Photo: DTM Media

René Rast lost for words after first win and championship lead

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Audi Sport driver René Rast had a strong weekend at the Hungaroring to score two important “firsts” of his DTM career; pole position for both races and victory on Sunday.

The Team Rosberg driver completed his fifth ever weekend of the series, but came out of the Hungaroring as the highest scorer, with a sixth place in Saturday’s race and his first ever DTM victory in the Sunday race.

“I cannot put into words what I’m feeling right now, this is something I have longed for for my entire career,” Rast told TouringCarTimes. “This is one of the best feelings in motorsport. I have worked very hard, to improve the car and to prove ourselves. I have dreamed of this for nine years, it’s an incredible feeling.”

Rast was in second place for most of the race, keeping the distance to leading driver Mattias Ekström under a second. Then, on lap 31, the German attacked his fellow Audi driver for the lead, a position he would keep until the chequered flag. “I saw that Mattias stopped early, and later saw that his tyres were going away, so I decided to attack and he defended, but I managed to stay ahead.”

Asked if he had taken a particular liking to the Hungaroring, Rast said: “I’ve been on pole position at the Hungaroring in other series several times. I think it’s not a question of liking the circuit, but more adapting the car to yourself so you can be comfortable and happy in the car.”

Rast now leads the drivers’ standings with 70 points, one over Mercedes’ Lucas Auer and five over fellow Audi driver Jamie Green, after having just completed nine races in the DTM. “This is a big achievement for me, I still haven’t got my head around being the championship leader after such a short time in the DTM,” concluded Rast.

After the Hungarian round, Audi Sport leads the manufacturers’ standings with 284 points, 50 over Mercedes AMG and 160 ahead of BMW Motorsport.

Dieter Gass, Head of Audi Sport: “We didn’t made big set-up or strategy changes from yesterday as the conditions were very similar to yesterday. I’m very happy with René’s performance, his win compensates Jamie’s setback from yesterday. I acknowledge we made some mistakes but, after three rounds, we keep on learning about the car and the new regulations.”