DTM - Rollercoaster ride with a happy ending: Aitken wins in Oschersleben

That was an emotional rollercoaster for the fans and drivers: for half an hour, pole-sitter Jack Aitken, at the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3, had controlled Saturday’s opening race of the DTM season in Oschersleben. Then BMW driver Marco Wittmann surprised everyone by taking the lead after a clever pit stop. However, he then rolled to a standstill with a technical issue just four minutes from the end of the race.

The British driver from the Emil Frey Racing team consequently retook the lead and, after 39 laps of racing, claimed his second DTM victory ahead of Lamborghini works driver Mirko Bortolotti and Ricardo Feller in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2. “I am just happy to have won the race. Marco Wittmann gambled with a late pit stop. At first I could not believe that I had lost the lead. Then the tables turned again in the final few minutes. Despite the bizarre circumstances, I believe that the win was fully deserved,” said Aitken after his success.

28-year-old Aitken made a great start on Saturday afternoon and soon set about pulling clear of the opposition. Behind him, Bortolotti and Feller settled into second and third place, followed by Arjun Maini in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Sheldon van der Linde (BMW M4 GT3). The Ferrari driver maintained his lead after the mandatory pit stop, while Feller and Bortolotti swapped places.The crowds in the packed grandstands at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben then witnessed an unexpected change at the front of the field. With a good 25 minutes remaining, the McLaren of DTM rookie Ben Dörr lost a wheel – a quick-thinking Wittmann pulled into the pit lane for his mandatory tyre change before a full course yellow slowed the rest of the field down. This smart move catapulted the BMW driver from 16th place into the lead, ahead of Aitken. However, Wittmann was ultimately denied his 19th DTM victory when his car suffered a technical issue and he was forced to retire shortly before the end of the race. That left the way free for Aitken, while Bortolotti overtook Feller to take second place in front of the Swiss driver. Sheldon van der Linde was fourth after 39 laps of dramatic racing, ahead of Luca Stolz from Mercedes-AMG Team HRT. Lucas Auer crossed the finish line a good half a second behind his fellow Mercedes-AMG driver in sixth place, followed by the second Schubert BMW with René Rast at the wheel. Eighth place went to Maini. Thierry Vermeulen came home ninth in a Ferrari 296 GT3. Defending champion Thomas Preining gained six positions to finish tenth and cut his losses.