Lucas Auer was denied a shot at victory at the Norisring by a mistake from his Mercedes team in his pit stop, but he was nevertheless satisfied with his “incredible” race pace.

Team Mücke’s Auer had started the second race in fifth and after a good start, found himself stuck behind the damaged car of Team HWA’s Paul di Resta.

He quickly caught the leading pair of Tom Blomqvist and Nico Müller once di Resta had pitted, but a delay on the left rear during his own stop took him out of the lead battle.

“I think our race pace was incredible but then we had a bad pit stop. But that’s how it is – sometimes I make a mistake, sometimes the guys make a mistake,” said Auer to TouringCarTimes.

“At the end we had a very solid result for Mercedes-Benz. Paul has the most points in the championship and it was safer. It is risky on a street circuit, especially when you could take out the best placed Mercedes in the championship.

“So I helped him out and it is a good result for Mercedes.”

Ulrich Fritz, Head of Mercedes-AMG DTM added: “As early as the first lap, Paul’s car was damaged in a collision, which left him unable to compete for a podium finish.

“Lucas did a superb job, protecting Paul to the extent he could, so that we still emerge from this with a P4 and a P5. Without the shield provided by Lucas, Paul would have been defenceless against the pursuing pack. So I have the greatest respect for Lucas.”