Crazy turnaround in the DTM title fight: Dennis Olsen and Rene Rast are the big beneficiaries of an unusual Saturday as part of the sixth race weekend at Spa.
Rene Rast was also able to take advantage of the moment. The three-time champion finished fourth after a mixed qualifying. With the twelve points, he moves up to second place overall with 93 points. “It’s a very good day for the championship, we took twelve points and reduced the gap to the front. We have good prospects for Sunday that we can finish at the front again,” said Rast.
On the one hand, Olsen and Rast were the beneficiaries of a drama about Lucas Auer: The Austrian, who turns 28 on Sunday, had to drop big points for the title fight. The nephew of DTM boss Gerhard Berger drove towards second place for a long time on the Ardennes circuit, but retired after a puncture in the final stages. Instead of being the first pursuer of the leader, he is only fifth overall with 86 points. “This is a bitter moment,” said Auer. “We already had problems at the stop, after that the car felt kind of weird – and a few laps later there was a puncture.”
Winner Dennis Olsen.
The remaining title candidates also weakened significantly. Championship leader Sheldon van der Linde (Schubert-BMW, 110 points) and Mirko Bortolotti (GRT-Lamborghini) had no chance of scoring big points after a botched qualifying session. Van der Linde was 12th and got nothing at all, Bortolotti at least did some damage limitation and scored four points in eighth. He is third with 91 points.
Champion Maximilian Götz cheered, he finished second for the first time this year on the podium. Thomas Preining, who gave Porsche its historic first DTM victory at the Norisring, also celebrated a podium finish for Team Bernhard in third place.
Scary moment at start
Auer and Preining caused a moment of shock after the start. Neither of them gave way in the notorious Eau Rouge, and after contact, Preining briefly lost control, but caught his Porsche spectacularly. “That could have meant the end for both of them. Hats off that they went through with it like that. That was a big risk,” said ProSieben expert Mike Rockenfeller.
DTM at Spa
1st race
2. Maximilian Götz (Uffenheim) – Mercedes-AMG GT3 +0.818s
3. Thomas Preining (Austria) – Porsche 911 GT3 R +6.972
4. Rene Rast (Minden) – Audi R8 GT3 +16.127
5. Kelvin van der Linde (South Africa) – Audi R8 GT3 +20.772
6. Nico Müller (Switzerland) – Audi R8 GT3 +21.102
7. Felipe Fraga (Brazil) – Ferrari 488 GT3 +22.504
8. Mirko Bortolotti (Italy) – Lamborghini Huracan GT3 +27.636
9. Marco Wittmann (Fuerth) – BMW M4 GT3 +29.319
10. Nick Cassidy (New Zealand) – Ferrari 488 GT3 +29.996
Driver Rating
Standing after 11 of 16 races
2. René Rast (Minden) – Audi 93
3. Mirko Bortolotti (Italy) – Lamborghini 93
4. Dennis Olsen (Norway) – Porsche 87
5. Lucas Auer (Austria) – Mercedes 86
6. Nico Muller (Switzerland) – Audi 78
7. Kelvin van der Linde (South Africa) – Audi 76
8. Luca Stolz (Brachbach) – Mercedes-Benz 73
9. Maximilian Goetz (Uffenheim) – Mercedes 70
10. Thomas Preining (Austria) – Porsche 66
