Scheider kept an incredible pace throughout the race making his first pit-stop just seven laps before the finish line and his second stop two laps later.
He returned to the race still ahead of Mercedes' Gary Paffett and Spengler who finished in 2nd and 3rd after battling over 1st place for the entire length of the race.
Spengler had led from Paffett in the beginning, but gave way for Scheider to take 2nd after spinning at Turn 2 just two laps before making his first stop in the pits. Paffett was able to regain 2nd place in the middle of the race, demoting Spengler to 3rd place.
Scheider was able to use the pit stops to his advantage because the race was 21 laps shorter than the planned distance, after Alexandre Premat suffered a horrendous accident at the end of the first lap which brought out the red flags.
"Alexandre’s (Prémat) accident was a shock. We’ve got to be thankful for the fact that it ended the way it did. That’s a good sign which shows how safe the DTM cars really are," stated Scheider right after the race, who expressed his enthusiasm over winning his first race of the season. "It’s an incredible feeling to win with a nine-second lead after having started from position 15," he added.
Premat's Phoenix Audi hit the left wall of the pit straight after contact with Maro Engel, and rolled several times afterwards, coming to a halt with its side against the wall. The driver walked away from the accident just seconds later.
The race ended with Gary Paffett in second, 9 seconds behind Scheider, Bruno Spengler in third trailing just behind Paffett and with the three Audis of Markus Winkelhock, Oliver Jarvis and Martin Tomczyk completing the top six.
Spengler has retaken the lead of the championship from di Resta by three points, while Paffett has a slight chance of going into the Shanghai finale with nine points behind the championship leader.
Google News