Two-time Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters champion Marco Wittmann finally captured a dream result of winning his home race, as the BMW driver kept two charging drivers from Mercedes at bay in the second race at the Norisring.
The Team RMG ace made sure that he got past pole sitter Daniel Juncadella into the Schoeller Esses in lap 24, having initially started seventh, which helped him to control proceedings from the front and win by 0.450 seconds.
The pair of race one winner Edoardo Mortara and Juncadella completed the podium, as the duo closed in on Wittmann in the last five minutes.
But they could do nothing to steal victory from the Fürze-based driver, with Juncadella finally taking his first career podium.
The trio were separated by just 0.860 seconds at the finish, providing one of the most tension-filled finishes of the season.
Bruno Spengler would finish over four and a half seconds behind the trio in fourth, ahead of both Lucas Auer and Paul Di Resta, who completed the top six.
It was a better day on the track for Audi Sport, as both Nico Müller and Robin Frijns were seventh and eighth for the Ingolstadt manufacturers, with the latter being the last to pit on lap 41, using great strategy to take a welcome points haul.
Pascal Wehrlein, who started from last, also used great strategy and good pace in the C63 Coupé to finish in ninth, whilst title contender Timo Glock completed the top ten, having been in the wars with rival Gary Paffett.
The pair clashed several times, starting on lap 26, when the Briton locked up and hit the rear of Glock’s car, with the incident being investigated, with no further action taken.
Paffett would also lose out to others after several further clashes with the BMW driver, as the Brit finished in 13th place behind the pair of DTM rookies, Philipp Eng and Joel Eriksson.
René Rast’s race would be compromised with an air jack failure on his Audi RS5 DTM during his pit stop, as the defending champion’s car had to be lifted up by the pit crew, following an issue with the right rear wheel.
The German would end up 14th at the finish, ahead of Ingolstadt stablemates Jamie Green and Mike Rockenfeller, whilst Augusto Farfus would be put into a spin by Loïc Duval on lap 53, when the Frenchman collided with the Brazilian’s left rear.
Farfus would finish 17th, ahead of Duval, with all competitors finishing in what was a action-filled classic on the streets of Nuremberg.
Paffett still leads the drivers’ standings with 99 points, ahead of Mortara, who is just six points adrift. Wittmann is now third in the standings, level on 92 points with fellow BMW brand mate Glock.
The series now heads to Circuit Park Zandvoort in three weeks’ time, as the sands of the North Sea provide a different challenge for the teams and drivers, in what is a closely-contested fight for the drivers’ title.
Race result
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 11 | Marco WITTMANN |  |
BMW Team RMG | BMW M4 DTM | 68 | 56:13.000 | 48.415 | 7 |
| 2 | 48 | Edoardo MORTARA |  |
SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 68 | 0.450 | 48.428 | 5 |
| 3 | 23 | Daniel JUNCADELLA |  |
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 68 | 0.860 | 48.511 | 1 |
| 4 | 7 | Bruno SPENGLER |  |
BMW Team RBM | BMW M4 DTM | 68 | 5.497 | 48.526 | 6 |
| 5 | 22 | Lucas AUER |  |
SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 68 | 6.062 | 48.562 | 3 |
| 6 | 3 | Paul DI RESTA |  |
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 68 | 11.707 | 48.506 | 4 |
| 7 | 51 | Nico MÜLLER |  |
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline | Audi RS5 DTM | 68 | 12.724 | 48.536 | 11 |
| 8 | 4 | Robin FRIJNS |  |
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline | Audi RS5 DTM | 68 | 13.748 | 48.651 | 16 |
| 9 | 94 | Pascal WEHRLEIN | |
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 68 | 17.917 | 48.634 | 18 |
| 10 | 16 | Timo GLOCK | |
BMW Team RMR | BMW M4 DTM | 68 | 29.239 | 48.434 | 9 |
| 11 | 25 | Philipp ENG | |
BMW Team RMR | BMW M4 DTM | 68 | 29.559 | 48.561 | 10 |
| 12 | 47 | Joel ERIKSSON |  |
BMW Team RBM | BMW M4 DTM | 68 | 31.139 | 48.473 | 8 |
| 13 | 2 | Gary PAFFETT | |
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 68 | 32.071 | 48.458 | 2 |
| 14 | 33 | René RAST | |
Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | 68 | 33.201 | 48.517 | 13 |
| 15 | 53 | Jamie GREEN | |
Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | 68 | 35.547 | 48.311 | 12 |
| 16 | 99 | Mike ROCKENFELLER | |
Audi Sport Team Phoenix | Audi RS5 DTM | 68 | 37.893 | 48.623 | 15 |
| 17 | 15 | Augusto FARFUS |  |
BMW Team RMG | BMW M4 DTM | 68 | 47.521 | 48.757 | 14 |
| 18 | 28 | Loïc DUVAL |  |
Audi Sport Team Phoenix | Audi RS5 DTM | 67 | 1 LAP | 48.846 | 17 |