Rast Leads BMW 1-2 in Zandvoort Race 2

Rene Rast converted a record 26th pole position in DTM into victory with a controlling performance during Race 2 at Zandvoort, leading a BMW 1-2 ahead of Schubert Motorsport teammate Marco Wittmann.

Rast led home Wittmann by a margin of 1.155 seconds at the end of second of two races at the Dutch seaside circuit, with Thomas Preining holding off a late attack from Jack Aitken to complete the podium.

The No. 33 BMW M4 GT3 EVO put in a lights-to-flag performance to deliver BMW’s first victory of the season, which came after Rast had captured a record 26th career pole position during qualifying on Friday.

The qualifying session for Race 2 was moved to Friday as DTM adapted its schedule to allow drivers with commitments in the 24 Hours of Le Mans test day to travel to France before returning to Zandvoort on Sunday to take part in the race, which had also been pushed back by three hours from its traditional start time.

During that qualifying session, Rast became the driver with the most pole positions in DTM history.

Rast, who opted to sit out Le Mans test day despite the fact he is competing in next week’s French endurance classic with BMW M Team WRT, maintained his lead at the start.

Behind him, Wittmann wrestled his way past Aitken’s No. 14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 into second, while Preining stormed past Jules Gounon to take fourth.

The top five would remain unchanged heading into the first of two mandatory pit stop windows, where Preining managed to successfully undercut Aitken while Gounon was eliminated from podium contention after receiving a penalty lap for speeding in the pitlane.

Out front, Rast continue to control the field before becoming the very last driver to make his mandatory second stop, remaining ahead of Wittmann to lead a 1-2 for Schubert Motorsport and BMW.

In the process, the 38-year-old picked up his first win of the season and his first since Race 2 at the Red Bull Ring last September.

Wittmann, meanwhile, finished second in his landmark 200th start in DTM, a notable feat even without considering the fact the German has not missed a race since he made his debut in 2013, going on to contest every single race with BMW and winning two championships in 2014 and 2016.

Preining held off Aitken in a late battle for third to complete the podium, with Maro Engel fifth ahead of Luca Engstler, Lucas Auer and Gounon.

Mirko Bortolotti finished ninth in the No. 1 ABT Sportsline Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, with Arjun Maini rounding out the top ten aboard the No. 36 HRT Ford Performance Mustang GT3.

RESULTS: Race 2