Lausitzring DTM: Rast holds off Muller on last lap to win
Audi star Rene Rast held off a charging Nico Muller on the final lap to win the second DTM race at Lausitzring by a hair-thin margin of 0.089s.
Rast made a brilliant launch from third on the grid to challenge polesitter Frijns into Turn 1, but ran off the track and settled behind his Audi stablemate in second, as Muller dropped to fourth from the front row.
However, the reigning champion didn’t wait long before making another move, diving down the inside of Frijns at the same corner two laps later to take the lead of the race.
The two Audi drivers battled for position for one last time after the pitstops, after Frijns successfully managed to undercut Rast to move himself back into the lead.
Frijns initially appeared to have done after building a 2.5s lead up front, only Rast to rapidly close in on him and snatch the top spot on lap 25.
Muller, meanwhile, took an inspired decision to wait until lap 20 to make his mandatory pitstop, which initially dropped him to sixth but propelled him to winning contention slowly on.
Once his tyres were up to temperature, Muller started clearing cars in rapid succession, passing Wittmann on lap 34 to move into a podium position.
Two laps later he dispatched a struggling Frijns for second and then started chasing Rast for the lead, the reigning champion sitting comfortably at front with an advantage of three seconds.
Muller brought the deficit down to under one second on the penultimate lap but failed to sufficiently close in enough to make a move into turn 1, the de facto overtaking point at Lausitzring.
He also appeared too far behind Rast on the final corner, but a great exit allowed him to run virtually side-by-side onto the finish line, falling short of victory by less than a tenth of a second.
The result marked Rast’s first win of the year after he was stripped of his first place finish at Spa due to a push-to-pass infringement.
Wittmann passed Frijns later on in the race to finish third and ensure a second podium for BMW in as many races after a disappointing season opener at Spa.
Audi’s Mike Rockenfeller was the last driver to pit on lap 21, with the strategic decision allowing him to climb up to fifth, ahead of the BMW pairing of Timo Glock and Philipp Eng.
Loic Duval had a difficult race to finish the lowest among the factory Audi crew in eighth, while BMW’s Jonathan Aberdein and WRT Audi’s Ferdinand Habsburg completing the top 10, the latter dropping down the order after qualifying a strong fourth in his customer RS5.
Jamie Green was the only driver to retire from the race, the DTM veteran’s Audi stopping on lap 37 with mechanical troubles.
Robert Kubica bagged another 13th place finish in the ART-run BMW, ahead of the factory M4s of Lucas Auer and Sheldon van der Linde.
DTM Lausitzring - second race results:
Cla | Driver | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 | | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | |
2 | | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 0.089 |
3 | | BMW M4 Turbo DTM 2020 | 9.567 |
4 | | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 12.532 |
5 | | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 13.731 |
6 | | BMW M4 Turbo DTM 2020 | 20.395 |
7 | | BMW M4 Turbo DTM 2020 | 21.193 |
8 | | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 25.326 |
9 | | BMW M4 Turbo DTM 2020 | 26.597 |
10 | | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 37.074 |
11 | | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 37.331 |
12 | | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 37.926 |
13 | | BMW M4 Turbo DTM 2020 | 38.445 |
14 | | BMW M4 Turbo DTM 2020 | 39.135 |
15 | | BMW M4 Turbo DTM 2020 | 46.492 |
16 | | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 6 Laps |
View full results |

Previous article
Lausitzring DTM: Frijns completes weekend pole sweep
Next article
Audi stars reflect on closest finish in DTM's modern era

About this article
Series | DTM |
Event | Lausitzring |
Author | Rachit Thukral |
Lausitzring DTM: Rast holds off Muller on last lap to win
Trending
WRT Team Audi Sport – 2020 DTM Season Review
DTM 2020: Audi bids farewell
DTM: Hockenheim - Race 2 Highlights
DTM 2020: Race 1 highlights – Hockenheim
DTM: Hockenheim - Race 1 Highlights
The slow-burner threatening to unseat Audi's DTM king
It's taken him a while to emerge as a consistent title challenger, but in the final year of DTM's Class One ruleset, Nico Muller has smoothed the rough edges and has double champion stablemate Rene Rast working harder than ever to keep up in the title race.
Does 2000 hold the answers to the DTM's current crisis?
It's 20 years since the DTM roared back into life at a packed Hockenheim with a back-to-basics approach as the antidote to its high-tech past. Now it's on its knees again, so is it time to recall the lessons learned in 2000?
Ranking the 10 best Audi DTM drivers
Audi last week announced it would be exiting the DTM at the end of 2020, bringing the curtain down on 20 years of continuous participation since the series' reboot in 2000.
Why the DTM must reinvent itself after Audi exit
Audi's announcement that it will withdraw from the DTM at the end of 2020 was the latest blow for a series that has lost three manufacturers in as many years. Some major soul-searching will now be required to assess how it can survive.
Why cynic Berger changed his mind over green tech in racing
DTM boss Gerhard Berger was a detractor of Formula E and held a reluctance for his series to embrace greener engine technologies. However, this cynic's tune has had to change to ensure DTM's existence as the motorsport world moves forward
What the fallout from Aston's engine split means for 2020
Aston Martin's DTM arrival, via the R-Motorsport outfit, was heralded as a salvation of sorts for the series. After plenty of bumps in the road in 2019, the team finds itself in a similar position to the one it was in 12 months ago. Can it get its act together?
How the DTM and Super GT can build on their experiment
The Class One 'Dream Race' staged by the DTM and SUPER GT proved a hit - from a competitive and collaborative standpoint. The next step will be for both parties to ensure a successful trial ends up being more than just that.
Robot pitcrews and hydrogen – is DTM's concept plausible?
DTM organiser ITR has mooted a radical plan for a "truly new and inspiring" future motorsport series. How realistic are its suggestions of automated pitstops and 1000bhp hydrogen-fuelled touring cars?