Rast triumphs over Wittman in strong BMW DTM showing at Zandvoort

It was a perfect race for René Rast (Bregenz) and his Schubert Motorsport team in the DTM in Zandvoort. The 38-year-old produced a serene performance at the wheel of his BMW M4 GT3 Evo on Sunday, completing a comfortable lights-to-flag victory ahead of teammate Marco Wittmann (Fürth). "That was an intense race. Particularly towards the end, when Wittmann was able to apply some pressure again. In the end, it was good enough for the win – thanks in part to two good pit stops," said Sunday's winner.

Behind the BMW duo, Thomas Preining (A/Manthey EMA) finished third in a Porsche 911 GT3 R to take his place on the podium for the second time.

Shortly after the start, spectators at the circuit in the Dutch dunes on Sunday afternoon were already watching two BMW drivers leading the rest of the field. Polesitter Rast successfully held onto his lead at the start, while Wittmann, starting from third, immediately overtook Jack Aitken (GB/Emil Frey Racing) in the Ferrari 296 GT3 to move into second place. Aitken was followed in fourth by Preining. Mercedes-AMG driver Maro Engel (Monaco/Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing) raced through from 12th to fifth place.

After the first pit stop, Preining climbed into third place – the Austrian had come in to switch to fresh Pirelli slicks one lap before Aitken and was soon able to use his warm tires to overtake the Brit. The top five once again showed no signs of weakness in the second tyre change, all holding onto their positions. Wittmann then gave it everything in his 200th DTM race, but 0.3s was ultimately as close as he could get to Rast at the head of the field. The three-time champion took the chequered flag ahead of Wittmann after 35 laps of racing. In doing so, he claimed his 29th DTM victory and climbed into second place in the table after six races. Preining held onto third place ahead of the charging Aitken, while Engel rounded out the top five after a strong display.

Wittman scored a key podium in his 200th DTM start.

"A super result for BMW and our team!" Wittman said. "I was able to close the gap to Rast in the closing stages. Unfortunately, however, I was not close enough to launch a serious attack, nor did I want to risk an overly aggressive maneuver against my own teammate."

Preining was pleased with the result in third.

"We wanted to make up ground in the championship," he said. "Third place was an important step in that direction. The good team strategy and my strong lap after the first pit stop, when I was able to overtake Jack Aitken, were key. After that, I had to do a lot of defending. That was a hard-fought podium."

The best-placed Lamborghini driver was Luca Engstler (Kempten/TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT) in sixth. Mercedes-AMG works driver Lucas Auer (A/Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf) finished seventh to extend his championship lead by three points. Fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Jules Gounon (F) from Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter ended the sixth race of the DTM season in eighth place. Mirko Bortolotti (I/Abt Sportsline) made up six positions and came home ninth in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2. Arjun Maini (HRT Ford Performance) from India produced a similar fightback, battling through from 16th to finish 10th in the Ford Mustang GT3.

RESULTS

Today's Race 2 from Zandvoort replays tonight on the RACER Network at 9pm ET.

Next up for the 2025 DTM – the historic streets of the Norisring, July 4-6.