Race recap: DTM Red Bull Ring

Race recap: DTM Red Bull Ring

Racing doesn't get more exciting than door-to-door driving in the rain. This weekend looked to be just that, as rain covered the Red Bull Ring before the races. Before the race, there were some questions: How fast will the track dry, when will the slicks need to be brought out, and will Kelvin van der Linde defend his title lead? As the lights went out for the damp first race at the famous Austrian circuit, the field barrelled into the first corner on wet tyres.

Arjun Maini led the pack in his Mercedes-AMG GT into the first corner and fended off the pursuing Max Paul's Lamborghini. Maro Engel was in hot pursuit, and a wide line from Paul gave Engel the space to take second. Mirko Bortolotti quickly seized a possible opportunity, forcing both Engel and Paul into a three-wide braking zone early into the first lap. It was clearly a game of nerves, with Bortolotti nearly taking second place. However, due to the tight nature of DTM racing, a wider line through the corner from the race leader forced him wide and gave the second-place position back to Engel.

Maini gave Engel another overtaking opportunity, this time for the lead. He clearly gained more speed into the following corner and passed Maini on the inside of a fast left-hander. Unfortunately for Maini, his time in the lead was brief; shortly after losing first to Engel, the Lamborghini of Bortolotti outpaced him and caused him to lose second as well. Bortolotti showed a strong display of confidence with his wet tyres on the drying road surface, and soon the new race leader, Engel, was under threat. Engel fell short and overshot a slow right-hander, opening the door for the pursuing Lamborghini to take the lead.

Further back in the pack, the championship leader and local hero, Kelvin van der Linde, was chased by the Porsche of Thomas Preining. After trading some paint, the Saffa driver lost his place to Preining in a brilliant demonstration of close racing.

As the halfway point of the first race approached, the pit stops commenced, this time with a tyre compound change as the slowly drying surface began to show potentially faster overtaking opportunities. The dilemma was whether to pit too early, risking a loss of control on the wet surface, or too late, losing time to the faster slick tyres.

Nevertheless, the leaders pitted almost in unison, setting up the potential for exciting moments in the following laps. We have seen that the Lamborghinis are faster in the wet, but with drying conditions, it was imperative for Bortolotti to create more of a gap between himself and Engel.

DTM is exciting no matter what group of cars you choose to follow. The fight to enter the top ten was brewing, and with 19 minutes to go, the battle was fierce between the McLaren of Clemens Schmid, both the Audi and BMW of the van der Linde brothers, and the BMW of René Rast. Positions were constantly changing between these drivers as they all fought for the ninth position, with Kelvin van der Linde coming out ahead of the bunch. Shortly after, he overtook the Audi of Ricardo Feller for eighth position.

Bortolotti proved to have gained enough of a gap to Engel, securing the lead for the first time in the season. Engel followed in second, with Maini and Luca Stolz taking the remaining podium positions. Bortolotti's impressive driving skill in the rain gave him the upper hand over the competition after the first race of the weekend.

The second race promised better conditions with a dry track. but the cold weather left an inkling of concern. As the lights went out for the second time, Bortolotti aggressively defended the outside line and led through the first corner. Another Lamborghini was on his tail, this time driven by Luca Engstler, with René Rast's BMW following shortly behind. Fortunately for the race leader, Engstler and Rast were battling it out for second and allowed Bortolotti to get some distance between his pursuers.

Rast proved to be the unfortunate driver in this battle and handed the position to Engstler; however, the prying eyes of Preining’s 911 wouldn’t allow Rast to relax for very long and immediately began his attack for third. A late-braking manoeuvre down the inside of Rast pushed the BMW driver down to third.

Meanwhile, Kelvin van der Linde had an unfortunate qualifying session and started his charge from the 11th position. By the time the pit stops came around, he had fought his way up to seventh. As the pit window opened, it was Rast's turn to respond, overtaking both the 911 of Preining and then the Lamborghini of Engstler. Rast's overtake on Engstler appeared to be too easy, and shortly after, it became clear that Engstler was suffering from a gearbox malfunction, which would end his race.

Pit stops in DTM are generally more difficult than those in F1; a much smaller team is tasked with changing the tyres, with only two men per side of the car. This opens up the possibility of a really disastrous or incredible stop. The latter was the case for Rast, as he left the pits ahead of both the Porsche of Preining and the leader, Bortolotti.

Bortolotti appeared to be struggling with the temperature in his tyres shortly after the round of stops, and Preining's bright green 911 was soon hot on his heels. Unfortunately, Bortolotti couldn’t find the grip to defend the position and dropped down to third. Meanwhile, Rast was building up quite the lead.

Racing doesn't get more exciting than the incident that occurred with 20 minutes to go. Sheldon van der Linde, Ayhancan Güven, and Arjun Maini demonstrated the most hair-raising driving I have seen. Sheldon held the outside line and squeezed Maini's Mercedes towards the grass. Unfortunately, Güven, who was creeping up the inside of Maini, ran out of space. All three cars collided, and one Porsche with all four wheels on the grass created an exciting racing moment. Bortolotti entered the scrap and overtook two of the three drivers ahead, with Maini leading the way after the intense moment. Kelvin van der Linde, too, seized his opportunity at the rowdy pack ahead and soon made short work of his brother and Güven, bringing him up to fifth. Watch the action unfold here.

Rast and Preining were close as the closing laps rolled in; Rast led the way across the finish line, but further back in the field, Kelvin was approaching his championship rival and was determined to take the points from him. Bortolotti, though, crossed the line before any opportunities presented themselves. Rast came out on top, with Preining in tow, followed by Maini, Bortolotti, and the van der Linde brothers.

DTM is the pinnacle of thrilling, door-to-door racing, and it once again proved to be a seriously intense motoring spectacle. Kelvin lost his championship lead to Bortolotti this weekend and is sure to fight back at the next outing. With only one race left in this year's season, the Hockenheimring will set the stage for a final duel. Qualifying will play a vital role in the championship's outcome, and Kelvin will need to bring his A-game if he has any hope of reclaiming the championship lead and title. 

Here are the race results from the DTM official website.

Watch the YouTube highlights here.

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