Nico Müller secured second place in the drivers’ standings with his third win of the 2019 season – achieved in particularly difficult conditions as the heavens opened at Hockenheim.
He was followed home by fellow Audi drivers Mike Rockenfeller (GER) and René Rast (GER).
In the opening minutes of the year’s final race, heavy rain caused chaos – Rast made a superb start to vault from eighth to second; SUPER GT driver Nick Cassidy (NZL) was pitched into the wall on the opening lap; and Daniel Juncadella’s (ESP) Aston Martin rolled to a smoky stop, prompting a red flag.
At the front, pole-sitter Müller got away cleanly, leading from Rockenfeller and the fast-starting Rast. The Swiss driver was able to maintain the pressure on the newly crowned champion, vaulting ahead after the pit-stops.
A late-stopping Jamie Green (GBR) led much of the race before pitting on the final lap, handing first place back to the supreme Müller, who never put a foot wrong all afternoon.
Fastest-ever DTM concludes with thrilling finale
The first season of DTM’s new turbo era ended with a clean sweep of the podium for Audi. It was an achievement which, in many ways, reflected the increased dominance of the Ingolstadt marque, which secured this year’s drivers’, manufacturers’ and teams’ titles as well as a dozen of the 18 race wins.
Timo Glock (GER) was the best-placed BMW driver, concluding a rather fruitless season with fourth place a personal highlight. For Aston Martin, the season also ended with another points-scoring result: Jake Dennis (GBR) earned his fifth top-10 classification from 18 races. Its drivers scored points on 19 occasions.
SUPER GT and DTM link-up makes promising start
At Hockenheim, cars from the Japanese SUPER GT series and the DTM raced together for the very first time. In Saturday’s dry race, the guest-cars were able to impress, with reigning SUPER GT champion Jenson Button (GBR, Honda) earning a highly creditable ninth place.
In the process, Button and his Honda team showed an impressive ability to adapt and learn, gaining an understanding of Hankook’s control rubber, standing starts, tyre-change-only pit stops and the rough and tumble of DTM racing.
Next month, the two series meet again – at the Fuji Dream Race, where 15 SUPER GT cars will race against seven DTM cars on 23 and 24 November.