Bathgate’s Paul Di Resta delivered a masterful display of driving in atrocious conditions to power from 12th on the grid to finish second in the latest round of the German Touring Car Championship at the Nurburgring.
In pouring rain, the 22-year-old Scot — now only seven points behind the Audi of Timo Scheiderin the championship — overcame another botched pitstop by his crew to narrowly miss out on his second victory of the season.
Having been delayed at his first pitstop, Di Resta lost the lead to his Mercedes team-mate Bernd Schneider. But after changing to wet tyres as the skies opened, the talented young Scot was clawing the former champ in at five seconds a lap when the chequered flag fell.
“I only needed one more lap and I would have had Bernd,” Di Resta explained afterwards. “I know we got delayed on the pitstop again, but the crew made an excellent call on the wet tyres.
“Obviously a win would have been a fantastic result, but we’ve closed the gap again at the top of the championship and we there’s everything to play for with only four rounds remaining.”
Scheider, who could only manage fifth place, now heads to Brands Hatch in Kent for the next round under intense pressure not only from Di Resta but from fellow Brit Jamie Green who is only four points behind the German.
JM