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Yahoo
a day ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
How BMW's "scary" performance led to DTM Nurburgring 1-2
BMW dominated the second Nurburgring DTM race with Rene Rast taking victory ahead of Schubert team-mate Marco Wittmann, as its rivals had no answer to its performance: 'It was a bit scary with the top speed machines I had around me,' smiled third-placed Landgraf Mercedes driver Lucas Auer. The DTM leader started from second but had to admit defeat to Rast after just four laps: 'I saw Rene, he was closing in so quickly. So, I defended once and then the second time he basically just overtook me fair and square.' Read Also: DTM Nurburgring: Rene Rast bolts to victory, Lucas Auer regains points lead Rast and BMW's overall performance took most by surprise – including the driver himself. 'I don't know [where the performance came from], to be honest. If I knew, we would do the same every race,' Rast said. 'But I could already feel in the formation lap that the car was connected like it has never been before on this track this weekend. 'So I went for the attack. I passed five cars in the first couple of laps and still pulled away, which was even surprising to me. I was hoping for a podium, but I wasn't expecting a victory - and such a dominant one as well.' However, Wittmann was unsure why he was not able to make equally-strong progress in the first stint: 'Somehow I struggled with tyre performance and couldn't really keep up with the leading group.' Marco Wittmann, Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 But team boss Torsten Schubert had an explanation. 'It was simply due to his position, because Marco was stuck in traffic. He always had cars in front of him, and when you can't drive freely, you naturally have a problem,' he told sister website 'Otherwise, they were already doing well in terms of pace, and Marco also said that he had a great car. It depends on the situation. When you're stuck behind someone for a few laps and have to try to fight your way past, it's not that easy.' 'That was also the main reason why we decided to stop early to put on the second set [of tyres],' added Wittmann, alluding to his strategy, as he undercut several drivers and moved up to third, directly behind Auer. 'In the end, the gap was slightly too big, because once I was close to him [Auer], his tyres were warm already. So I knew there was only a chance maybe at the second pitstop, although he opened up the gap.' But the BMW driver was gifted second place when Auer got held up in his second pitstop due to a problem with his Mercedes. Out in front, Rast had already built up a lead of almost 10 seconds, which was not only due to the favorable Balance of Performance, but also down to an incident on Saturday. In the accident that caused the first race to be red-flagged, Rast had damaged both front rims in a collision with Mirko Bortolotti's Abt Lamborghini. Watch: 2025 DTM - Round 5 - Nürburgring: Race 1 highlights 'We had several broken rims yesterday and were allowed to take the set of tyres from free practice during the red flag,' team boss Schubert explained. 'The regulations allow this set to be used in such cases. We were able to save the tyres, only the rims were damaged.' Read Also: DTM Nurburgring: Jack Aitken wins red-flagged race to take points lead It meant that the two undamaged front tyres, which Rast was allowed to change during Saturday's interruption, were remounted on intact rims overnight and available again to be used on Sunday. 'That was certainly an advantage for the race today. It meant we could put a very good set of tyres on Rene's car. And you could see that Gounon and Engel also had new tyres from yesterday, but when you're stuck in traffic, there's nothing you can do,' Schubert concluded. To read more articles visit our website.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
DTM Nurburgring: Jack Aitken wins red-flagged race to take points lead
Emil Frey Ferrari driver Jack Aitken has taken a commanding victory in the DTM's first Nurburgring race to become the 2025 championship's new leader. Aitken converted pole into the lead at the start of the race, as an incident between Rene Rast and Mirko Bortolotti caused the latter's retirement, while the former had to change his front tyres. Chaos ensued in the following corners with Maro Engel and Thierry Vermeulen colliding; the Dutchman was spun around and dropped to the back of the field, and Engel got three penalty laps. Another incident involved Morris Schuring and his team-mate Ayhancan Guven on lap 2, with Guven spinning out of the race – which was red-flagged due to debris, as well as coolant from Bortolotti's car. Aitken kept the lead from Luca Engstler, Ben Green and Lucas Auer as the race restarted behind the safety car. A small mistake from Engstler allowed Green through, with the two Emil Frey Ferrari drivers creating a two-second gap at the front. They also waited the longest for pitstops, and Green was overcut by Ricardo Feller, who was 11th on the grid, and Marco Wittmann. Feller even attacked Aitken; he overtook the Briton around the outside, made a mistake, then passed him again. Meanwhile, Green forcefully took third place away from Wittmann, which earned him a warning. Ricardo Feller, Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 Feller struggled with oversteer endured late-race pressure from both Aitken and Green, who easily passed him, as well as Wittmann and Jordan Pepper, whose battle saved the Swiss driver's podium finish; Pepper prevailed for fourth. 'It was a very enjoyable battle, one I honestly didn't expect,' Aitken told when asked about his duel with Feller. 'We came out of the pits, had a stop that was okay – not the best – and then I saw Ricci in my mirrors. At that moment I thought: 'Oh man, this is going to be really tough'. We had a great fight.' Auer came sixth ahead of Rast, Engstler, Ben Doerr and Thomas Preining. Aitken now leads the DTM standings with a 10-point advantage over Auer, with Pepper in third. The second race of the Nurburgring weekend will start at 1:30pm local time on Sunday. DTM Nurburgring Race 1 results To read more articles visit our website.
