Mattias Ekström’s disqualification from the fifth DTM race of the season at the Norisring has been upheld by the DMSB (Deutscher Motor Sport Bund) appeal court, after Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline’s appeal was dismissed.
Swede Ekström had originally won the race from Canadian Robert Wickens. However Ekström’s father Bengt was seen pouring water into the 35 year-olds pockets following the race, violating the series’ strict Parc Fermé regulations. As a result Ekström was excluded from the results, the second exclusion in his DTM career.
Ekström’s team based their appeal around the fact that the long-time Audi driver had won the race in perfect conditions, with a fully-legal car, and had gained no competitive advantage.
Meeting in Frankfurt, the court of appeal agreed that Ekström had violated Article 44.1 of the DTM’s sporting regulations, which states that before the post-race technical inspection of the vehicle, no materials or substances may be added or removed. As the driver is considered to be a part of the car, this rule had been violated in Parc Fermé conditions.
The water poured into Ekström’s pockets was considered to be ‘liquid weighting’ by the court.
After the decision, Audi said: “In the spirit of sport, we respect the decision by the DMSB appeal court.”
In addition, no drivers further down the order will be promoted as a result of Ekström’s disqualification, meaning that there is officially no winner of the fifth round of the season.