Audi driver wins Saturdayâs race in DTM finale at Hockenheim
50th success for the Audi RS 5 DTM
Audi Sport Team Rosberg secures teamsâ championship ahead of time
RenĂ© Rast began the final weekend of the DTM with a masterful performance: The Champion won Saturdayâs race at the Hockenheimring from pole position. Having scored the maximum number of points, he secured the teamsâ championship for Audi Sport Team Rosberg ahead of the last race. His seventh victory this season also marked the 50th success of the Audi RS 5 DTM.
Under the eye of Audiâs Management Board Member for Development Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler, Rast achieved another perfect day on Saturday. On a rain-wet track in the morning, he secured pole position for the eighth time this year. In the race, Rast immediately took the lead on a dry track.
Following his pit stop, he only had to briefly let BMW driver Marco Wittmann pass him before successfully countering and bringing home victory in commanding style. After crossing the finish line, Rast exuberantly celebrated the 17th win in total in his career with donuts and also flung his racing shoes toward the audience after the race.
âThat was an outstanding race,â said Rast. âIn qualifying, our timing was perfect. Even though I had two cars in front of me on the last lap I was able to clinch pole position. In the race, Marco came very close to me at times. We had a nice battle for some laps but in the end I was clearly faster and won the race â a fantastic feeling!â
Among the first to congratulate him after the race were team founder Keke Rosberg and his son, Nico. The two Formula One World Champions were delighted about the early win of the DTM teamsâ championship, marking the second teamsâ title for Audi Sport Team Rosberg after 2017.
Mike Rockenfeller from Audi Sport Team Phoenix in third position completed another double-podium for Audi. âIt was a nice race but I was struggling a little with my tires and wasnât able to quite keep pace with RenĂ© and Marco,â said âRocky.â
With Robin Frijns from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline in fourth position and Rockenfellerâs teammate LoĂŻc Duval in fifth, a total of four Audi drivers finished Saturdayâs race in the top five.
âThis is another very strong result for Audi,â said Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. âOur drivers showed a strong performance on the whole. RenĂ© of course was outstanding once again. He obviously controlled the race and only had to overtake Marco Wittmann once in order to bring home victory. The 50th success for the Audi RS 5 DTM is a tremendous milestone. It was a fantastic race, especially in the second half. There were many fair fights on track, and it was nice to see Jenson Button in the Honda so far at the front of the field.â
Jamie Green (position twelve) and Nico MĂŒller (position 17) finished out of the points on Saturday. The Swiss from eleventh on the grid was on course for a podium but lost all chances due to a safety car deployment that was unfortunate for him. At that time, MĂŒller was the only driver not to have made his mandatory pit stop yet and, as a result, had to pit twice for changing tires.
Before the last race on Sunday (starting at 1 PM CEST live on German TV channel SAT.1), MĂŒller has a 21-point advantage in the driversâ championship over third-placed Marco Wittmann in a BMW.
