Gary Paffett celebrated his 140th DTM start in perfect style this weekend, claiming a podium finish as part of a Mercedes top-four lock-out in Saturday’s race at the Moscow Raceway.

Saturday’s qualifying and racing was marred by difficult weather conditions but Paffett was able to negotiate these effectively as an excellent performance in qualifying saw him start Saturday’s race from pole position. This was the twelfth time that Paffett had started from pole in his DTM career.

With the weather continuing to wreak havoc, the race got underway behind the safety car as the drivers got to grips with the particularly affected areas of the track. Gary and his Mercedes-AMG counterparts Robert Wickens and Paul Di Resta battled for the top three positions throughout the race before Gary brought the #2 car home in third position.
Having enjoyed P2 and P4 finishes in the previous rounds of the DTM Championship in Zandvoort, the result continued Gary’s excellent recent form.

“What a fantastic day! I’ve felt really comfortable in the car the whole day. I didn’t take any undue risks in view of the conditions, and the team did a great job in preparing the car. We must also thank Max, who did an excellent job of holding off the rest of the field. We had a clear lead over the competition today. This is a perfect way to restart the season after the summer break.”

Unfortunately for Paffett, Sunday’s race was not quite as memorable as he struggled for position in the middle of the pack having qualified in P22, eventually finishing the race in P18.

“Today was very different to yesterday. We couldn’t get the car properly set up this morning for qualifying. I struggled to find grip and so, lacked the necessary pace. It’s then very difficult in the race when you then start from so far back down the field. I was bang in the middle, and my pace was still not particularly good. As I said, it was, unfortunately, the complete opposite of yesterday. Now we have to strike back at the Nürburgring.”

Despite the disappointment of Sunday’s race, it was still a positive weekend for Paffett who marked yet another personal DTM landmark in style. The weekend’s results see Paffett lying in tenth position in the Championship Standings, a position he will be looking to improve at the seventh race weekend of the season at the famous Nürburgring circuit, from the 9th to the 11th of September.