Rast under observation in hospital after huge crash

Rast was clipped in his left-rear corner by Audi stablemate Loic Duval, which spun his car onto the grass, where it dug in and flipped twice.

Rast's car landed on its wheels, with its roof panel and windscreen torn off. He climbed out of the car unaided, but was covered in dirt.

“I’m very good actually, I didn’t feel anything from the crash,” said Rast. “It was a very soft landing, just my right elbow hurts a little bit. 

“I’m fine, no shock moment. When I jumped out I knew everything was OK. As we can see the car is very safe.”

Rast was taken to hospital for routine checks and x-rays. As of 1600hrs local time he was still in hospital under observation. 

Even if he is able to take part in tomorrow’s race, it is unclear whether the car will be ready as Audi Team Rosberg are still investigating the damage to its main structures.

The crash was part of a nightmare race for Audi. At the start, Nico Muller stalled and Jamie Green, unsighted by teammate Rast, ploughed into the rear of the Swiss driver’s car. 

Only Mike Rockenfeller (11th) and Robin Frijns – who earned a stop/go penalty for an offence under the safety car and finished 13th– completed the race for the marque.

“The race result is secondary for us today,” said Audi Motorsport head Dieter Gass. “The main thing is that nothing happened to our drivers in the two accidents. 

“It was proved once again just how high the safety level is in the DTM and how safe the Audi RS 5 DTM is.

“Our teams now have a lot of work so that as many of our cars as possible can make the grid for the second race.”

UPDATE: Audi has confirmed that Rast will not take part in Sunday's second race, reducing its presence on the grid to five cars.

Audi tweeted: "Rene's car will be dismantled and the monocoque revised. Afterwards, we will prepare the car to have Rene back in the game in Budapest."