SPIELBERG, Germany — René Rast (Bregenz) of Schubert Motorsport is well prepared for the final phase of the DTM championship.
At the penultimate race weekend of the season, the BMW works driver set the fastest lap of the day on Friday at the Red Bull Ring with a time of 1:28.674 minutes.
“The Red Bull Ring suits the BMW, but I was still a bit surprised by the best time. After all, I was only in 17th place in the rainy first session this morning. I would have preferred dry conditions for the rest of the weekend. If I manage to finish on the podium in both races, anything is possible in the fight for the title at the finale,” said the seventh-placed driver, who is 21 points behind the DTM leader.
His teammate Marco Wittmann (Germany) finished second and, along with Rast, was the only driver to stay under the 1:28.000 mark. Gilles Magnus (B/Comtoyou Racing) finished third in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3, while Lamborghini driver Jordan Pepper (ZA/TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT) secured fourth place.
Arjun Maini (IND/HRT Ford Performance) once again delivered a strong performance, driving his Ford Mustang GT3 to fifth place.
The second free practice session on Friday afternoon took place in dry conditions and initially saw Maini in attack mode. The Indian set the first fastest times and engaged in a duel with Magnus for first place.
After just over 15 minutes, Rast became the first driver to post a time under 1:28.000 minutes, which he then improved upon with his top mark. Teammate Wittmann came dangerously close again at the end, but was narrowly defeated by 0.051 seconds.
The 24-strong field contested the first practice session in the morning on a wet track and in a cool 13 degrees Celsius. Jules Gounon (F/Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter) led until shortly before the end, before DTM rookie Morris Schuring (NL/Manthey Junior Team) set the fastest time in the last second with a 1:37.887 minutes.
“The result makes me feel good, because the weather forecast predicts similarly difficult conditions in the races. I really enjoy driving at the Red Bull Ring. I secured my first pole position here in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, and maybe I can do the same in the DTM,” explained the Dutchman.
