Under the eye of Audi’s Management Board Member for Development Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler, Rast achieved another perfect day on Saturday. On a rain-wet track in the morning, he secured pole position for the eighth time this year. In the race, Rast immediately took the lead on a dry track. Following his pit stop, he only had to briefly let BMW driver Marco Wittmann pass him before successfully countering and bringing home victory in commanding style. After crossing the finish line, Rast exuberantly celebrated the 17th win in total in his career with donuts and also flung his racing shoes toward the audience after the race.
“That was an outstanding race,” said Rast. “In qualifying, our timing was perfect. Even though I had two cars in front of me on the last lap I was able to clinch pole position. In the race, Marco came very close to me at times. We had a nice battle for some laps but in the end I was clearly faster and won the race – a fantastic feeling!”
Among the first to congratulate him after the race were team founder Keke Rosberg and his son, Nico. The two Formula One World Champions were delighted about the early win of the DTM teams’ championship, marking the second teams’ title for Audi Sport Team Rosberg after 2017.
Mike Rockenfeller from Audi Sport Team Phoenix in third position completed another double-podium for Audi. “It was a nice race but I was struggling a little with my tires and wasn’t able to quite keep pace with René and Marco,” said “Rocky.”
With Robin Frijns from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline in fourth position and Rockenfeller’s teammate Loïc Duval in fifth, a total of four Audi drivers finished Saturday’s race in the top five.