SPIELBERG, Austria — The hunt for the 2024 DTM crown guarantees a hot final phase of the season.
For the seventh of eight tour stops, the tour will take place next weekend (Sept. 27-29) at the Red Bull Ring. Catch all the action on SPEED SPORT 1.
In Spielberg, it will be decided who will compete for the title at the finale in Hockenheim and who has the best chances. Before the second foreign stop of the year, Kelvin van der Linde in the Audi is just ahead of the Italian Mirko Bortolotti in the Lamborghini and Mercedes-AMG spearhead Maro Engel.
Can one of them pull away or will other drivers climb into the top spots in the mountainous landscape of Styria? The chasing quintet is filled with prominent players – including defending champion and local hero Thomas Preining in the Porsche.
Six different manufacturers in the first six places in the table and nine different winners in 12 races completed show that there is no clear favorite at the Red Bull Ring.
The lead in the table changed hands four times in the last three events – van der Linde and Bortolotti had an open exchange of blows. Before the Spielberg weekend, van der Linde is in the lead with a seven-point lead.
“It’s a very special duel that is pushing Mirko Bortolotti and me to the next level. We try to get the most out of our package every weekend. When that works, it gives you a very special feeling,” says the Audi driver, who is traveling to the Red Bull Ring as last year’s winner.
For Bortolotti, it will be all about playing to his strengths in qualifying. The 34-year-old has almost perfected the art of delivering top performances under time pressure: Bortolotti has already started the race from the front row six times this year with his Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2.
Engel, who is in third place, 15 points behind van der Linde, is also consistently strong. The veteran is the only one to have already achieved six podium places and has scored 83 points from the last five races.
Things are also heating up behind the top trio: Only six points separate fourth-placed Jack Aitken (GB/Emil Frey Racing) in the Ferrari from Luca Stolz (Brachbach/Mercedes-AMG Team HRT) in the Mercedes-AMG in eighth place in the table. Aitken has already won his third victory of the season at the Sachsenring – more than anyone else.
Lurking in the slipstream of the former Formula 1 driver is Porsche works driver Preining, who wants to make use of his home advantage.
“I really like driving at the Red Bull Ring. You can overtake really well and the races are always fun,” says the fifth-placed driver.
A BMW duo behind Preining is also planning an attack on the top places: For the two champions Sheldon van der Linde and Austrian-born René Rast from Schubert Motorsport, 55 and 56 points behind the leaders respectively, this is the last chance to make a decisive impact in the title race.
Nestled in the idyllic mountain landscape of Styria, the Red Bull Ring impresses with its unique setting. On the fastest track on the DTM calendar, the first thing to do is to reach maximum speed on three straights. Then the vehicles race downhill through a series of fast bends. The special topography ensures large differences in altitude on the track and the best view from the spectator stands.
“For me, it is the most beautiful track with the best fans. I like the middle sector with the fast bends the best, they make the Red Bull Ring special,” says Clemens Schmid about the 4.318-kilometer-long Formula 1 circuit.
Alongside the McLaren driver from Steinach am Brenner and Preining from Linz, Lucas Auer (Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter) from Kufstein completes the DTM trio from Austria in a Mercedes-AMG as the third driver. The GRT Grasser Racing Team, which is based near the track in Knittelfeld, will also be racing in front of a home crowd with two Lamborghinis.
Â