Rene Rast took a huge step towards the 2019 DTM title after dominating Sunday’s race at Brands Hatch.
The German, who went into the British weekend leading the championship, further consolidated his points tally with a maximum score of 28 (25 for the win; 3 for pole) on Sunday.
Rast was able to control the pace, finishing narrowly ahead of closest championship rival Nico Müller following a duel that went all the way to the final lap.
Yesterday’s victor, BMW’s Marco Wittmann struggled: following a disappointing qualifying session, he made a strategic gamble on a two-stop strategy in the race, but could only finish 10th, the second of the BMWs, behind fifth-placed Philipp Eng.
In the battle for the DTM drivers’ title, Rast has increased his margin over Müller; he has 206 points, ahead of the Swiss driver’s 169. After 12 of 18 races, Wittmann has scored 147 points.
Audi dominates, Eng mixes up the field
Rast’s fourth win of the 2019 season was – surprisingly – his first achieved from pole position. Second-placed Müller was closely followed home by Robin Frijns, who returned to the podium for the first time since the Hockenheim opener. The Dutchman finished ahead of Loïc Duval and Philipp Eng.
The BMW driver had started from ninth place on the grid, opted to make a late switch to fresh rubber, and gradually worked his way up to fifth. In a highly spectacular duel over many laps, he was unable to find a way past Duval’s Audi.
A double points-score for Aston Martin at home
With Daniel Juncadella and Jake Dennis in eighth and ninth places respectively, R-Motorsport/Aston Martin earned a double point-score in its home round on British soil.
It concluded a bittersweet weekend for the brand: Di Resta had led on Saturday before earning a time-penalty and, ultimately, retirement. Fellow Brit Dennis also had a shortlived race after being driven into at the start. Juncadella had already scored one point after finishing 10th on Saturday.