Schubert BMW driver Rene Rast was unbeatable within the first DTM race on the Crimson Bull Ring in Spielberg, overtaking polesitter Marco Wittmann on the third lap earlier than pulling away to attain a cushty win.
“There’s nothing to complain about immediately,” the three-time DTM champion stated in an interview with ran.de. “I feel the fellows did a superb pit cease. We had a great technique and a great automotive. That’s why, for as soon as, there’s actually nothing to complain about immediately.”
Whereas Rast loved a clear race on the entrance, there was drama behind him on the ultimate lap as Emil Frey Ferrari’s Jack Aitken made an error and ended up within the limitations. The incident promoted Rast’s team-mate Wittmann and the sister Emil Frey Ferrari of Thierry Vermeulen to second and third within the closing classification.
Ben Inexperienced, additionally from Emil Frey, completed fourth, adopted by Winward’s Maro Engel and Manthey Porsche driver Thomas Preining.
Title contender Jordan Pepper (Grasser Lamborghini) got here seventh, after the South African managed to squeeze previous Jules Gounon in the direction of the tip of the race. Winward Mercedes driver Gounon slowed down significantly within the closing two laps and dragged his smoking automotive throughout the road, which he then needed to park and extinguish shortly after.
Behind him, Gilles Magnus (Comtoyou Aston Martin) and Luca Engstler (Grasser Lamborghini) accomplished the highest 10.
Marco Wittmann, Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3
Picture by: Markus Toppmöller
At first, Wittmann initially held the the lead from pole place, however Rast was already placing him beneath strain. Behind them, Aitken slotted his Emil Frey Ferrari into third place after the primary lap, adopted by Feller, Inexperienced and Engstler.
In the meantime, Timo Glock’s disappointing weekend continued; within the first-lap chaos, the previous Components 1 driver suffered a puncture on his Dorr McLaren, forcing him into an early pit cease and dropping him in the direction of the rear of the sphere. Glock was left chasing the pack for the remainder of the race and completed final.
Issues additionally went badly for Gilles Magnus, who had certified third on the grid within the Comtoyou Aston Martin, as he dropped a number of positions. To make issues worse, the Belgian obtained his third warning for forcing AMG driver Engel off monitor, that means he will probably be handed a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s second race
On the entrance, the BMW drivers swapped positions at first of lap three, permitting Rast to take the lead from Wittmann. Aitken additionally got here beneath strain early on from Land Audi driver Feller, however the Swiss couldn’t discover a well beyond and needed to drop again in the interim.
When the pitstop window opened, Rast had already pulled greater than two seconds away from his BMW teammate on the entrance. By this level, Wittmann even needed to begin wanting in his mirrors, as Aitken and Feller had been closing in on the two-time DTM champion.
Feller was one of many first drivers to pit for contemporary tyres, however the Land Audi driver’s cease was a whole catastrophe: first, the wheel nut flew off, then the wheel gun didn’t match correctly. Feller was stationary for almost 15 seconds, dropping far down the order and ultimately ending solely thirteenth.
Jack Aitken, Emil Frey Racing Ferrari Ferrari 296 GT3
Picture by: Markus Toppmöller
Aitken’s cease, one lap later, additionally took barely longer, however the undercut on Wittmann nonetheless labored. Though the BMW driver tried to defend from the charging Ferrari driver, Aitken didn’t let himself be shaken off — even after a slight rear-end contact — and moved into second place.
However on the entrance, Rast was untouchable, the Schubert crew delivering yet one more excellent pit cease in 5.8 seconds, permitting the three-time DTM champion not solely to defend his lead however even lengthen it within the laps following the tyre change.
RIn the tip, he crossed the end line with a transparent 3.5-second lead over his teammate Wittmann, who benefitted from the unlucky mistake by Aitken on the ultimate lap.
This implies there’s a change on the prime of the drivers’ standings within the DTM. BMW driver Rast now leads on 157 factors, whereas earlier chief Lucas Auer (155 factors) has dropped to second place. Jordan Pepper (154 factors) is in third.
Auer misplaced the championship result in Rast after ending solely twelfth on Saturday.
The second DTM race begins on Sunday on the standard time of 1:30 p.m. Within the morning qualifying session (from 9:15 a.m.), the beginning positions will first be decided, with rain showers anticipated within the morning.
Race outcomes:
Cla
Nº
Driver
Automotive / Engine
Laps
Time
Hole
1
33
René Rast
BMW
38
57’35.568
2
11
Marco Wittmann
BMW
38
57’39.132
3.564
3
69
T.Vermeulen
Ferrari
38
57’41.605
6.037
4
10
Ben Inexperienced
Ferrari
38
57’46.620
11.052
5
24
Maro Engel
Mercedes
38
57’51.159
15.591
6
91
Thomas Preining
Porsche
38
57’52.568
17.000
7
63
Jordan Pepper
Lamborghini
38
57’56.242
20.674
8
48
Jules Gounon
Mercedes
38
57’56.384
20.816
9
7
Gilles Magnus
Aston Martin
38
57’56.471
20.903
10
19
Luca Engstler
Lamborghini
38
57’56.524
20.956
11
36
Arjun Maini
Ford
38
58’02.122
26.554
12
22
Lucas Auer
Mercedes
38
58’02.931
27.363
13
29
Ricardo Feller
Audi
38
58’05.680
30.112
14
25
Ben Dörr
McLaren
38
58’06.202
30.634
15
64
Fabio Scherer
Ford
38
58’06.872
31.304
16
1
Mirko Bortolotti
Lamborghini
38
58’07.906
32.338
17
90
Ayhancan Guven
Porsche
38
58’08.568
33.000
18
84
Tom Kalender
Mercedes
38
58’12.190
36.622
19
92
Morris Schuring
Porsche
38
58’12.528
36.960
20
2
Nicki Thiim
Lamborghini
38
58’13.481
37.913
21
8
Nicolas Baert
Aston Martin
38
58’15.380
39.812
22
16
Timo Glock
McLaren
38
58’23.043
47.475
23
14
Jack Aitken
Ferrari
37
56’07.982
Not operating
(14)
71
Maximilian Paul
Lamborghini
17
26’03.332
Retirement
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