Historic triumph in Hockenheim: Güven becomes the first Turkish DTM champion

Ayhancan Güven (TR/Manthey EMA) made motorsport history on Sunday at the Hockenheimring. The 27-year-old claimed race win number five of the season to ensure he was crowned DTM champion, becoming the first Turkish driver to win the title.

"I have been working for this moment for over 20 years. This is the biggest success of my career. I will never forget this day. The finale was one of the most exciting in the history of the DTM. I did not do any maths - I just wanted to win this race and with it the championship," said the delighted new champion. Marco Wittmann (Fürth/Schubert Motorsport) was absolutely flying in the final race of the season. He made up 15 positions to finish runner-up in the BMW M4 GT3 Evo.

Third place went to Maro Engel (Monaco/Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing). Lucas Auer (A/Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf), who came into the final DTM weekend as championship leader, slipped back to second place in the overall standings after finishing fourth on Sunday. After 16 races, the Austrian ended up just four points behind Güven. The Manufacturers Championship was won by Mercedes-AMG. Morris Schuring (NL/Manthey Junior Team) won the "Rookie of the Year" title.

Sunshine greeted the DTM field for the deciding race of the season on Sunday afternoon at the Hockenheimring. The title showdown began in furious fashion: René Rast (Bregenz/Schubert Motorsport), who was third in the table, made a good start and slotted his BMW M4 GT3 into third place behind pole-sitter Gilles Magnus (B/Comtoyou Racing) and Güven. Rast then went on the attack against the Turkish driver. Whilst making his move, the German was hit from behind and forced to retire with a damaged car. With that, the dream of winning the title came to a premature end for Rast, who was not to blame for the unfortunate DNF in his what looks like being his last DTM race for a while.

Out in front, newcomer Magnus was flawlessly ticking off the laps, while Güven remained in striking distance in his Porsche 911 GT3 R. Behind them in third to fifth place were Jack Aitken (GB/Emil Frey Racing), Jordan Pepper (ZA/ TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT) and Auer. Güven was one of the last drivers to come in for a tyre change, after which he replaced Magnus at the head of the field.

Wittmann, on the other hand, was one of the first drivers to fit a fresh set of Pirelli slicks and took advantage of this strategy to work his way into third place with some impressive overtaking manoeuvres. By this point, Engel had slotted in behind Aitken, having made up ten places since the start of the race. Magnus' strong display came to an end on lap 22: the Belgian was forced to retire with a technical issue on his Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

Güven held onto the lead after the second tyre change, ahead of Wittmann and Engel. At this point, Güven was right on course to win the championship. However, it all got a bit dramatic on the final lap: Wittmann attacked and took the lead, which would have made Auer champion. However, Güven soon responded with a moment that will go down in the DTM history books: in front of packed grandstands, he launched a counter-attack in the Sachskurve corner.

Despite being partly on the grass, he managed to make the overtaking manoeuvre sit and went on to take the chequered flag with a lead of 0.169 seconds. The new champion was followed over the finish line by Wittmann and Engel. Auer was classified as fourth, as Aitken and Pepper failed to observe a penalty imposed by race control and were disqualified after the race. 17-year-old Tom Kalender (Hamm/Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf) enjoyed a great end to the season with his first top-five finish.

Thomas Preining (A/Manthey EMA) finished sixth in a Porsche 911 GT3 R Rang. Lamborghini driver Mirko Bortolotti (I/Abt Sportline) crossed the finish line in seventh place after 33 laps of racing. Fellow Lamborghini racer Luca Engstler (Kempten/TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT) followed in eighth. Ricardo Feller (CH/Land-Motorsport) was ninth with the only Audi in the field. Maximilian Paul (Dresden/Paul Motorsport) fought back strongly from 21st on the grid to finish tenth.

Marco Wittmann: "What a comeback from us. When you start 17th and end up fighting for the win, you have done a really good job. I really wanted to win. Shortly before the finish, I saw an opportunity and passed Ayhancan Güven. Unfortunately, he countered quickly. Despite that, and given our fightback, second place is a fantastic result."

Maro Engel: "We can be satisfied to end the season with such a great race. A big compliment goes to the whole team - the guys produced two mega pit stops. We tried everything, but unfortunately it was not enough to make it to the very front. The final was the best possible advert for the DTM. Great motorsport with door-to-door battles against an incredible backdrop is exactly what the series is all about."

Lucas Auer: "I left my heart out on the track and gave it my all. It is tough to have missed out on the title after such a strong season. We, as a team, did a really good job."

René Rast: "I was actually already past Ayhancan Güven, but unfortunately we went wide in the hairpin and then there was a collision with Ben Green. I would have really loved to have been out on the track battling for the title. This feels like a nightmare. This is not how I wanted to bid farewell to the DTM."

Results are HERE