9.8.2004
Opel on podium at DTM race in Oschersleben, Germany

With the third rank, Opel scored its best result of the 2004 DTM season. Opel driver Manuel Reuter took the podium finish three laps before the end when he overtook Mercedes driver Gary Paffett. It was the first podium for an Opel driver in the 2004 season.

In Saturday’s free practice session, Reuter was on the top. In the afternoon’s qualifying, he ranked on fifth position as the best Opel driver. Peter Dumbreck, Laurent Aiello and Timo Scheider on ranks eight to ten were the other Opel pilots in the top ten.

Losing two positions, Reuter did not have a very good start of the race on Sunday. In the course of the race, he was able to climb up to fourth just behind Mercedes driver Gary Paffett. For more than 15 laps, the two drivers showed an exciting race, always less than one second apart from each other.

In the second-to-last lap Reuter took advantage of a mistake by Paffett. The Mercedes driver tried to block him, but Reuter grabbed the third rank and the first podium place for Opel in the 2004 season.

With Aiello on sixth, Scheider on seventh and Swiss driver Marcel Fässler on eighth, Opel had three other drivers in the point-paying top eight places.