Cassidy Wins Sunday Thriller; Van Der Linde Extends Lead

Nick Cassidy took a hard-fought first DTM victory by fighting off Sheldon van der Linde at Spa, with the South African extending his championship advantage over some of his closest rivals.

Cassidy captured the lead of the race by rejoining the circuit ahead of Van der Linde following his mandatory pit stop, profiting from a slower stop for the South African’s No. 31 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.

The No. 37 AlphaTauri AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 then remained out front even as Van der Linde attempted to regain the lead during Cassidy’s out lap, but the New Zealander managed to stay ahead.

Cassidy secured his first victory of the season and the second Ferrari win of the year following Felipe Fraga’s win at the Norisring, but survived contact with Rene Rast to make it happen.

Rast started from pole but lost out at the start to Van der Linde before coming under pressure from Cassidy’s Ferrari early on.

The two engaged in a lengthy battle that culminated with side-by-side contact between the two on the approach to La Source before Cassidy completed the pass at Les Combes.

Rast, who ran third behind Cassidy and Van der Linde after the pitstops, was given a five-second penalty for the contact but would fail to finish the race.

The three-time champion, second in the points standings before the race, suffered a left-rear puncture with eight minutes to go and subsequently retired.

Thomas Preining completed the podium ahead of Lucas Auer, with Luca Stolz rounding out the top five ahead of Mikael Grenier and Philipp Eng.

Rast’s failure to score points and a tenth-placed finish for Mirko Bortolotti means Van der Linde has extended his championship lead to 130 points, 32 points clear of Lucas Auer.

Auer moved into second in the standings after finishing fourth, with Thomas Preining completing the podium.

Rast dropped to third in the standings on 96 points, one point clear of Bortolotti.

RESULTS: Race 2