» DTM: A grid penalty for Christian Vietoris

DTM officials have handed HWA Mercedes driver Christian Vietoris a two-place grid penalty for the next championship round at Brands Hatch.

The German was found guilty of blocking BMW driver Bruno Spengler during yesterday’s qualifying session for the race at EuroSpeedway Lausitz.

After a review of video evidence, the stewards deemed Vietoris guilty of impeding Spengler during the second phase of qualifying, hitting him with the grid penalty in accordance with Article 33.3 of the series’ sporting regulations.

Vietoris, who lies fourth in the championship standings, was the slowest of the qualifiers who made the A2 cut and will start sixteenth for today’s race.

Spengler, meanwhile, manage to overcome Vietoris’ attempts to destroy his lap, going all the way into Q4 to claim BMW’s first pole position since its return to the championship.