Assen DTM: Rast takes Race 2 pole, disaster for Wittmann
DTM championship leader Rene Rast left it late to seal pole position for the final race at Assen in a dramatic qualifying session.
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
Rast trailed Audi stablemate Robin Frijns after the first qualifying runs, helped by the German getting blocked twice by the BMWs of Sheldon Van Der Linde and Saturday race winner Marco Wittmann.
Both drivers remain under investigation for blocking, with Wittmann enduring a disastrous qualifying session less than 24 hours after victory.
Wittmann was unable to produce a flying lap after reporting a loss of power before blocking Rast and a rapid repair job by his RMG BMW crew meant he was able to rejoin the session in the final minute, but he could not cross the line to begin a timed lap before the session ended.
Rast was also given a further boost in his run to pole when the second runs began, as Frijns came to a stop in the pitlane and was unable to head back out.
That meant Rast's 1m24.849s lap was good enough for pole by just 0.132s after WRT Audi driver Jonathan Aberdein surprised by placing his RS5 DTM on the front row of the grid.
Aberdein's run shuffled Audi's Mike Rockenfeller, Nico Muller and Frijns down to third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Van der Linde was the best-placed BMW in sixth ahead of Loic Duval, the Audi driver having held third after the first qualifying runs.
Philipp Eng was second best of the BMW contingent in eighth ahead of stablemate Timo Glock and WRT Audi's Pietro Fittipaldi.
Top Aston Martin driver Daniel Juncadella placed 14th ahead of R-Motorsport teammates Paul di Resta, Ferdinand Habsburg and Jake Dennis, with Wittmann lining up last in 18th.
Session results:
Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 33 | René Rast | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'24.849 | |
2 | 27 | Jonathan Aberdein | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'24.981 | 0.132 |
3 | 99 | Mike Rockenfeller | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'25.017 | 0.168 |
4 | 51 | Nico Müller | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'25.018 | 0.169 |
5 | 4 | Robin Frijns | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'25.102 | 0.253 |
6 | 31 | Sheldon Van Der Linde | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'25.147 | 0.298 |
7 | 28 | Loic Duval | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'25.388 | 0.539 |
8 | 25 | Philipp Eng | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'25.410 | 0.561 |
9 | 16 | Timo Glock | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'25.468 | 0.619 |
10 | 21 | Pietro Fittipaldi | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'25.485 | 0.636 |
11 | 47 | Joel Eriksson | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'25.517 | 0.668 |
12 | 7 | Bruno Spengler | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'25.750 | 0.901 |
13 | 53 | Jamie Green | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'25.854 | 1.005 |
14 | 23 | Daniel Juncadella | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 1'26.087 | 1.238 |
15 | 3 | Paul di Resta | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 1'26.370 | 1.521 |
16 | 62 | Ferdinand Habsburg | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 1'26.566 | 1.717 |
17 | 76 | Jake Dennis | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 1'27.379 | 2.530 |
18 | 11 | Marco Wittmann | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'55.532 | 30.683 |
View full results |
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