René Rast claimed a commanding victory in the opening DTM race at the Red Bull Ring, steering the #33 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 Evo to the top step of the podium. The three-time DTM champion seized the lead early and never looked back, delivering a faultless performance that puts him at the head of the championship standings.

The drama of the day, however, came just half a lap from the chequered flag. Jack Aitken in the #14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 was set to claim second place – and with it the lead of the championship – until a costly mistake saw him bounce over the kerbs and spear into the barriers. His misfortune handed second to Marco Wittmann in the #11 Schubert BMW and promoted Thierry Vermeulen in the #69 Emil Frey Ferrari to the final podium spot.

The race began with Wittmann making the best start, holding off Rast into turn one as Aitken slotted into third and Ben Green in fourth before yielding to Ricardo Feller. Championship leader Lucas Auer, starting 13th in the #22 Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3, found himself locked in the midfield battle, running in 12th place.

It wasn’t long before Rast made his move, sweeping past Wittmann into turn three on lap three. From there, he quickly pulled clear and controlled the pace at the front.

Aitken was the first of the leaders to pit, followed by Wittmann. The undercut brought the Ferrari driver onto Wittmann’s tail and after a fierce fight, Aitken found a way through at turn six to take second. Rast meanwhile stopped later, rejoining comfortably ahead and re-establishing his lead.

For much of the second half of the race, the podium looked settled: Rast unchallenged in front, Aitken holding second, and Wittmann third. But the late drama of Aitken’s crash turned the race on its head and reshuffled the championship standings.

With the victory, Rast moves into the championship lead with 157 points. Wittmann’s second place strengthens Schubert’s points haul, while Vermeulen adds another podium to Emil Frey’s season tally. Auer, who could only manage a mid-pack finish, drops from first to second in the standings, trailing Rast by 2 points with Jordan Pepper in third on 154 points and Aitken in fourth place, eight points behind the BMW driver with 149 points.

DTM Red Bull Ring – Race 1 Results (Top 10)

Pos Driver Team Car Points
1 René Rast Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 Evo 25
2 Marco Wittmann Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 Evo 20
3 Thierry Vermeulen Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 16
4 Ben Green Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 13
5 Maro Engel Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Mercedes-AMG GT3 11
6 Thomas Preining Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R 10
7 Jordan Pepper TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 9
8 Jules Gounon Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter Mercedes-AMG GT3 8
9 Gilles Magnus Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 7
10 Luca Engstler TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2

FULL RESULTS

 

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