DTM Red Bull Ring: Rast leads Schubert 1-2 as Preining snatches points lead

Schubert Motorsport locked out the front row in qualifying, with Rast securing a record-breaking 26th pole position ahead of reigning champion van der Linde.

Rast led away at the start and resisted a challenge from van der Linde into turn three, while Manthey Porsche driver Thomas Preining moved up to third and Jack Aitken slipped back four places to seventh in his Emil Frey Ferrari.

Preining’s chief rival Bortolotti ran ninth, but then slowed with a right-rear puncture before the opening lap was completed and headed for the pitlane.

Rast edged clear of van der Linde in the race’s opening third to lead by two seconds. The gap was pegged back to 1.5s during a light rain shower, which was not heavy enough to necessitate a switch to wet-weather tyres.

Preining was the first of the front three to make his mandatory pitstop with 25 minutes of the race remaining, with van der Linde and Rast making their stops over the next two laps.

Rast emerged still in front, and he controlled proceedings until the chequered flag for his first win of 2023 by 1.2s from van der Linde.

Preining came home a further 3.5s second behind in third, while Bortolotti trailed home in 22nd. The result leaves Preining 10 points clear of Bortolotti heading into next month’s deciding round at Hockenheim.

Thomas Preining, Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3-R

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Project 1 BMW driver Marco Wittmann made an early move on Clemens Schmid for fourth, a position he would maintain until the finish.

Grasser Racing’s Schmid eventually came home in sixth behind Manthey driver Dennis Olsen, who climbed from 10th on the grid to fifth.

Ayhancan Guven finished seventh for Team75 Motorsport, while Aitken took the chequered flag in eighth ahead of team-mate Thierry Vermeulen.

Arjun Maini was the highest-placed Mercedes-AMG driver in 10th, while Lucas Auer prevailed in a battle with Maro Engel for 11th.

Abt Audi’s Ricardo Feller lost crucial ground in the title fight, scoring a solitary point in 15th. His team-mate Kelvin van der Linde, winner of Saturday’s contest, spun down the order following contact at the first corner and eventually retired.

Luca Stolz was another not to see the chequered flag after pulling into the pitlane, bringing an end to the Mercedes driver’s title hopes.

DTM Red Bull Ring – Race 2 results

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