The DTM title race continues to heat up – and Schubert Motorsport is right in the thick of it, along with BMW M works drivers René Rast and Marco Wittmann. The highlight of the penultimate race weekend of the season at the Red Bull Ring was Saturday's race, where Rast and Wittmann secured a one-two finish with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO. In qualifying, Wittmann claimed pole position ahead of Rast. On Sunday, both drivers faced greater challenges, partly due to the success ballast from their one-two finish the day before. Nevertheless, they still have realistic chances of winning the drivers' title at the season finale at Hockenheim. Schubert Motorsport also remains in contention to defend their title in the team standings.
In the first race, Wittmann and Rast capitalised on the strengths of the BMW M4 GT3 EVO at the Red Bull Ring and dominated the action. Rast took the lead after just a few laps and confidently secured his 31st DTM victory. For Wittmann, it looked like a third-place finish until the final lap, but a spin by Jack Aitken (Ferrari) ahead of him moved him up to second place.
With his victory, Rast temporarily took the lead in the drivers' standings but had to relinquish it again on Sunday. Due to the success ballast in his car, he faced significantly more challenges starting from seventh on the grid compared to Saturday but still fought for a top-five result. However, two rule violations during the final pit stop and subsequent "slow zone" penalties dropped him back to 13th place. Wittmann finished just ahead of him in 12th. After being hit at the rear at the start and nearly spinning, Wittmann fought his way back strongly from the back of the field.
Heading into the final two races at Hockenheim, Rast sits third in the standings with 160 points, 11 points behind the leader. Wittmann, with 150 points, is seventh and still in the title race. In the team standings, Schubert Motorsport is second with 300 points, trailing the leader by 16 points. The mission to defend the title continues.
What a weekend! Saturday couldn’t have gone better. The one-two finish was exactly what we needed in the tight championship battle. We knew we wouldn’t be able to repeat this fantastic performance on Sunday, but missing out on the top ten was still disappointing. We left some points on the table, but the most important thing is that we head to Hockenheim with realistic title chances.
The one-two finish on Saturday was fantastic and exactly what we needed to put ourselves in a strong position for the season finale in the title race. Unfortunately, Sunday turned out to be the tough race we expected.
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Driver statements.
Driver statements.
René Rast (#33 RoboMarkets BMW M4 GT3 EVO, R1: 1st place, R2: 13th place): "All in all, it was a good weekend. We celebrated a one-two finish on Saturday and closed the gap to the top of the standings. Unfortunately, we lost some points on Sunday due to the two penalties, which dampens the overall impression a bit. But the important thing is that we still have everything to play for at Hockenheim."
Marco Wittmann (#11 Schaeffler BMW M4 GT3 EVO, R1: 2nd place, R2: 12th place): "I leave the Red Bull Ring with mixed feelings. My crew and I did a perfect job in both races and made great improvements, especially from Friday to Saturday. Pole position was the perfect reward for that. The one-two finish in the race was fantastic for the team, even though I would have loved to win from pole. On Sunday, after the incident at the start, we were at the back of the field but never gave up and did the best possible damage control. It’s a shame we left some points behind, but the last four races have shown how quickly things can change in this DTM season. If my crew and I work together as brilliantly as we did here, everything is still possible at Hockenheim."