René Rast and Nico Müller keep the pressure on each other at Assen
The spades are drawn as the second half of the 2019 DTM season beckons, with Audi drivers Nico Müller and René Rast firmly in the battle for the drivers’ title.
After their incident at the Norisring two weeks ago, the pair encountered each other on the track again on Saturday at Assen.
Rast started from second on the grid, whilst Müller did so from sixth place. During the first lap, Rast was able to challenge BMW’s Marco Wittmann for the lead, with Müller struggling to keep his car on the tarmac.
The pit stop strategy was key for both, with Rast the first of the leaders to change his tyres on lap 15, although unable to undercut Wittmann. On the other hand, Müller was the last driver to pit, returning to the track ahead of the leaders, and fending off Rast until the end of the race to take second place.
“The duel with Marco obviously cost a lot of time, so Nico rejoined the race in front of us,” said Rast. “It was anything but a perfect race. Even so, it ended in a podium and I continue to lead the championship. Tomorrow we’re going to attack again.”
A few laps from the end Rast expressed his frustration at not being able to overtake Müller.
“I was held up by Marco all race long,” he said, “and when he came out of the pit with cold tyres, he was holding me up for a few corners, so I had a hope that I could get around Marco again but, in the end, Nico pit later and his tyres were fresher than mine, so there was nothing I could do.”
Müller returned to the track from his pit stop in the lead, but couldn’t contain Wittmann’s attacks.
“Unfortunately, it took a little longer than I was hoping to get the new rain tyres to work. That’s why Marco got past me,” said the Swiss. “He deserved winning today.”
“We had aquaplaning in many sections. It was difficult to keep the car on track. I lost a bit too much time to the leaders in the process.”
Rast leads the championship with 145 points, with Müller 24 points behind and BMW’s Philipp Eng in third, 34 points adrift. In the manufacturers’ table, Audi leads with 508 points, 120 more than BMW Motorsport.
