René Rast is the man of the first half of the DTM season. Following his lights-to-flag victory at the Moscow Raceway on Saturday, the DTM driver is leading in the drivers’ standings at the halfway point of the season with a total of 99 points from Mercedes-AMG driver Lucas Auer (95) and fellow Audi driver Mattias Ekström (93).
The Swede lost the points’ lead and generally had a poor day. In spite of a broken left metatarsal bone, Mike Rockenfeller completed the 1-2 for the brand from Ingolstadt.
“That was a perfect race, the way people want to win. The start wasn’t as good as I hoped. The pit stop was excellent. Of course, being in the lead of the championship again is a nice feeling.
I hope we can continue like this,” Rast said after shining on his first-ever outing in Moscow. “At Audi Sport, we have a very good simulator. I felt like being at home after only one or two laps,” he commented.
Second-placed Rockenfeller didn’t have any reason to complain either. ‘Rocky’ came to the prize-giving ceremony on crutches, but in the car, the Audi driver was as fast as ever. ‘Mr. Moscow’, who won here already in 2013 and 2015, scored his best season result to date. “For me, today is a great day. Not many people had expected us to do so well here. I am all the more proud for it. I reckon that it isn’t easy to start right-foot braking and still be up front in the DTM.”
Behind the duo up front, the two winners from last year were involved in a battle for many laps. Eventually, Marco Wittmann came out on top from Robert Wickens. Wittmann, who was fastest in qualifying, only started from sixth place on the grid following a penalty and therefore was more than happy with his podium finish.
“I am very happy. The track seems to suit me. During the race, I had some nice battles with Timo Glock and particularly with Robert Wickens. Tomorrow, we can build on this.”
Classified fourth, Wickens ended up as the best-placed Mercedes-AMG driver, but there was nothing he could do against Wittmann’s attacks. “When people would have told me after free practice that I would finish in the top five, I would have considered it as a joke.”
“I had the feeling that we were having problems with the brakes. After free practice, we changed the brake system within one hour. From eleventh on the grid, I was already sixth after the opening lap. Being able to challenge for a podium finish was a dream. It feels like victory.”
With so many winners, there were also losers, of course. One person in particular: on lap five, Mattias Ekström was obstructed by BMW driver Timo Glock, who incurred a warning for his move.
That cost the erstwhile points’ leader a position at the front of the field. ‘Eki’ at least scored three points for finishing eighth, allowing him to stay within reach from Rast and Auer.