In the penultimate round of the DTM German Touring Car Series Gary Paffett finished in ninth place at the Park Zandvoort in Holland.

Having qualified in 12^th place the Bromley race ace was always going to have an uphill struggle to challenge for the race weekend, and should be happy with another top ten finish.

He is currently tied for fifth place in the championship with Bruno Spengler and just four points off of third place.

With the race set at 44 laps today, Paffett was hoping to push forward like he had done at Oschersleben a few weeks ago. With an aggressive pit stop strategy, he brought his EURONICS Mercedes AMG C-Coupé car into the pits after just four laps. Rejoining the race in 17^th, he was able to take advantage of his early stop and move up the gird as other drivers pitted. Paffett got as high as eighth but wasn’t able to hold on. By pitting early on his second stop, he didn’t have the grip for his final long stint and was eventually overtaken by Ekström to finish ninth.

Giving his thoughts after the race weekend, Paffett said: “It was a disappointing result to be honest. By starting 12^th it was very difficult to be able to move forward so I couldn’t do much more. We opted to make my pit stops early to try and move up the grid that way, which initially worked, but then left me with a long final stint. Unfortunately I just didn’t have enough grip and then struggled to maintain position.”

“I need to congratulate Mike Rockenfeller on winning the DTM championship title. He drove a fantastic season and earned the title. We tried to beat him and Audi but unfortunately just didn’t have the success.  I am hoping that at the season finale in Hockenheim, Mercedes-Benz home race, I can have a better result and finish the season on a high note.”

The season finale will take place from 19-20 October in Hockenheim.