Rast wins in Spielberg, Bortolotti leads going into finale
The Red Bull Ring remains a happy hunting ground for René Rast (Bregenz). The BMW works driver from Schubert Motorsport won the 14th DTM race of the season at the alpine circuit on Sunday, repeating his success from last year. The 37-year-old claimed the 28th DTM win of his career thanks to a clever strategy and virtually flawless drive.
“I really enjoy the races at the Red Bull Ring, which makes it all the nicer to win. My start was not good, and I then had to work my way to the front from fourth place. I kept seeing Thomas Preining in my mirror in the closing stages. I knew I could not afford to make a single mistake,” said Rast.
Second place went to local favourite Thomas Preining (A) in a Porsche 911 GT3 R for Manthey EMA. Arjun Maini (IND) from Mercedes-AMG Team HRT produced another impressive display to claim the third spot on the podium, just as he had done in Saturday’s race. Championship leader Mirko Bortolotti (I) from SSR Performance finished fourth to extend his lead at the top of the table to 15 points. His closest rival Kelvin van der Linde (ZA) completed the top five in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 run by Abt Sportsline. The penultimate DTM round of the year was watched by 41,000 visitors in Spielberg, Austria.
Pole-sitter Bortolotti was the major player in the first section of the race. Behind the leading Lamborghini works driver was Luca Engstler (Kempten) from Lamborghini Team Liqui Moly by GRT in second place. Behind them, there was a fierce battle for third place between Rast and Preining, who had started Sunday’s race from the second row of the grid. Rast managed to work his way into second place as the race progressed. The three-time champion was followed by Engstler, Preining and Lamborghini racer Franck Perera (F) from Lamborghini Team TGI by GRT.
The mandatory pit stops shook things up among the top five. Rast came in later than his rivals to switch to Pirelli slicks, and rejoined the race in front of the leader to that point, Bortolotti. The Italian was soon overtaken by Preining and a little later by Arjun Maini (IND) in a Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Meanwhile, the man currently second in the table, Kelvin van der Linde (ZA) from Abt Sportsline, had climbed into fifth place in his Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2. Rast conceded much of his lead to the charging Preining in the closing stages, but did not allow the Austrian within striking distance. After 39 laps of racing, the BMW driver was first across the finish line, ahead of Preining, Maini, Bortolotti and Kelvin van der Linde.
Sheldon van der Linde (ZA) steered the second Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 to sixth place. Ayhancan Güven (TR) was embroiled in fierce wheel-to-wheel battles with his rivals and finished seventh in the Porsche 911 for Manthey EMA. Maro Engel (Monaco), who sits third in the table, climbed five places to finish eighth and remain in touch with Bortolotti at the top of the table. Perera ended the 14th DTM race of the year in ninth place, ahead of the top Ferrari driver, Jack Aitken (GB) from Emil Frey Racing, in tenth.
Thomas Preining: “I would have liked to have won, because we performed really strongly in qualifying and the race. Unfortunately, we were missing that final half a percent. A podium at my home event is cool, but it is ultimately only a small consolation at the end of a disappointing season.”
Arjun Maini: “It was an action-packed, hard-fought race. The podium feels even better than the one on Saturday, because I was able to work my way into third place from eighth on the grid. It was crucial that I managed to quickly get my tyres up to the right temperature after the pit stop.”
Results are HERE
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