martin Tomczyk saw the two drivers battle for 1st place until the chequered flag. However, a tire mistake from Audi caused Tomczyk to be disqualified from the race a few hours after it ended, giving Mercedes' Bruno Spengler his second consecutive runner-up spot in 2010.

The Valencia weekend started perfectly for Ekstrom – who had scored pole position on Saturday – and ended just as well, as he got off to a great start and built a lead of up to 6 seconds from his nearest rival. In the process, he also scored the fastest lap of the day, but still had to go through some tough last laps to defend his win.

Tomczyk, who was running in 9th place before the second round of pit stops, made his mandatory stop later than his competitors, stretching his second stint on the circuit for as long as he could. While the others were stuck in traffic, the German finally entered the pits and rejoined the track in a great 2nd place, after which he started closing the gap on his teammate.

The final few laps witnessed a thrilling battle for 1st place, but Ekstrom eventually kept his cool and fended off Tomczyk for the chequered flag.

“If you haven’t won for such a long time you can really feel how sweet victory is. Today, everything worked perfectly. My thanks go to Audi and Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline. The tires held up too. I was a little worried when I felt some vibrations – but that was just pick-up on the tires. The ten points for the championship really feel good,” said Ekstrom after the race.

A few hours later, however, the race stewards confirmed that Tomczyk would not get to keep his 2nd place at the end of the weekend, as Audi had used a set of tires that weren't part of his tire allocation for Valencia.

“This did not give Martin any advantage but the rules prescribe an exclusion in this case. Principally, it was a great race for Audi – and we could have been very pleased with the original result. Our cars were very fast and our drivers strong. Overall, it was a strong team performance,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich.

The race could have actually ended with a great 1-2-3 for Audi, as Oliver Jarvis was running in 3rd place only laps before the finish line. However, his car experienced a lack of fuel pressure in the dying moments of the race and he had to retire. Meaning Spengler gained 2 positions without overtaking anybody in the last laps of the race. The podium was completed by Alexandre Premat, who attempted to pass the Canadian for 3rd place late in the race, but had to settle for 4th position (which turned into 3rd place after the Tomczyk decision).

The Top 8 was completed by Timo Scheider, Paul di Resta, Mike Rockenfeller, Gary Paffett and Miguel Molina, who scored his second point in two races thanks to Tomczyk's disqualifying.