DTM: Spectacular photo finish
DTM thriller at the Lausitzring: In a spectacular Sunday’s race, title defender René Rast from Audi Sport Team Rosberg and championship leader Nico Müller from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline crossed the finish line side-by-side in their Audi RS 5 DTM cars. 0.089 seconds separated the two Audi drivers. The last time the DTM saw such a close finish was 24 years ago.
Champion René Rast is back
“The race was pretty entertaining,” said René Rast, who had to fight hard for his first victory of the season – especially against pole sitter Robin Frijns. The two brand mates clashed in the first corner after the start. “I had to drive through the grass in Turn 1, and also afterwards the fight with Robin was pretty hard. We pitted early to react to an undercut of Robin and Marco (Wittmann). I knew that Nico would come in the end on fresher tires. Our strategy was brave, and it got pretty tight, but fortunately it worked for us.”
Müller second
Nico Müller didn’t get a perfect start from second on the grid. “There was more grip than I expected,” said the Swiss. “When René and Robin did some rallycrossing in front of me, I briefly had a clear view. But I came onto the outside line in Turn 3. As a result, also Marco Wittmann passed me, and I dropped back to fourth. After that it was hard work – but we managed the race pretty well.” After a long first stint, Müller returned to the track in seventh, quickly making up position after position and, with the fresher tires, eventually chasing leader René Rast. “In the end, only a third of the car length was missing for victory,” said Müller. “Yesterday the race seemed to be an eternity – today I prayed that it would last one lap longer.”
Victory on Saturday
After his double victory at the season opener at Spa, Nico Müller also won Saturday’s race at the Lausitzring for Audi. Müller started the first of the two races at the Lausitzring from second on the grid. The Swiss immediately took the lead at the start and was able to extend it to 7.5 seconds. “Then there was a slow zone and two lapped cars in front of me drove so slowly that I almost lost my entire advantage. Sheldon (van der Linde) was almost hanging on my bumper afterwards. Fortunately, I was able to pull away again,” said Müller.
“Guys did a mega job”
Müller was the first driver ever to win the first three races of a DTM season. Across two seasons, the Swiss was unbeaten for as many as four races. “The success was largely due to my team,” said Müller. “Because I was racing in the Formula E finale in Berlin, I wasn’t able to be part of the usual preparation for the race weekend. The guys did a mega job, explained to me what I’ve got to look out for here and gave me a fantastic car. I had a good start, was able to stay in front afterwards and bring the victory home.”
DTM Lausitzring, results documents to download
Race 1
1 page, EN
79.0 KB
Race 2
1 page, EN
287.4 KB
Standings
4 pages, EN
701.1 KB
Lausitzring
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