Pascal Wehrlein (gooix Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) takes first win for Mercedes-Benz and takes overall lead in standings
Robert Wickens (SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) improves ten places

Moscow, Russia - Mercedes-AMG driver Pascal Wehrlein (gooix Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) has won the first race at the Moscow Raceway. This is the first victory for the brand with the three-pointed star since the DTM debuted at the Russian track in 2013.

In an exciting race which was interrupted by two safety car deployments, Wehrlein took the lead at the head of the field with just four minutes to go by overtaking BMW driver Marco Wittmann. This was Wehrlein's second victory of the season. After the eleventh of 18 races this season, Wehrlein now heads the DTM drivers' standings with an eight-point lead on Mattias Ekström (Audi, 111 points).

Apart from Wehrlein, fellow Mercedes-AMG drivers Daniel Juncadella (PETRONAS Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) and Gary Paffett (EURONICS Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) placed fifth and seventh respectively and also finished in the points. Mercedes-Benz on 379 points now head the DTM manufacturers' standings after the eleventh round of the season and are 19 points up on Audi. gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG head the team rankings with a lead of 37 points.

Robert Wickens (SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM), Lucas Auer (BWT Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) and Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) booked positions 12, 13 and 14 respectively. Maximilian Götz (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) finished the race in P16. During the race, Paffett gained 13 positions and Wickens moved up ten places.

The race ended for Christian Vietoris (Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) with a collision just after the start. Vietoris was unable to avoid the car of Miguel Molina (Audi), who spun immediately following the start.

Looking ahead to race 2: The second race at the Moscow Raceway will get under way on Sunday at 15:10 CET (live on ARD TV from 15:00 CET onwards). Qualifying for Race 2 begins at 12:25 CET (live stream available at: www.sportschau.de/dtm). The DTM Race Hub at www.mercedes.me/racehubdtm features fan radio, live timing data and live commentaries for all practice sessions, qualifying and for the races themselves.  

Pascal Wehrlein (20, Germany):
P1
Car number: 94
Team: gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG (Mercedes-AMG DTM Team HWA)
Car: gooix Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

"That was a great race and the right reply to Spielberg. My car was just brilliant today, for which I have my team to thank. I realised at the start that we had a strong car. I knew that the tyre degradation on the BMWs is usually slightly higher, so I had to be patient for a little while before mounting a well-planned overtaking manoeuvre. It was, though, a bit of a surprise attack that succeeded. Marco defended with everything he had but raced very fairly. This is exactly how a scrap should be. I'm absolutely delighted with the race."  

Robert Wickens (26, Canada):
P12
Car number: 6
Team: SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG (Mercedes-AMG DTM Team HWA)
Car: SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

"That was an average race. From 22nd place on the grid you never really know what the outcome will be. Luckily, I kept myself out of trouble and didn't have any contacts or damage to the car and so finished twelfth. But, for some reason, I was slow on the straights. We need to get to the bottom of it, because this track is so technical that you need the straights to overtake. Bearing that in mind, we'll have to get it sorted for tomorrow."  

Ulrich Fritz, Head of Mercedes-AMG DTM:

"That was an action-packed race with a deserving winner. Pascal drove a great race, but Daniel Juncadella, and especially Gary Paffett, also did really well. I'm just full of admiration for Gary, who started from P20 on the grid and then moved up to P7 in this short race. Now we have to ensure that we can repeat this performance again tomorrow. At the same time, we'll have to wait and see how badly Christian Vietoris's car is damaged. Unfortunately, there's not much to report on that score at the moment. The most important thing is that he's OK."  

Canadians In BOLD