DTM Nürburgring Race 2 Data Analysis

The second DTM race at the Nürburgring delivered action from the very first lap. René Rast wasted no time carving his way through the field from sixth place on the grid, catching and passing pole-sitter Ben Dörr for the lead on lap 6. From there the race became a blend of aggressive on-track moves, perfectly timed pit stops and relentless pace, with the fight for the podium swinging back and forth through both mandatory tyre changes. A closer look at the lap chart, speed data and pit stop performance reveals exactly how Rast and Schubert Motorsport converted early pressure into a controlled victory, and how the chasers tried to turn strategy into an advantage.

Leaders and how they led

The lap chart shows four distinct lead phases:

Laps 1–5: Ben Dörr (#25 Dörr Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3) led from pole before coming under pressure from René Rast. At the start of lap 6, Rast drew alongside Dörr on the front stretch and completed the pass into Turn 1.
Laps 6–28: René Rast (#33 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3) took control of the race from that point, steadily extending his lead and managing the pace through the first round of stops.
Laps 29–30: Marco Wittmann (#11 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3) moved into the lead during the second pit cycle as Rast stopped earlier.
Laps 31–38: Wittmann made his own second stop and rejoined behind Rast, who then maintained the lead to the chequered flag.

The pace picture

Fastest race laps

René Rast – #33 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 – 1m26.309s
Jules Gounon – #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER Mercedes-AMG GT3 – 1m26.370s
Marco Wittmann – #11 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 – 1m26.538s
Maro Engel – #24 Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 – 1m26.804s
Thomas Preining – #91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R – 1m26.961s

Theoretical best laps (sum of fastest individual sector times per driver)

René Rast – #33 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 – 1m26.273s
Marco Wittmann – #11 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 – 1m26.483s
Jules Gounon – #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER Mercedes-AMG GT3 – 1m26.550s
Thomas Preining – #91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R – 1m26.742s
Lucas Auer – #22 Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3 – 1m26.785s

Rast’s fastest lap – 1m26.309s – was only 0.036s shy of his theoretical best, highlighting just how well he hooked up the lap. The data shows:

Ultimate pace: Rast’s blend of sector times (43.989s / 21.674s / 20.646s) gave him unmatched balance.
Consistency: Even late in stints, Rast stayed in the low 1m27s, preventing Auer and Wittmann from closing the gap.
Control: His in-lap for the first stop was among the quickest in the field, neutralising any undercut attempts.

Wittmann’s theoretical suggests he had the speed to match Rast on a perfect lap, but he admitted post-race that his first-stint pace wasn’t strong enough, forcing an early stop to gain track position. The move got him ahead of Auer but left him unable to challenge Rast.

Sector kings

Sector 1: Jules Gounon – #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER Mercedes-AMG GT3 – 43.948s
Sector 2: Marco Wittmann – #11 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 – 21.625s
Sector 3: Jules Gounon – #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER Mercedes-AMG GT3 – 20.539s

The absolute theoretical best lap, combining Gounon’s fastest Sector 1 and Sector 3 with Wittmann’s quickest Sector 2, would have been 1m26.112s – roughly two-tenths faster than Rast’s best lap.

Top speeds

Nürburgring’s sprint layout is not a track where top speed alone wins, but the speed trap tells its own story about performance and Balance of Performance. Located near the end of the back straight, the final speed trap gave a clear insight into where Balance of Performance stands in terms of power output.

Top 5 trap speeds

Fabio Scherer – #64 HRT Ford Performance, Ford Mustang GT3 – 249 km/h
Arjun Maini – #36 HRT Ford Performance, Ford Mustang GT3 – 248 km/h
Gilles Magnus – #7 Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin Vantage GT3 – 244 km/h
Thierry Vermeulen – #69 Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3 – 244 km/h
Nicolas Baert – #8 Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin Vantage GT3 – 243 km/h
Marco Wittmann – #11 Schubert Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3 – 243 km/h

Ford Mustang GT3 stood apart. Fabio Scherer hit 249 km/h and Arjun Maini 248 km/h, giving HRT a clear advantage over the rest. No other brand came close to matching that vmax, which underlines Ford’s ability to stretch its legs on the main straight.

Behind Ford was a tightly packed midfield group where Aston Martin, Ferrari and BMW traded places by just 1–2 km/h. Aston Martin’s Gilles Magnus and Nicolas Baert were on 244 and 243 km/h, matched by Ferrari’s Thierry Vermeulen, while other Emil Frey Ferraris were just below. BMW slotted into the same group with Marco Wittmann at 243 km/h and René Rast at 242 km/h. The differences here are small enough to suggest that straight-line performance among these three brands is very closely matched, leaving setup and racecraft as the real deciders.

Another group formed just below, where Mercedes-AMG, Lamborghini, Audi and McLaren all hovered around the 239–241 km/h range. This is effectively the “BoP band” for the lower half of the straight-line chart – competitive enough to hold position but unlikely to blast past without a slipstream or mistake.

At the bottom sat Porsche, with Thomas Preining, Ayhancan Güven and Morris Schuring at 237-238 km/h. Being a clear few km/h down on the midfield group points to a car optimised for traction and cornering rather than outright speed.

Pit stop analysis

Two mandatory tyre changes made pit lane execution just as important as outright pace. Across 48 stops, several teams stood out for consistently fast work from pit entry to exit, with, perhaps unsurprisingly, Schubert Motorsport, Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing, Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf, Manthey EMA, and TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT leading the way.

The fastest stationary times came from:

1. Maro Engel – #24 Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 (Stop 2) – 6.1s
2. René Rast – #33 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 (Stop 2) – 6.4s
2. Ayhancan Güven – #90 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R (Stop 2) – 6.4s
2. Thomas Preining – #91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R (Stop 2) – 6.4s
2. Marco Wittmann – #11 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 (Stop 1) – 6.4s

The quickest net times (pit entry to pit exit) were:

Jordan Pepper – #63 TGI by GRT Lamborghini Huracán GT3 (Stop 1) – 35.804s
Maro Engel – #24 Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 (Stop 2) – 35.917s
Thomas Preining – #91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R (Stop 2) – 35.921s
Ayhancan Güven – #90 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R (Stop 2) – 36.094s
Luca Engstler – #19 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Audi R8 LMS GT3 (Stop 2) – 36.220s

These numbers show the same few teams repeatedly near the top, proving that their pit lane processes are drilled and repeatable.

Stop timing and the in and out laps often proved as important as raw pit lane speed.

Rast extended his first stint to lap 16, pitting later than most to avoid traffic. His second stop on lap 31 was one of the fastest net times, ensuring he rejoined ahead of Wittmann and kept the lead.
Wittmann stopped early on lap 9, setting the fastest stationary time of the first pit stop cycle. This undercut moved him ahead of Auer, but his slightly slower in-lap before the second stop (lap 30) meant he posed no threat to Rast.
Auer’s second stop was slower in net time, which potentially cost him second place to Wittmann.
Güven made up ground late with one of the fastest net stop of the race on lap 30, paired with a strong out-lap to secure fifth from Maini.

The decisive positions at the front were shaped less by pitstop speed and more by the combination of pit timing, quick net times, and strong laps before and after each stop.

The verdict

The data confirms what the race made obvious: Rast was in a league of his own. From the decisive lap-6 pass on Dörr to metronomic pace across both stints, his 30th DTM win came from a combination of raw pace, consistent lap times, and flawless pit lane execution. He managed the race with the fastest car on track, keeping his lap times in the low 1m27s even late in stints. His first pit stop came later than most, avoiding traffic and neutralising undercut attempts, while his second stop was one of the fastest net times of the day, ensuring Wittmann never got a look-in despite briefly inheriting the lead during the cycle.

With Schubert Motorsport locking out the top two and Auer reclaiming the championship lead, the title fight now heads into the final rounds with BMW momentum and Mercedes still very much in play.