René Rast wins again and puts a direct bet on the championship

Audi Sport Team Rosberg driver René Rast scored a comfortable victory in Race 2 at the Red Bull Ring, his fifth of the season and fourth in a row, to leave the reigning champion 30 points behind standings leader Paul di Resta (Mercedes-AMG).

The weather remained stable for the race, with the entire field prepared for a dry race.

Gary Paffett took off like a rocket from his grid spot to take the lead at the start, with Audi Sport Team Abt Sportline’s Nico Müller defending from di Resta at Turn 2. Rast went side-by-side with Mercedes AMG drivers Pascal Wehrlein and Edoardo Mortara to take fourth place, ahead of BMW’s Joel Eriksson.

Müller attacked Paffett on the outside at Turn 2 on lap three, using the superior traction of his RS 5 DTM to take the lead of the race. Paffett started attacking Müller two laps later, going side-by-side with the Swiss on several occasions, with di Resta, Rast and Eriksson closing the gap to the leaders.

BMW Team RMG’s Augusto Farfus parked his M4 DTM at Turn 4 on lap 17, with Rast pitting at the end of that lap and Di Resta mirroring the strategy on the following lap, but was undercut by the reigning champion.

Müller and Paffett came in at the end of lap 19, with Mercedes-AMG again stalling on the Briton’s tyre change, with Paffett spending over nine seconds in his pit box and returning to the track behind Rast and in di Resta’s sights.

Paffett had to yield to his team-mate on up to temperature tyres, falling to fourth place. Paffett recovered the position seven laps later, although was nearly six seconds behind Rast.

Audi Sport Team Rosberg’s Jamie Green was the only driver left to complete his obligatory pit stop, with Müller in second and Rast closing the gap to his fellow Audi driver. The reigning champion made a move for the virtual race lead at Turn 2 on lap 28 with Green pitting on the following lap.

The last few laps were spiced by Rast and Müller running close together, with the Swiss driver within DRS distance. At the chequered flag, Rast took his fourth consecutive victory and fifth of the season, ahead of Müller with Paffett completing the podium.

Di Resta was fourth, with Eriksson the best placed BMW driver in fifth. Pascal Wehrlein was next for Mercedes-AMG, with BMW’s Timo Glock next. Audi Sport Team Phoenix’ Mike Rockenfeller was eighth, with BMW’s Philipp Eng and Mercedes-AMG’s Edoardo Mortara completing the top ten.

Di Resta continues to lead the championship with 229 points, four ahead of Paffett and 30 over Rast with the season finale at Hockenheim taking place from the 12th to the 14th of October.